RECEPTION COMMITTEEiagscbhu.in/images/calendar/Souvenir GPA 2018.pdf · GPA-2018 S o u v e n i r & A b s t r a c t s | 3 ACCOMODATION & TRANSPORT COMMITTEE Chairman Prof. A.K. Nema

GPA-2018

S o u v e n i r & A b s t r a c t s | 1

Local Organizing Committee

RECEPTION COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. A. Vaishampayan,Director, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU

Co-Chairman Prof. Bandana Bose, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, I.Ag.Scs., BHU

Prof. N. Rama Devi, Dean, Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences,

I.Ag.Scs.

Prof. P.S. Badal, Head, Department of Agricultural Economics

Prof. J.S. Bohra, Head, Department of Agronomy

Prof. R.K. Pandey, Head, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying

Prof. P.S. Singh, Head, Department of Entomology & Agricultural Zoology

Prof. B. Jirli, Head, Department of Extension Education

Prof. Ram Mandir Singh, Head, Department of Farm Engineering

Prof. Ravi P. Singh, Head, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding

Prof. Anand Kr. Singh, Head, Department of Horticulture

Prof. Ramesh Chand, Head, Department of Mycology & Plant Pathology

Prof. P. Dwivedi, Head, Department of Plant Physiology

Prof. P. Raha, Head, Department of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry

Prof. Anil Chauhan, Coordinator, Centre of Food Science and Technology

Prof. Ramesh Kumar Singh, Vice-President, AABHA

Prof. VK Chandola, Spokesman, AABHA

Prof. BK Sarma, Secretary Finance, AABHA

Dr. A. Rakshit, Joint Secretary, AABHA

Dr. AD Tripathi, Joint Secretary, AABHA

Dr. Sanjya Yadav, The Jt. Registrar, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU

COORDINATION COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. Avijit Sen (Agronomy)

Co-Chairman Prof. A.P. Singh (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. J.P. Srivastava (Plant Physiology)

Prof. S.V.S. Raju (Entomology & Agricultural Zoology)

Prof. R.K. Pandey (Animal Husbandry & Dairying)

Prof. K. Srivastava (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. J. Yadav (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. N.N. Singh (Entomology & Agricultural Zoology)

Prof. C.P. Srivastava (Entomology & Agricultural Zoology)

GPA-2018

2 | S o u v e n i r & A b s t r a c t s

Prof. H. B. Singh (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

Prof. S.P. Singh (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. Rakesh Singh (Agricultural Economics)

Prof. J.P. Singh (Agronomy)

Prof. H.K. Jaiswal (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. S.K. Singh (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. B. Sinha (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. B.K. Singh (Horticulture)

Prof. A. Sinha (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

Prof. Surendra Singh (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. SP Singh (Horticulture)

Prof. VK Srivastava (Agronomy)

Prof. GC Mishra (Farm Engineering)

Prof. SP Singh (Agronomy)

LOCAL HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. A. Hemantranjan (Plant Physiology)

Co-Chairman Prof. Amlan Ghosh (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. Ram K. Singh (Agronomy)

Prof. P.K. Singh (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. V.K. Mishra (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. Rakesh Singh (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

Members Dr. Rajesh Kumar Singh (Agronomy)

Dr. Kalyan Barman (Horticulture)

Dr. P.K. Singh (Agricultural Economics)

Dr. Ankita Sarkar (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

TECHNICAL PROGRAMME COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. P. Dwivedi (Plant Physiology)

Co-Chairman Prof. Nirmal De (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. V.K. Srivastava (Agronomy)

Prof. D.C. Rai (Animal Husbandry & Dairying)

Prof. Ram Chandra (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

Dr. Ram Kewal (Entomology & Agricultural Zoology)

Dr. D.D. Bhutiya (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

Members Dr. Manoj Kr. Singh (Agronomy)

Dr. R. Meena (SSAC)

GPA-2018


ACCOMODATION & TRANSPORT COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. A.K. Nema (Farm Engineering)

Co-Chairman Prof. M.K. Singh (Agronomy)

Dr. Abhishek Singh (Farm Engineering)

Dr. Satyendra Singh (Mycology AND Plant Pathology)

Dr. R.S. Meena (Entomology & Agricultural Zoology)

Dr. V. Kamalvanshi (Agricultural Economics)

Shri Rajan Kumar (Farm Engineering)

Members Dr. Shashi Shekhar (Farm Engineering)

Dr. VK Tripathi (Farm Engineering)

Dr. A. Poonia (Centre of Food Science & Technology)

Dr. Arvind (Centre of Food Science & Technology)

Dr. DS Bunkar (Centre of Food Science & Technology)

FOOD & REFRESHMENT COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. Arun Kumar Singh (Extension Education)

Co-Chairman Prof. H.P. Singh (Agricultural Economics)

Prof. J.P. Shahi (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. Yashwant Singh (Agronomy)

Prof. L.C. Prasad (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. R.N. Singh (Entomology & Agricultural Zoology)

Prof. R.K. Singh (Genetics & Plant Breeding)

Prof. S.K. Singh (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. Anil Kr. Chauhan (Centre of Food Science & Technology)

Members Prof. S.S. Vaish (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

Prof. Pravin Prakash (Plant Physiology)

Prof. J.K. Singh (Agronomy)

Dr. Arvind (Centre of Food Science & Technology)

Dr. D.S. Bunkar (Centre of Food Science & Technology)

DIAS DECORATION AND ALUMNI GARDEN COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. Anil Kr. Singh (Horticulture)

Co-Chairman Prof. U.P. Singh (Agronomy)

Prof. B.R. Maurya (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. P.K. Sharma (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Dr. Vineeta Singh (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

GPA-2018


Dr. A.K. Pal (Horticulture)

Members Dr. Anjana Sisodia (Horticulture)

Dr. S.K. Verma (Agronomy)

Dr. V.K. Paswan (Animal Husbandry & Dairying)

Dr. Rajesh Kr. Singh (Agronomy)

PUBLICATION, PRESS & PUBLICITY COMMITTEE

Chairman Dr. M. Raghuraman (Entomology & Agricultural Zoology)

Co-Chairman Dr. Vijai P. (Plant Physiology)

Members Dr. K. Barman (Horticulture)

Dr. S.P. Singh (Mycology & Plant Pathology)

Dr. S.K. Prasad (Agronomy)

Dr. R.S. Meena (EAZ)

Dr. Ram Swaroop Meena (Agronomy)

CULTURAL & INNOVATION SPORTS COMMITTEE

Chairman Prof. Janardan Yadav (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Prof. K. Ghadei (Extension Education)

Co-Chairman Dr. R.N. Meena (Agronomy)

Dr. O.P. Singh (Agricultural Economics)

Dr. Y.V. Singh (Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry)

Members Dr. A.D. Tripathi (Centre of Food Science & Technology)

GPA-2018


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CONTENTS

1. Revamping Higher Agricultural Education in India A.K. Singh

1 and Ram Datt

2

1Vice Chancellor, Bihar Agricultural University. Sabour

2Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Department of Extension Education, BAU, Sabour

19

2. Information exchange and knowledge sharing in Agricultural Researches

and Extension Education U.S Gautam

1, S.K. Dubey, Atar Singh, Rajeev Singh and Maneesh Kumar Singh

ICAR-Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute, G.T. Road,

Rawatpur, Kanpur -208002, U.P. 1Vice-chancellor, BUAT, Banda

27

3. Agri-Education for meeting global hunger: Reoriented Framework for

New Generation and New Challenges Narendra Pratap Singh* and Jagadish Rane

ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Malegaon, Baramati, Pune-413115

*[email protected]; [email protected]

33

4. Vegetable production scenario: Status and strategies for enhancing

productivity Bijendra Singh, Sudhakar Pandey and Jagdish Singh

ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi

Email: [email protected]

38

5. Wheat Research in India: Frontiers and Priorities G.P. Singh

Director, ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research

Karnal – 132001, Haryana

58

6. 1952-2018: The Journey of Sugarcane in Sub-tropical India

specially Uttar Pradesh Dr P.K. Singh

Principal Scientist (Plant Breeding)

ICAR- Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Dilkusha P.O., Lucknow – 226 002

Mob: 9910731338; 9415183851 E-mail: [email protected]

71

7. Role of millets for food security in the context of Climate change B. Gopal Reddy

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh

77

8. Evolving Global Framework for the Transformation of Agricultural

Education and Research Systems for Development Sarma C. Mallubhotla

1 and Bandana Bose

2

1International Development Consultant (Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition), Ottawa,

Canada. e-mail: [email protected] ; Corresponding and presenting author 2Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi (U.P), India.

e-mail: [email protected]

80

9. Global frame work of agricultural education and research system Amrendra Kumar, Tanweer Alam, Udyan Mukherjee, Department of Entomology,

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Bihar)

80

10. Information exchange and knowledge sharing Udyan Mukherjee, Amrendra Kumar, Tanweer Alam, Department of Entomology,


81

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11. Present Status, Emerging Trendsand Future Prospects of Agricultural

Engineering Education in India Dr.Vinod Kumar Tripathi

Department of Farm Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

82

12. Impact of Vocational Training on Knowledge Level of Rural Youth

B.D. Singh,andAditya* Scientist, KVK,Barh, Patna *Asstt. Prof., Extension Education, BAU, Sabour, Bhagalpur

Email :[email protected]

83

13. Evaluation of Different IPM Modules against Gram Pod Borer

[Helicoverpa Armigera (Hubner)] On Chickpea Dr. Ram Keval and Sunil Verma

Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Institute of agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005 India


84

14. Conversing Information into Knowledge System:

Emerging Extension Approach Dr. A. K. Sah

ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India

84

15. Bioprospecting thermophilic bacterial population from Jammu &

Kashmir for industrial enzymes Sneahpreet Kour, Brajeshwar Singh* and Diksha Raina

Division of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences

SKUAST-Jammu

Email : [email protected]

85

16. Modulation of postharvest quality of fresh horticultural produce by

exogenous polyamines treatment Swati Sharma, Sudhir Singh and Jagadish Singh

Division of Vegetable Production, ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research

Varanasi 221 005, Uttar Pradesh, India

86

17. Role of Plant Growth Regulators in Cucurbit Production * A. K. Pal, Sandeep K. Mauriya and Kalyan Barman

Department of Horticulture

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (UP)

* Corresponding address: [email protected]

86

18. Prospects and Emerging Challenges of Extension Education

in 21st Centaury in India

Pankaj Kumar Saraswat and Lungkhong Riamei, Kolom Rabi and I. Bhupenchandra

KVK Tamenglong Manipur, ICAR-RC for North Eastern Hill Region

Manipur Centre Imphal-795004

87

19 ‘Smart Krishi’ – An Innovative Farm Service Approach for Sustainable

Agriculture in Rice-Wheat system

S. P. Singh* and B. B. Singh

Centre for Agri-solutions & Technology, Tata Chemicals Ltd., Babrala, Indiradham,

Dist. Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, PIN 202421 *E-mail: [email protected]

88

20. Present and future Agronomy education J.K. Singh* and S.P. Vishwakarma

Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005

*Email: [email protected]

88

21. Gracilaria dura extract confers drought tolerance in wheat by 89

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modulating abscisic acid homeostasis Sandeep Sharma

1ǂ*, Chen Chen2, Kusum Khatri

1, Mangal S. Rathore

1,

Shree P. Pandey3

1CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, India ǂAcademy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR, New Delhi, India 2Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, Co-Innovation Center for Modern

Production Technology of Grain Crops, Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the

Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China 3Department of Molecular Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena,

Germany

22. Employment generation through value addition and diversification

in jute and allied fibres Vinod Kumar Singh, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Kunal Pratap Singh and Anil Kumar 1 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Crop Improvement, J.R.S., Katihar

2 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Soil Science, J.R.S., Katihar

3 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Plant Pathology, J.R.S., Katihar

4 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Entomology, J.R.S., Katihar

90

23. Participatory video as a tool for agriculture information dissemination Ashima Muyal

* and Dr. Gyanendra Sharma

*Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Extension Education, Institute of Agriculture Science,

Banaras Hindu University. Varanasi -221005, Uttar Pradesh, India

Professor, Department of Agricultural Communication, College of Agriculture,

G.B.Pant University of Ag. & Tech. PANTNAGAR -263145 (U.S.Nagar), Uttarakhand, India

[email protected]

90

24. Validation of molecular markers for rust resistance and identification of

suitable wheat germplasm targeting for northern region of India Prashant Singh

1, V.K. Mishra

2*, Neelam Atri

1#, Monu Kumar

2, Ashutosh

2, S.N. Kujur

2,

Parvin Kumar Mahto3

1Department of Botany, Institute of Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

2Departments of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 3Institute of Environment and sustainable Development, BHU, Varanasi

e mail: [email protected], e mail: [email protected]

91

25. Recent advances and challenges in litchi production and

Value chain management S K Purbey, Alemwati Pongener, Vinod Kumar, S K Singh, and Vishal Nath

ICAR-National Research Centre for Litchi, Muzaffarpur- 842002

E-mail:[email protected]

91

26. Climate change and nutrient stoichiometry of wheat Saroj Kumar Prasad

Department of Agronomy

Institute of Ag. Sciences, BHU

92

27. Grafting tomato on eggplant improves yield, quality and

waterlogging tolerance in tomato Anant Bahadur*, Md. Arshad Nadeem, Amit K. Singh, Sanchika Snehi, Anish K. Singh,

Vishal Agrawal, Nagendra Rai, P.M. Singh and B. Singh

ICAR- Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi

93

28. Policy Perspectives in Agriculture and Institutional Development in India Kumari Jyoti

1, O. P. Mishra

2, A. K. Singh

3 and Himadri Roy

4

1, 4. Research Scholar, Department of Extension Education, IAS, BHU, Varanasi, U.P.

2. Late Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Extension Education, IAS,

BHU, Varanasi, U.P.

3. Professor, Department of Extension Education, IAS, BHU, Varanasi, U.P.

94

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29. Mushroom: Nutritional Value and Health Benefits M. K. Yadav

1, Ram Chandra

2, S. K. Yadav

3 4S. K. Vishwakarma and

4S. K. Chaudhary

1Deptt. of Plant Pathology, Janta College, Bakewar, Etawah-206124 (U.P.),

Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, 208025, Uttar Pradesh, India 2Deptt. of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi –221005 (U.P.), 3Deptt. of Agricultural Entomology and Zoology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi –221005 (U.P.) and 4Deptt. of Horticulture, Janta College, Bakewar, Etawah (U.P.) 206124,

Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, 208025, Uttar Pradesh, India

* Email address: [email protected]

94

30. Water Productivity of Direct Drilled Rice as Influenced by Planting

Methods, Water and Weed Management Practices Neelam Bisen* and Ramesh K. Singh

Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221004, India

[email protected]

95

31. Enhancement in the farmer’s income through cultivation of Green gram

(Vigna radiata L.) crop during summer season in Satellite village

of Panna district R. K. Jaiswal

1 and B. S. Kirar

2

1 Scientist (Plant Protection), JNKVV, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Panna – 488 001 (M.P)

2 Senior Scientist and Head, JNKVV, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Panna – 488 001 (M.P)

Corresponding Author E-mail: [email protected]

96

32. Assessment of different chemicals for management of pod borer,

Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) in red gram in Saran District (Bihar) Surerndra Prasad and Satendra Kumar Singh*

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Manjhi, Saran-841313

Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa

E-mail : [email protected]

* B. R. D. PG Collage, Deoria, UP

97

33. Effect of phosphorus, sulphur and biofertilizers on yield, nutrient uptake

and economy in fertilizer use in lentil (Lens culinaris) A. K. Shrivastava*, R.K. Dwivedi*, and M.K. Ahirwar*

*JNKVV Krishi Vigyan Kendra Damoh

E-mail – [email protected].

97

34. Attitude of people about Agricultural Biotechnology in Jharkhand V.K. Yadav

1, Nirmal Kumar

2, A. K. Singh

3, B.P. Bhatt

4, B.D. Singh

5 and B.Jirli

6

1Pr. Scientist (Agril. Extension), ICAR-RCER,RC, Plandu, Ranchi,

2Pr. Scientist (Agril.

Extension) and Head, TOT division, ICAR-IINRG, Ranchi, 3Pr. Scientist (Horticulture)

and Head, ICAR-RCER,RC, Plandu, Ranchi, 4The Director, ICAR-RCER, Patna,

5SMS (Agril. Extension) KVK, Barh, Bihar,

6Professor ( Extension Education),

Deptt. of Extension Education , I.A.Sc , B.H.U , Varanasi

Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

98

35. Assessment of ecosystem services under different resource conserving

technologies in rice-green gram cropping system Mohammad Shahid*, R. Tripathi and A. K. Nayak

Crop Production Division, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack – 753006, Odisha

*Corresponding Author: [email protected]

98

36. Vermiculture and Vermicomposting : A Boon for Sustainable

Agriculture in Fiji Island S. N. Rai

College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Koronivia

99

GPA-2018


Fiji National University, Post Box 1544, Nausori, Fiji Islands

E.mail: [email protected]

37. Studies on nutrients estimation and value addition of mango

ginger (Curcuma amada) Dhanmaya Sharma, Sujata Upadhyay*, S. Manivannan and V.R.Muddarsu

Department of Horticulture, Sikkim University, 6th

Mile

Tadong-737102, Gangtok, Sikkim

*corresponding author’s email id: [email protected]

100

38. Revamping National Agricultural Research and Education System

in the changing scenario Madhumita

Farm Manager, KVK, Vaishali

101

39. Wheat blast - Threat to food security: A reappraisal Dhiman Mukherjee and Sunita Mahapatra

Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidayalaya, Kalayani-741235

102

40. Capacity building in agricultural research and education:

an Indian perspective Ashok Rai*, Ajay Kumar Rai and Yogesh Kumar

[email protected]

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kushinagar

103

41. Influence of Nitrogen Application with Boron on Growth, Yield and

Economics of Broccoli (Brassica oleraces L.var. Italica Plenck) T. K. Singh

1, Prashant Kumar

1,2, S. Dubey

1 and U. S. Bose

1

1. Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Rewa, JNKVV, Jabalpur (M.P.)

2. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hamirpur, BUAT, Banda (U.P.)


104

42. Biological investigation and Seasonal incidence of Leaf Folder,

Orphanostigma abruptalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on Tulsi, Ocimum

basilicum L. *Nagendra Kumar and Anil Kumar

Assistant Professor-cum-Scientist, Department of Entomology,

DRPCAU, Pusa (Samsatipur), Bihar-848 125

E-mail: [email protected] (*Corresponding Author)

104

43. Doubling income of mushroom farmers through round the year

production Manoj Kumar Pandey*

1, A. R. Kumari

2, Ajay Tiwari

3 and Rajneesh Srivastav

4

1Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection),

2SMS (Home Science),

3Farm Manager,

4SMS

(Horticulture) Krishi Vigyan Kendra (ICAR-IIVR), Deoria- 274 506 U. P.


105

44. Amelioration of Crops through Mutation Breeding Sanjeev Singh, Ajay Prakash Singh* , S B Verma and S. K.Chakravarti

1

Department of Agricultural Botany, Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi-221002. 1Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, I.Ag. Sc., BHU, Varanasi-221005

*Corresponding author: E-mail:[email protected]

106

45.. Evaluation of HUW 234 × HUW 468 RILs population of wheat for

terminal heat stress using grain size parameters Monu Kumar

1, V K Mishra

1, R Chand

2, S N Kujur

1, P Singh

1, Ashutosh

1

1Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU,

Varanasi .2Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

BHU, Varanasi

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

106

46. Growth and yield performance of Kharif Onion to different varieties and 107

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planting time in Shahdol District (M.P.) Mrigendra Singh, Alpana Sharma, Deepak Chouhan and P.N. Tripathi

JNKVV-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Shahdol (MP)

[email protected]

47. Transfer of Improved Technology of Mustard through Front Line

Demonstration in M.P. V. K. Singh,

1 I. S. Tomar

2 and M. Singh

1

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, R.V.S.K.V.V., Jhabua, Madhay Pradesh. India 1Scientist, Soil Science, (Email: [email protected]) K.V.K. Jhabua 457661(RVSKVV

Gwalior) M.P. 2 Senior Scientist & Head, K.V.K. Jhabua-457661 (RVSKVV Gwalior) M.P

108

48. Response of Vermicompost and Elemental Sulphur levels

on the productivity of mustard V. K. Singh,

1 I. S. Tomar

2 and M. Singh

1

KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA, R.V.S.K.V.V., JHABUA, MADHAY PRADESH. INDIA 1Present address Scientist- Soil Science, (Email: [email protected]) K.V.K. Jhabua

457661(RVSKVV Gwalior) M.P. 2 Senior Scientist & Head, K.V.K. Jhabua-457661 (RVSKVV Gwalior) M.P

108

49. National Agricultural Research and Education System and Capacity

building Tanweer Alam

(1), Amrendra Kumar

(2), Udyan Mukherjee

(3), Department of Entomology,


109

50. Panchagavya : Boon for Agriculture Satendra Kumar Singh

Department of Horticulture, B.R.D.P.G.College ,Deoria(U.P.)

*Correspondence Author : [email protected]

110

51. Reinvestigating the pest status of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) in India Sabuj Ganguly

*, Snehel Chakravarty and C. P. Srivastava

Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 *Email: [email protected]

110

52. Comparative efficiency of 125 watt Mercury Vapour lamp and 15 watt

Ultra Violet tube as light source in Light Trap against the major insect-

pest of paddy Vaishampayan S. and Patidar S.

Deptt. of Entomology, J.N. Agricultural University, Jabalpur (M.P.)

111

53. Doubling of Farmers Income By 2022 – Strategies and Challenges Rohit Shelar, Himadri Roy

Department of Extension Education

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

E-mail ID: [email protected]

111

54. ICT Enabled Digital Plant Diagnosis System: Need of the Hour Himadri Roy*

1, Rohit Shelar

2 and Kumari Jyoti

3

Research Scholar, Department of Extension Education

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU, Varanasi.

*Correspondence e-mail ID: [email protected]

112

55. Vermiculture and Vermicomposting : A Boon for Sustainable Agriculture

in Fiji Island S.N. Rai




113

56. Gamma Ray and EMS induced Mutations in Aromatic Rices 113

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Sanjeev Singh*

Department of Agricultural Botany, Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi-221002


57. Importance and Scope of Seed Production in Vegetable Crops *Sandeep K. Mauriya, Kalyan Barman and A. K. Pal

Department of Horticulture, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University,

Varanasi (UP) * Corresponding address: [email protected]

114

58. Interbreeding status of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) populations across

India Snehel Chakravarty*, Sabuj Ganguly and C. P. Srivastava

Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005, INDIA


115

59. Information Exchange and Knowledge Sharing Carrier opportunities in

Floriculture Sunil Kumar

Head, Department of Horticulture, North Eastern Hill University, Tura Campus, Tura-794

002 West Garo Hills District, Meghalaya, India

E. Mail: [email protected]

116

60. Information sharing and knowledge sharing as com municative activities Vinay Pratap Singh

Assistant Professor Department of Plant Physiology, College of Agriculture JNKV Rewa

Jabalpur (M.P.), India E-mail : [email protected]

117

61. System of Wheat Intensification: Basic Concept and Methods Awadhesh Kumar Singh

1, Vijaypal

2, Sumit Kumar Singh

3 and Mahendra Pratap Singh

4

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pratapgarh-229408

117

62. Feasibility of Secondary Nutrient Management on Growth of Wheat in

Indo-Gangetic Region Nishant Singh and Awadhesh Kumar Singh

Post Gratuate College, Ghazipur ( U.P. )- 233001, INDIA

118

63. Biofertilizers: A non-chemical source of plant nutrients for sustainable agriculture

Sumit Kumar Singh*

Department of Entomology, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture,

Technology and Sciences, Allahabad - 211 007, INDIA

*Corresponding author email id: [email protected]

119

64. Prospects in Animal and dairy science to help overcome long-term global

challenges Mayank Dubey

1 and Akhilesh Kumar Chaubey

2

1Assistant Professor (LPM), College of Agriculture,

Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda -210001 (U.P.) 2 SMS (Animal Science), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Singrauli (MP)

E-mail – [email protected]

119

65. Enhancement of Tomato Tolerance to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses

by Rhizobacterial strain Anuj Kumar Murya

Department of Plant Phathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P.

*Author communication: [email protected]

120

66. Scenario of Drought in Dholpur District, Rajasthan Mangal Yadav

* Bhaskar Pratap Singh*

*Department of Farm Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh-221 005

E-mail: [email protected] Phone No:9410642414

121

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67. Drought Study and Suitability of Drought Indices in Bundelkhand, India Bhaskar Pratap Singh*, Virendra Kumar Chandola, Dinesh Kumar and

Anshu Gangwar

Department of Farm Engineering, I. Ag. Sc., Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005,

UP-India email*: [email protected]

121

68. Roles and importance of Entomology in the Agricultural society Ingle Dipak Shyamrao*

1, M. Raghuraman

2, Rupesh Gajbhiye

1 and Abhinav Kumar

1

1Research Scholar,

2Associate Professor


Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (U.P.) *Email:[email protected]

122

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Lead Papers

&

Abstracts

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Revamping Higher Agricultural Education in India

A.K. Singh1

and Ram Datt2

1Vice Chancellor, Bihar Agricultural University. Sabour

2Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Department of Extension Education, BAU, Sabour

Modern agriculture is becoming knowledge intensive and moving towards. However

it is dealing with some pressing challenges like least interest of youth towards agriculture,

fragmented land, climate change, bio-diversity degradation, input intensive cultivation and

other general issues like food and nutritional security. This paper explores the plausible

options to reorient higher agricultural education for achieving quality human resource. The

number of well trained and skilled professionals involved in the agricultural sector is very

lacking. Further the trained professionals are constrained with lack of up to date knowledge.

Human resource development is vital for effective output. The skill imparting developing and

equipping the young graduates leads to the greater participation. Their need a shift from

information based syllabus to skill-based curriculum in our education system particularly in

our agricultural system. Though our country‘s economy is transforming into Industrial scales

but agriculture itself as an industry demands greater skills.

Background

Agriculture is the central to all strategies for planned socio-economic development of

India. Therefore, a rapid growth of agriculture is essential not only to achieve self-reliance at

national level but also for house hold food security and to bring about equity in distribution of

income and wealth for rapid reduction in poverty levels. Over 200 million Indian farmers and

farm workers are the backbone of India‘s agriculture. After independence, the government

continuously took a number of innovative steps to actualize the vast untapped growth

potential for agriculture development. But still the agriculture sector is facing a number of

challenges such as low productivity (averaging to 60% of world average), decreasing

profitability in farming, rising quality competitiveness under the pressure of globalization,

poor linkage of farms with the market, low knowledge of input agriculture, wide gap between

lab and land experiments, low level of mechanization and value addition, supply chain

management and product lifecycle management, lack of qualified manpower to address the

new and emerging challenges and deliver at grassroots level, mounting threat to sustainability

arising from depleting quality of natural resources, biotic and a biotic stresses and inefficient

use of agro-inputs, poorly coordinated natural disaster management system etc.

To achieve this, a renewed thrust for higher agriculture education is necessary with

enhanced financial support to the ICAR- AU system. Estimates suggest that by the year 2020,

more than 16,000 scientific manpower would be required to cater to the needs of R&D in the

country. At present, there is substantial gap of 50% or more between demand and supply of

manpower in agriculture and allied sciences sector. The projections indicate that by 2020, the

annual out turn required for Undergraduate and above would be about 54,000 as against the

present annual out turn of around 40,000. This means that sincere efforts are required to

attract more number of students towards Higher Agricultural Education. There is a vast scope

for young graduates to undertake agriculture as their profession which is directly or indirectly

contributing to the economic and social development of the country.

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In this context there is a need to improving higher agricultural education to sustain the

growth of agricultural sector. Indian formal agricultural education was mainly introduced by

the British and which was based on European knowledge. In the year of 1949, University

Education Commission was constituted under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan to

improve overall higher education system. In case of higher agricultural education, the

commission emphasised on quality human resource and developing leadership to achieving

the food security of the nation. Government of India constituted first and second Indo-

American Joint Team in the year 1954 and 1959, respectively to transform India from food

insecure to food secure state. Both the sequential team recommended establishment of

agricultural universities on land grant pattern (Tamboli and Nene, 2011; Tamboli and Nene,

2013). Another committee was constituted in the leadership of Dr. Ralph Cummings for

evaluating the proposals of agricultural universities. was established at as the first agriculture

university in the year of 1960. Starting with G.B. Pant University of Agriculture &

Technology, Pantnagar, Uttrakhand (1960) the total number of institutes imparting

agricultural education has increased to 71 agricultural universities; and about hundred

institutions of ICAR are imparting agricultural education.

Goal of National Policy on Agriculture

The National Policy on Agriculture seeks to actualize the vast untapped growth

potential of Indian agriculture, strengthen rural infrastructure to support faster agriculture

development, promote value addition, accelerate the growth of agribusiness, create

employment in rural areas, secure a fair standard of living for the farmers and agricultural

workers and their families, discourage migration to urban areas and face the challenges

arising out of economic liberalization and globalization. During the next two decades it aims

to attain:-

A growth rate in excess of 4% per annum in the agriculture sector.

Growth that is based on efficient use of resources and conserves our soil, water and

biodiversity.

Growth with equity.

Growth that is demand driven and caters to domestic markets and maximizes benefits

from exports of agricultural products in the face of challenges arising from economic

liberalization and globalization.

Growth that is sustainable technologically, environmentally and economically.

Constraints in Higher Agricultural Education

Initially most of our agricultural universities followed land grant pattern of USA. The

concept was to generate sufficient resources to run the university. Up to some extent

GBPAU&T model was successful because they have big farm where they started a massive

seed production programme (Challa et al, 2011). But, Now-a-day SAUs are mostly dependent

on state funding. Few universities are fortunate enough to get full cooperation from state

government for example Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour whereas most of the

universities are mainly getting salary funds for their employees along with some amount for

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developmental activities. There are number of constraints faced by agricultural universities as

follows:

1. Inadequate strength of faculty

Most of the universities and colleges are struggling for basic infrastructure facilities

and faculty strength. Jha and Kumar (2006) analysed higher agricultural education

system and reported that only 43 per cent faculty positions are filled.

2. Research Funding

No doubt research investment in the field of agriculture has increased over the period

of time but not significantly. It roses from 0.2 per cent of agriculture GDP during the

early 1960s to about 0.5 per cent in 1990s (Jha and Pal 2003, Pal and Byerlee 2003

cited in Jha and Kumar 2006) which is less even among the developing countries. In

between 2012-14 agriculture R&D funding of India was 0.4 per cent of agriculture

GDP. China is investing four times more in R & D in comparison to India. If India

would like to double its farm income by 2022 then it needs to double and triple its

investment in agriculture (IFPRI, 2017). Country wise agricultural research and

development funding are as follows:

Table 1: International comparison of agricultural research funding, 2011-12

Sl. No. Country Number of scientists,

Full-time equivalent

Funding in million

2011 PPP dollars

Research

intensity (%)

1. Brazil 5 869.4 2704.0 1.8

2. Bangladesh 2121.0 250.6 0.4

3. China 43000.0 9,366 0.6

4. Malaysia 1609.4 592.3 1.0

5. Pakistan 3678.3 333.0 0.2

6. Sri Lanka 618.8 61.8 0.3

7. South Africa 746.3 294.5 2.0

8. India 10242.0 3533 0.4

(Source Pal, 2017)

3. Difficulty in talent hunt

Most of the talented students opt for streams like medical, engineering, management,

etc., thereby neglecting agricultural education (Kumar, 2016). Undoubtedly, ICAR

has taken constructive steps to attract students towards agriculture for instance

students READY programme but still we are unable to attract sufficient number of

talented students towards agricultural stream. However, for making this profession

more viable & feasible from Students' career perspective, potential students have to be

encouraged as well as nurtured for helping the cause of agricultural development, in

the long run.

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Fig: Agri-professional Development Cycle

This is a fact that getting talented students will enable us to produce quality human

resource for agriculture sector.

4. Inbreeding of students and faculty members

Tamboli and Nene (2013) reported that there exists a high level of inbreeding in terms

of faculty members‘ recruitment. About 51 per cent recruited staffs are from the same

university. For creating cross learning there is a need to encourage students to pursue

all three degree programmes i.e UG, PG and PhD from different institutes which will

enhance their spectrum of thinking.

5. Lack of networking

Few universities have started some exchange programmes with other national and

international institutions/universities for example MANAGE Hyderabad. But they

need to focus more on collaborative and exchange programmes at regional and

international level.

6. Lack of basic amenities

Most of the universities are not having centre of excellence, well equipped

laboratories, sport facilities, hostel facilities. Especially in government colleges

affiliated with general universities there are no practical learning facilities for

students. Conditions are not different even for them who pursue their degrees from

private agriculture colleges.

7. Quality issues in private agricultural colleges

General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS) came into existence in the year of

2005. GATA opened the door for private and international agency and started giving

higher agricultural education (Tamboli and Nene 2011). Even a single state like

Maharastra is having 150 private agricultural colleges. State government of

Maharastra formed a committee under the chairmanship of former VC of Mahatma

Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (Rahuri), Dr. Subhash Puri to evaluate these private

agricultural colleges. Committee reported that among 150 private agricultural colleges

56 are not having basic infrastructure like building and unable to fulfil even the basic

norms. Interestingly, around 14200 students are getting degrees from these 150

private agricultural colleges (Times of India, 2018). On the other hand, students of

Karnataka went on strike to ban private agricultural colleges in the state and

government is working on modification of act to ban these private agricultural

colleges (The Hindu, 2018). Mushrooming of private agricultural colleges is a matter

of great concern for higher agriculture education.

Input

Processing Output

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Areas of improvement

Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi has taken some steps for

improving quality education and overall development of the agricultural universities

including university ranking system, Students READY programme, Rural Awareness Work

Experience, Niche Area of Excellence and National and International Fellowship programme.

Still there are some areas where we need to emphasize:

Agripreneurship Cell (A-Cell): For promotion of entrepreneurial spirit and/or skills

among agricultural professionals, establishment of ―Agripreneurship Cell‖ at every

Agricultural University is necessary. This cell will help in incubating the innovative

ideas of students.

Consultancy and diagnostic skills among the students

Now-a-day students are not well acquaint with farmers‘ problem therefore,

arrangement of regular diagnostic visits or rural exposure for them is very important.

At the same time, students may be trained for consultancy services so that in the

coming days students could also develop their career in the area of agri-consultancy.

Soft Skills and Professional skills development:

The rules for work are changing. We are being judged by new yardstick not just by

how technically educated we are or how smart we are. The new parameters for long

term success in job depend on whether we can work in a team, have leading quality,

conflict management, rational decision making ability, negotiation skill and

persuasive communication skills etc (Goleman, 2009). At the same time, this is also a

fact that by teaching the theories of afore-mentioned qualities we cannot impart the

skills. Therefore, there is a need to inculcate these life skills for overall development

of the students.

Partnering and Innovation

Advancement of Knowledge is very crucial for development of any nation and

varsities are major players to generate innovations and/or knowledge. The sharing of

knowledge/experiences and/or get connected with rest of world is very easy in the era

of Information and Communication Technology. For promotion of knowledge sharing

the varsity will develop collaborations with national and international

universities/institutes. Some kind of ―Tie-ups‖ with the Global Organizations like

FAO, World Bank, OXFAM, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, etc. for growth &

development of the Agriculture Sector in the state. It is also crucial to develop

network with public–private partnerships in education.

Capacity Development

This is a challenging time for teachers associated with higher agricultural education.

The mode of classroom teaching and learning of 21st century students is thriving very

fast. So, there is an urgent need to transform and/or develop faculty members to meet

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the demands of the global economy by the mastery of 21st century skills such as

critical wisdom, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, creativity and

innovation. This also includes the application of technology to support more robust

instructional methods and understanding the relationship between content, pedagogy

and technology through dissemination of technological pedagogical content

knowledge theory and research.

Exchange Programme

Short term students exchange programme at national and international universities

should be initiated to encourage knowledge sharing programme. The international

students quota needs to be increased which will help in developing favorable learning

environment in the campus.

Agri-professionals in farming

Farmers are leaving farming as per the NSSO (2005) report 40 per cent farmers

reported that if they can get another option for livelihood they will leave farming.

This is an alarming situation for us. Can we prepare just 2 to 5 per cent of students of

our total intake for farming profession and develop them as star or champion farmers.

This will not only help in agripreneurship development but support in image creation

of farming profession.

Performance based system for faculty members

Few top institutions like IIMs and IITs are already practicing performance based

system and their performance converted into monetary term. We need to introduce

performance based system which will help in achieving quality parameters and

overall organizational productivity.

Public-private partnerships in agricultural research

A new model that has emerged in the recent years to address the problems and the

potentials in a holistic manner is the ‗Public-Private Partnership‘. The Public-Private

Partnerships are viewed as a governance strategy to minimize transaction costs and

coordinating and enforcing relations between partners engaged in production of goods

and services. They enable an optimal policy approach to promote social and economic

development, bringing together efficiency, flexibility and competence of the private

sector with the accountability, long-term perspective and social interest of the public

sector. Both the partners have mutual benefits from such arrangements.

Flipped classroom learning through e-learning programme

Information and communication technology is striving very fast in other areas of

development. There are some e-learning based initiative started at the universities and

national level. We need to give more practical orientation to e-learning programmes

including functional e-literacy to the students and faculty members to harness the

potential of ICT power. e-Learning will help in adopting flipped classroom approach

at university level which will certainly enhance skills of agricultural professionals.

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Massive open online courses for rural youth

Day-by-day agriculture profession is becoming more knowledge intensive and skill

oriented. Open online courses could be a potential option for educating rural youth.

IIT Kanpur with collaboration of some SAUs started agMOOCs and NAARM,

Hyderabad is also running few courses for agri-professionals. Ministry of Human

Resource Development has already started a big MOOC platform i.e. SWAYAM.

Summing Up

Indian Council of Agricultural Research should decide minimum standards for each

college especially for private and government colleges which are affiliated with

general university in terms of human resources, infrastructure, experimental farm,

experiential learning facilities and for awarding the degree.

Accreditation of colleges and universities should be a prerequisite for awarding the

degree.

Provide sufficient fund for basic infrastructure and R&D.

Encourage our graduate towards farming.

In addition to technical skills, some other skills like leadership, decision making,

negotiation, soft skills should also be taught at university level.

For more organizational productivity and quality assurance ‗performance based

system should be adopted.

There should be a centre in which innovative ideas of our students could be incubated.

University system should adopt marketing principles for their branding and quality

delivery system.

Potential of ICT tools could be used in classroom teaching by functional literacy.

Innovative ICT approach like MOOC could be used for educating the rural youth.

Higher Agricultural education system should focus more on skill and market oriented

education.

Strong networking of the agricultural universities is needed for knowledge sharing.

Especially quality PG and PhD research should be ensured.

There are many reports in which it is clearly stated that quality publications are not

coming up. The standard publication and patenting should be encouraged at university

level and linked with annual assessment system.

Collaborative research and developmental activities should be started in public-

private partnership mode.

Faculty should be given plenty of opportunities to participate at national and

international level workshops/training/conferences for updating their knowledge.

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References

Challa, J., Joshi, P.K. & Tamboli, P. (2011). Revitalizing higher agricultural education in

India. Economic and Political Weekly, 46 (26-27): 326-329.

Goleman, D. (2009).Working with emotional intelligence 1st edition. Bloomsbury,

Publishing, New Delhi, India, 402, pages

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bits

tream/10603/114067/9/09_chapter%25203.pdf

IFPRI (2017). India needs to triple investment in agricultural research: IFPRI. (Available at

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/india-needs-to-triple-

investment-in-agricultural-research-ifpri/article9693679.ece)

Jha, D.N. and Kumar, S. (2006). Research resource allocation in Indian agriculture. NCPA,

Policy paper no. 26, ICAR, New Delhi.

Kumar, N. (2016). Finding a plausible option for revitalizing agricultural higher education in

India: a systematic review. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management,

DOI: 10.1080/1360080X,2016.1211978.

Pal, S. (2017). Agricultural R&D Policy in India: The Funding, Institutions and Impact

(Available at

http://www.ncap.res.in/Document/Ag%20R&D%20Policy_NIAP_2017.pdf)

Tamboli, P.M. & Nene Y.L. (2011). Revitalizing higher agricultural education in India:

journey towards excellence. Asian Agri-History Foundation, Secunderabad, 500009,

India 316 pages.

Tamboli, P.M. & Nene Y.L. (2013). Modernizing higher agricultural education in India to

meet the challenges of 21st centuary. Asian Agri-History, 17 (3): 251-264.

The Hindu (2018). Govt. to amend Act to ban private agricultural varsities (Available at

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/govt-to-amend-act-to-ban-

private-agricultural-varsities/article24374379.ece)

Times of India (2018). 1 in 3 private agriculture colleges in Maharashtra fails to meet

education norms. (Available at

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/1-in-3-private-agri-

colleges-in-state-fails-to-meet-edu-norms/articleshow/62796987.cms)

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Information exchange and knowledge sharing in Agricultural Researches

and Extension Education

U.S Gautam1, S.K. Dubey, Atar Singh, Rajeev Singh and Maneesh Kumar Singh

ICAR-Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute, G.T. Road,

Rawatpur, Kanpur -208002, U.P. 1Vice-chancellor, BUAT, Banda

Knowledge is often defined as a belief that is true and justified. This definition has led

to its measurement by methods that rely solely on the correctness of answers. A correct or

incorrect answer is interpreted to mean simply that a person knows or does not know

something. Such methods of measurement have serious deficiencies that can be alleviated by

expanding the definition of knowledge to include the test-taker‘s certainty. The person‘s

certainty about the answers on a test captures important, but now neglected, dimensions of

knowledge. Historical roots of certainty as an essential component of knowledge, and some

practical benefits of including it, are discussed. An epistemetric method is described which

allows people to indicate ªHow sure are you?º about the correctness of each of their answers.

A computer analysis of the person‘s answers and self-assessment certainty responses

provides multidimensional scores about a person‘s knowledge that remedy some deficiencies

of knowledge assessment and achievement tests now employed.

Keywords: Knowledge, Training, Assessment

Meaning of Information

Information is any entity or form that provides the answer to a question of some kind

or resolves uncertainty. It is thus related to data and knowledge, as data represents values

attributed to parameters, and knowledge signifies understanding of real things or abstract

concepts. As it regards data, the information's existence is not necessarily coupled to an

observer (it exists beyond an event horizon, for example), while in the case of knowledge, the

information requires a cognitive observer.

Information is conveyed either as the content of a message or through direct or

indirect observation. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own right,

and in that sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message.

Information can be encoded into various forms for transmission and interpretation (for

example, information may be encoded into a sequence of signs, or transmitted via a signal). It

can also be encrypted for safe storage and communication.

Information reduces uncertainty. The uncertainty of an event is measured by its

probability of occurrence and is inversely proportional to that. The more uncertain an event,

the more information is required to resolve uncertainty of that event. The bit is a typical unit

of information, but other units such as the may be used. For example, the information

encoded in one "fair" coin flip is log2(2/1) = 1 bit, and in two fair coin flips is log2(4/1) = 2

bits.

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The concept that information is the message has different meanings in different

contexts.[2]

Thus the concept of information becomes closely related to notions

of constraint, communication, control, data, form, education, knowledge, meaning, understan

ding, mental stimuli, pattern, perception, representation, and entropy.

What is information?

Attempts to answer the question ‗What is information?‘ have, not surprisingly,

occupied the thoughts of information scientists for a long time: almost certainly since before

the term ‗information science‘ was coined in 1955. The lay person, asked to define

information, is most likely to regard it as: An item of information or intelligence; a fact or

circumstance of which one is told. (OED) this is just one of the many dictionary definitions

of the word. Indeed, information scientists appear to have been reluctant to propose

definitions of information, preferring rather to discuss concepts: the difference being,

according to Belk in a definition ‗says what the phenomenon defined is, whereas a concept is

a way of looking at or interpreting the phenomenon‘. In their recent paper, Mc Creadie and

Rice review concepts of information proposed over the last fifty years. A summary of the

concepts they consider is given below.

1. Information as a representation of knowledge: Information is stored knowledge.

Traditionally the storage medium has been books, but increasingly electronic media

are becoming important.

2. Information as data in the environment: Information can be obtained from a range

of environmental stimuli and phenomena; not all of which are intended to ‗convey‘ a

message, but which can be informative when appropriately interpreted.

3. Information as part of the communication process: Meanings are in people rather

than in words or data. Timing and social factors play a significant role in the

processing and interpretation of information.

4. Information as a resource or commodity: Information is transmitted in a message

from sender to receiver. The receiver interprets the message as intended by the sender.

There may be added value as the information is disseminated or exchanged.

Information sources in Agriculture in India

Every day, millions of rural people who depend on agriculture confront technical,

economic, social, cultural, and traditional obstacles to improving their livelihoods. To cope

with these obstacles, the rural poor draw on indigenous knowledge and innovate through

local experimentation and adaptation. Indigenous knowledge alone, however, is not enough

to deal with the complex problems facing the agricultural sector. Emerging issues such as

high food prices, climate change, and demands for biofuels require complementary

knowledge from formal agricultural research and development (R&D) and support from

policies and other institutions. Formal and informal knowledge and innovation must therefore

be linked to accelerate sustainable agricultural development.

Knowledge, defined as organized or processed information or data, is fundamental in

the pursuit of innovation. For innovation to occur, knowledge must be created, accumulated,

shared, and used. Innovations new ideas, practices, or products that are successfully

introduced into economic or social processes can involve technologies, organizations,

institutions, or policies.

Innovation means putting ideas, knowledge, and technology to work in a manner that

brings about a significant improvement in performance or product quality.

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Advancing agricultural development requires knowledge and innovation in several key

areas:

1. Technology: While many good technologies are ―on the shelf,‖ emerging issues such

as climate change require new research to develop drought-resistant, flood-resistant,

and short-duration crop varieties.

2. Institutions: More socioeconomic research is needed to understand institutional

constraints to innovating to improve livelihoods. Institutions are the system of rules

that constitutes the environment within which innovations occur laws, regulations,

traditions, customs, beliefs, norms, and nuances of society.

3. Policies: Appropriate, relevant, and timely public interventions are needed to promote

and facilitate the creation, sharing, and use of knowledge for innovations.

4. Organizations: Public and private groups and companies must innovate to become

more effective and efficient in the services they provide.

To foster innovations in agriculture, policymakers must scale up investments in agricultural

science and technology, research and extension, agricultural education and training, and

farmer organizations and other local institutions and do so in ways that will spread advances

in knowledge and innovation as widely as possible.

Need for Agricultural Research and Development:

Many past investments in agricultural research and development (R&D) have paid off

handsomely. The World Development Report 2008 provides evidence that investment in

agricultural research resulted in an average rate of return of 43 percent in 700 development

projects in developing countries. Other research has shown that for every 1 percent increase

in agricultural growth, rural poverty falls by 1.83 percent, indicating an indirect link between

agricultural R&D and poverty reduction. Using provincial-level data for China for 1970–97,

researchers showed that the poverty reduction effect per unit of additional agricultural R&D

investment ranked second only to investment in rural education. Studies by researchers from

the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) show that the

biggest payoffs for reducing rural poverty and increasing agricultural growth came from

investments in agricultural R&D, education, and rural infrastructure, particularly roads. These

investments must therefore be treated as a composite strategy for rural development.

In spite of high returns to investments in agricultural research, such investments are

extremely low in the countries that have high rates of rural poverty. In low-income countries,

agriculture is often the major source of people‘s livelihoods. Yet according to the

Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative, agricultural research

intensity—measured as public agricultural research spending as a share of agricultural gross

domestic product (GDP)—was, on average, only 0.37 percent in 2000, compared with 0.67

percent for middle income countries and 2.35 percent for high-income countries.

Nevertheless, using intensity ratios as a rule of thumb is not always appropriate because they

do not take into account the policy and institutional environment within which agricultural

research takes place or the broader size and structure of a country‘s agricultural sector and

economy.

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The Innovation Systems Approach: The conventional pipeline approach to agricultural

research, technology development, and dissemination has produced numerous success stories,

but it has serious limitations for broad-based, sustained agricultural growth and poverty

reduction because it often ignores actors such as the private sector and does not always take

institutions or local knowledge and preferences into account. Broad-based, sustained

agricultural growth and poverty reduction require an interactive approach to agricultural

development to bring in the relevant actors, organizations, and institutions, which all play a

role in this process.

Key Policy Options for Promoting Knowledge and Innovation for Agricultural

Development: Developing-country governments face policy choices, and, with limited

resources, they must make decisions carefully. Pragmatic policies and government actions

can encourage actors in the food and agriculture value chain to create, accumulate, share, and

use knowledge. Good policies will spur these actors to innovate, whereas bad policies

discourage innovation in food and agriculture.

Farmer-centered research and development (R&D):

As already stated, the evidence is clear that investment in agricultural R&D pays.

Thus, as part of their poverty-reduction strategy, governments should invest in participatory

agricultural research to help farmers innovate for increased productivity and production.

Policy and institutional innovations can be used to motivate the private sector to undertake or

finance agricultural research and to encourage commodity associations to allocate funds to

research institutes or universities for commodity research. Policymakers can also provide

incentives for agro. processing firms to establish laboratories to carry out or finance food

research. Other policy innovations can include competitive grant schemes to direct research

into areas of immediate need or prizes for outstanding research. Organizational innovations in

research organizations can include a participatory research approach that brings in all of the

actors in the food and agriculture value chain.

Agricultural extension: Agricultural extension is an important player that can bring together

research, farmers, and other players in the innovation system. Extension is defined as the

services that support people engaged in agricultural production to help them solve problems

and obtain knowledge, information, skills, and technologies to improve their livelihoods and

well-being. Extension approaches have evolved from ministerial departments to national

extension systems to the training-and visit system to privatized (and otherwise reformed)

systems. What matters is not so much the approach or system, but rather whether it offers a

―best-fit‖ solution to local needs and conditions. Technologies, information, and skills that do

not take users into account or do not reach users lose their desired impact.

Education and capacity strengthening: Capacity strengthening is a key policy priority for

stimulating knowledge and innovation. Innovation system actors and organizations require

strengthening at many levels in order to work more effectively. Farmers and farmer

organizations require strengthening for instance, establishing successful demand-driven

extension services requires strengthening users‘ capacity to demand the types of services they

need. Organizations (public sector, private sector, or civil society) that provide extension

services demanded by users must also be trained to respond to users‘ needs. Researchers need

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to learn how to work with farmers and communicate with extension workers. And

policymakers need to better understand the innovation system and its different components.

Organizational and Institutional Innovations:

Organizations and institutions that guide the performance, outcomes, and impact of

the agricultural sector must be more innovative to be more efficient and effective. National

research organizations, extension organizations, community and farmer based organizations,

and rural service providers within the food and agricultural value chain must be strengthened

to enable them to innovate and function efficiently. To manage for impact, these

organizations must be able to set long- and short-term strategic objectives, set priorities, and

establish an organizational performance assessment system to guide the innovation processes

they are involved in.

The institutional setting shapes the processes critical to an innovation system that is,

interactions, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning to bring about changes in a desired

direction. It is important to carry out institutional analysis with respect to innovations,

addressing questions that include the following:

1. How do innovations come about?

2. Which actors are involved in the innovation system and what roles do they play?

3. What are the ―rules‖ that guide the behavior and practices of actors?

4. How are smallholders engaged in and affected by a process of institutional learning?

5. What are the economics of these investments?

Concept of knowledge: A definition of personal knowledge, with the aim of providing an

expanded concept which, in turn, will allow more productive discussions of assessment,

knowledge management, individual and organizational performance and training. Describing

an epistemetric method, i.e. a measurement of knowledge, which is more closely related to

the ways motivated people acquire, retain and use knowledge to enumerate, select and

execute goal-directed actions at work, in the home and at play.

The effects of knowledge on behavior:

The knowledge of people greatly affects the safety, effectiveness, comfort and

satisfaction with which the goals of an individual or an organization are formulated and

attained. Knowledge provides an orderliness to our lives which allows us to conceptualize

goals, to anticipate and perceive events, and to respond in accordance with the changing

needs, purposes and desires. For example, our perceptions depend both on the data we

receive through our senses (eyes, ears, skin, etc.) and the knowledge we possess that allows

us to interpret them. Contrary to the popular phrase, ªSeeing is believingº, it is knowledge,

beliefs and needs that structure our perceptions by interpreting the data of our senses. An

individual‘s behavior and performance depend both on the knowledge that has been acquired

through learning, practice and experience as well as the sensory receptors and the system of

muscles, organs, etc.

The Research Model:

The concept of justification requires that knowledge be derived from reasoning and

not guessing (Lehrer, 1990). To this extent, a reliable source is also considered proper

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justification. For example, you are justified in believing it is raining outside without actually

going outside but based on the TV weather report. Therefore, justification is based on both

characteristics of the knowledge itself and of the knowledge source. While justification can

be deduced from logical argumentation, in this study we are looking for specific justification

components held by individuals about external knowledge (similar to transactive memory).

Examples for such characteristics are perceived source credibility (Hovl and et al, 1953) or

the currency of the knowledge (Duffy, 2000). Our hypotheses about the components of

justification are:

Interaction information:

The interaction information (Mc Gill 1954), or amounts of information (Hu Kuo Ting,

1962) or co-information (Bell 2003) or information interaction (Licina 2017) is one of several

generalizations of the mutual information. In fact, the definition of interaction information is

identical to that of multivariate mutual information except for a change in sign in the case of

an odd number of random variables except in the work of Licina where information is more

like a physical entitiy.

Interaction information expresses the amount information (redundancy or synergy) bound up

in a set of variables, beyond that which is present in any subset of those variables. Unlike the

mutual information, the interaction information can be either positive or negative. This

confusing property has likely retarded its wider adoption as an information measure in

machine learning and cognitive science. These functions, their negativity and minima have a

direct interpretation in algebraic topology (Baudot & Bennequin, 2015).

Conclusion

In a dynamic world, innovations are important to remain competitive, protect the

environment, keep pace with development, and improve well-being. Innovations do not occur

in a vacuum, however. They occur when innovators acquire knowledge and process it to

come up with new ideas, practices, or objects that can be successfully introduced into

economic or social processes. Knowledge is central to development and likely to become

more so. In the 21st century, knowledge accumulation and application will drive development

processes and create unprecedented opportunities for growth and poverty reduction.

Knowledge must therefore be created, accumulated, and managed to be useful for innovation.

In an era of globalization and rapid change, decision makers should promote innovation in

organizations, institutions, and policies to bring about outcomes where knowledge can be

taken up, adapted, and implemented to promote development.

References

Arnberg, P., Fernandez, J. and Hunt, D.P. (1983), ªA comparison of learning by doing and

learning by observation with self-assessment respondingº, unpublished.

Cabigon, H.J. (1993), ªEffects of self-assessment on retention of trainingº, unpublished

Master‘s thesis, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.

HassmeÂn, P. and Hunt, D.P. (1994), ªHuman self assessment in multiple choice testingº,

Journal of

Educational Measurement, Vol. 31, pp. 149-60.

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Agri-Education for meeting global hunger: Reoriented Framework for

New Generation and New Challenges

Narendra Pratap Singh* and Jagadish Rane

ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management,

Malegaon, Baramati, Pune-413115

*[email protected]; [email protected]

Achieving a world without hunger was the main goal of agricultural education when it

began to take a shape. Self-sufficiency in food production achieved so far in many of the

countries can be attributed to scientific approaches, which emerged from National

Agricultural Systems comprising Agricultural Universities, Deemed Universities and Central

Universities as well as several research institutes for various commodities. The next phase of

the challenge began with mission to eradicate malnutrition, which is incomplete. Despite

remarkable progress in agricultural front, it is said that as many as 821 million corresponding

to 1 in every 9 people in the world are under nourished. The major concern is that nearly 2/3

of the under nourished people are living in regions highly vulnerable to climate extremes.

This indicates that the mission of agricultural education is not complete. Despite having

granaries filled beyond their capacity, India is not an exception as population facing

malnutrition is significantly high relative to developed countries. This demands critical

review at futuristic focus on actions needed to check rise in hunger and food insecurity as

well as concomitant problem of malnutrition. The challenge for agricultural education system

is to establish a system that can make nutrition a priority and to ensure development of

appropriate policies to make next generation stronger and intelligent to cope with resource

limitation, climate change and highly competent to face sustainability challenges.

To meet the challenges of doubling the food production by 2050 with non-expanding

agricultural area and limited natural resources, it is necessary to reorient agricultural syllabus

with focus on building resilience against the potential impact of climate related shocks and

emergencies for those living in areas most susceptible to climate extremes. There is a need to

sensitize the alumini of agricultural institutes about the sustainable access to nutritious and

affordable diets for every child and family on this earth. The future scientists, teachers and

agri- entrepreneurs should be trained to be integral part of dynamic system that is going to be

guided by systematically collected big data set on nutrition, hunger and food insecurity as

well as opportunities offered by advances in science.

The continued self-sufficiency in food fairly but partially explains the success of

agricultural education, which created agricultural experts to contribute to the farmers through

their services not only in academic and research institutes but also in financial institutes and

related industries in and outside the country. However, the education system has been below

the expectations while delivering much expected entrepreneurial skills and confidence in

alumini of agricultural universities.

Perhaps the global framework for agricultural education should consider the food and

nutritional components of United Nations Millennium Goals as a base for much needed

transformation of agriculture into a commercial venture so that farmers either individually or

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in group can earn maximum profit without compromising issues related to environmental

sustainability and access to food for the hungry people. The sustainable development goals

focus at ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition and promoting

sustainable agriculture through the inter linkages, which can support sustainable agriculture,

empower small farmers, promote gender equality, end rural poverty, ensure healthy lifestyles,

tackle climate change, and other issues. The educational reforms for feeding into these inter

linkage can make the world witness transformation of knowledge oriented agricultural

education into skill empowered entrepreneurship.

A glance at present capacity of the agri-education system

Though thoughts were put forth by eminent persons before independence, an

organized effort in capacity building for agricultural research, education and extension

(AGREE) received a much greater attention during the post- independence period, which

made way for the famous ‗Green Revolution‘, turning the country from a state of famines to

that of overfilled granaries. There is no doubt that it is the remarkable achievement since the

advent of agriculture.

The ICAR undertakes planning, development, coordination and quality assurance in

higher agricultural education in the country. It strives for maintaining and upgrading quality

and relevance of higher agricultural education through partnership and efforts of the

components of the ICAR-Agricultural Universities (AUs) system, referred to as the National

Agricultural Education System (NAES), comprising 61 State Agricultural Universities

(SAUs), 5 Deemed to-be-Universities (DUs), 3 Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs) and

4 Central Universities (CUs) with Agriculture Faculty.

With agriculture and allied disciplines as its focus National Agricultural Research and

Education System caters to the need of aspiring students imparting knowledge and skills in

12 major disciplines viz., Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries Science, Agricultural

Engineering, Forestry, Biotechnology, Dairy Technology, Food Technology, Community

Science, Sericulture, Veterinary Science and Food Nutrition & Dietetics which covers all

aspects including social sciences as depicted by Education Division of ICAR in its website.

Post graduate courses are also offered in almost all the above disciplines. However, the

system has major constraints as highlighted in 5th

Dean Committees Report published by

Education Division of ICAR.

Constraints in elevating the AGREE to the next height

Less attractive

With social perception as a job of a less intelligent person, agriculture in not

sufficiently active for talented young lots of the society and no farmers wish to have their kid

in this profession in general. Hence, there is a low priority to agricultural education as a

career option. However, the scenario is expected to change if the education system makes

attempt to convert agriculture into agribusiness.

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Institutes with obsolete infrastructure

Students are aspiring for a degree for a job and not skills for creating the jobs.

Proliferation of agricultural colleges particularly private interventions have exploited this

situation to commercialize the agri-education without adequate equipment, laboratory, farm

and library facilities, leading to knowledge deficit all along the value-chain, particularly in

new and emerging areas, such as biotechnologies, nanotechnology, informatics and

communication.

Suboptimal quality of faculty

Many of the institutes are facing depleting number and quality of faculty members,

lack of faculty competence in frontier and emerging areas, limited emphasis on refresher

training, faculty improvement and incentives; dwindling faculty in SAUs with majority chunk

of the posts remaining vacant due to resource crunch. Many of the institutes are unable to

take full advantage of modern tools of management for efficient governance (e-governance).

Disconnect between point of origin to destiny

Very few must be aware at the undergraduate level about the destination they have to

reach as the system often fails to highlight opportunities while imparting the knowledge.

Implicitly there is an inadequate academic rigour in existing curricula, which are short in

informing and sensitizing the students and faculty about the seriousness of the stubbornly

high incidences of hunger, under-nutrition, poverty, inequality, fast degrading natural

resources - land, water and biodiversity, and high vulnerability to climate change and market

instabilities as indicated by 5th

Deans Committee Report prepared by Education Division,

ICAR. In addition, there is no fare idea of market requirement for the graduates from

agricultural research institutes.

This indicates the disconnect among agricultural education, employment, and

industries‘ requirements. This can be attributed to lack of provisions to impart adequate

skills, entrepreneurship and experiential learning. For example the students spend their time

in villages to understand the real situation while many of them with rural background and are

very much acquainted with same. They need skills to solve the problems so that they can be

active part of the system to deliver the technology in public and private sectors. There is a

wide disconnect amongst education, research and extension and also isolation from

international exposure and poor internalization of relevant international trends and

developments

Poor emphasis for basic science

Basic sciences courses are not adequately designed to make aware of problems to be

solved in agriculture. Many of them are not updated to keep pace with advances in respective

sciences. In addition, the most lacking part of the system is the knowledge about how a

particular discipline can be meaningfully linked with other disciplines for complementarity

while not making the disciplinary boundaries more rigid.

Lack of faculty exposures to parallel developments across institutes

The dilution in resources available to support agriculture education resulted from

proliferation of universities restricted the faculty exchange and hence exposure to

developments in other institutes. Faculty is more interested in career promotion requirements

while undergoing short training in summer or winter schools. This is also contributing to

extensive inbreeding.

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Transformation of agricultural education

Any efforts to upgrade scholarship and professorship can bring much desired

transformation in agricultural education that is capable of making job creators in addition to

job seekers. Scholarship referred here is related to, Character Scholarship, Audiences

Scholarship, Means of communicating Scholarship, Means of Communicating Scholarship,

Means of Documentation Scholarship and Validating Criteria Scholarship (http://www.

hillagric.ac.in/hr/vip_lectures/pdf_files/Lecture_Dr.N.K.Tyagi,Member,ASRB%20_21-5-

09.pdf)

Character Scholarship to be focused to upgrade skills for generating, synthesizing,

interpreting and communicating new knowledge, methods, understanding, technologies ,

materials, uses, insights etc. The Audiences Scholarship is to learn as Peers, students, users

and patrons. Means of communicating Scholarship is critical for publications, presentations,

exhibits, performances, patents, copyrights, distributions of materials of programs and Means

of documenting Scholarship should sufficiently enable the scholars to present evidence in a

way that creative intellectual work is validated by peers, communicated to peers and broader

audiences. The communicating skill should aim at getting the work recognized, accepted,

cited, adopted or used by others and to ensure that it made a difference. Validating Criteria

Scholarship should focus on skills for validation for accuracy, replicability, originality, scope,

significance, breadth, depth and duration of influence and impact or public benefit.

Earnest L. Boyer‘s 1990 philosophy of professorship holds good even for the current

situation in India and particularly for agricultural education. This emphasizes on possibility

of defining work of college faculty in ways that reflect more realistically the full range of

academic and civic mandates. In the context of agricultural education, it should be the farmer

first approach. The philosophy of Boyer further explains that the work of the professoriate

might be thought of as having four separate, yet overlapping, functions. These are: the

scholarship of discovery: the scholarship of integrations; the scholarship of application; and

the scholarship of teaching‖. Many of them are followed in the AGREE but the aspects of

integration which needs thought process, inter personal skills and acceptability should be

thoroughly incorporated in the system.

Scholarship and professorship together should

Provide High emphasis on values and mission

Invigorate development of a system of recognizing opportunities and sharing

responsibilities to accomplish the tasks keeping the target and time frame in mind

Scope for formulating standards for scholarly work

Emphasis on continuity of learning irrespective of stages of transformation from

student to faculty or experts for advising farmer, public and private sector in

agriculture

Standard of agriculture education can be elevated through enhanced commitment of

institution to student community as well as the farming society in general and particularly for

rural community. While delivering the goods in the form of knowledge and technology,

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ethics and values have to regain importance. Emphasis should be given to the knowledge that

can be useful for the good of society. Much needed boost for agricultural education is

expected from efforts to equip institutes for providing lifelong learning and to keep pace with

developments in other fields of science. This needs sincere efforts to break the disciplinary

boundaries which restrict conversion of research output into developmental outcome.

Options for change

This is the high time to promote entrepreneurship opportunities and success stories to

attract talents in the system. Such efforts should also gather information about the skills in

demand in the public and private agricultural sectors within and outside the country. There is

a need to eliminate existing perception that the acquisition of graduate degree alone can

determine the eligibility of a scholar for various positions such as managers, teachers and

researchers. Further, in order to impart and enhance the skills aspirations of scholars as well

as faculty should be linked with mandates of center of excellence. In present state, they have

not been organized to fill the gaps for advanced knowledge, skills and technologies and not

sufficient enough to keep pace with the current development and advances in science.

Students should get opportunities to get exposed to such advanced centers and demonstrated

agri-enterprises not mere by visit during study tour but by getting engaged for skill

acquisition at least for 2 to 3 months. Adoption of advanced ICT tools and video

conferencing offer economic ways to accomplish some of these tasks.

Way forward

There is a need to create centers of excellence for specific mission such as climate

change adaptation and mitigation, abiotic stress management, biotic stress management,

agricultural data management and policy framework for sustainable increase in farmer

income dissemination of climate resilient technologies etc. The staff of these centers should

be linked to counter parts in advanced laboratories and institutes outside the country through

international network. The restriction in faculty exchanges should be minimized to bring

advanced sciences and also expertise for training young minds. Every agricultural education

should display the demand for skills and should be linked not only to premier academic

institutes but also private firms which can be potential employers. There is possibility for

each component of agriculture getting transformed into entrepreneurial opportunity as it is

now being witnessed for the ―event management‖, which was routine for any academic or

private organization but has taken a shape of profession and source of income for young

talents. Agro tourism, post-harvest processing and value addition can enhance

interdependence among the producers and sellers of agricultural products. There is a scope

for adopting agri-education and the business link models followed in other countries with

some level of customization. As being practiced in some of the colleges, 3+1(or 2+2) years of

studies within country and outside country respectively can be designed to elevate the level of

education keeping in mind the agricultural situations may be different across the countries.

However, if carefully adopted, such models can provide greater opportunities for the rural

youths who can gradually get attracted for agricultural education.

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Vegetable production scenario: Status and strategies for enhancing

productivity

Bijendra Singh, Sudhakar Pandey and Jagdish Singh

ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi


Introduction

India enjoys a rich diversity of horticultural crops covering large groups of fruits,

vegetables, mushrooms, flowers, plantation and spices. This is possible because of the

agroclimatic variations, enormous biodiversity, fertile soil, a large cultivable area and, above

all, a long history of crop husbandry. Vegetables play an important role in the balanced diet

of human beings by providing not only the energy-rich food (good source of productive foods

carbohydrates) but also supply vital protective nutrients like minerals and vitamins.

Sustainable vegetable production systems are expected to provide quality food while meeting

the various socio-economic and environmental requirements of society.

Vegetable production provides a promising economic opportunity for reducing rural

poverty and unemployment in developing countries and is a key component of farm

diversification strategies. Growing populations and increased incomes, especially in urban

areas, are already creating a rise in market demand as consumers seek to diversify their diets.

It has been shown that profits per hectare are 3–14 times higher in vegetable production than

in rice production while profits per labor-day are double. Vegetables also typically provide

more employment per hectare than cereals.

In India, enormous growth in terms of area, production, productivity and consumption

of vegetables have been achieved from last decades. The production of vegetables has

increased from 101.246 mt in 2004-05 to 176.177 mt in the year 2016-17 (NHB, 2016).

Further the production of vegetables is estimated to be 181 mt in 2017-18, about 1% higher

than the year 2016-17. Similarly, the productivity has also increased from 15.013 t/ha to

17.113 t/ha. India has made a quantum jump in vegetable production, securing second

position in the world after China. The vast production base for horticultural crops offers India

tremendous opportunities for export. During 2017-18, India exported vegetables worth Rs.

5181.78 crores/ 804.03 USD Millions (APEDA, 2018). Though India's share in the global

market is still nearly 1% only, there is increasing acceptance of horticulture produce from the

country. This has occurred due to concurrent developments in the areas of state-of-the-art

cold chain infrastructure and quality assurance measures.

In India, Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) is the one of the premier

institutes under aegis of ICAR with the responsibility to undertake basic and strategic

research on different vegetable crops to meet the growing requirements. In addition, All India

coordinated research project on vegetable crops (AICRP-VC) provides a national grid for

multi-location testing of the vegetable technologies developed by different institutes and state

agricultural universities. Presently, the project has 36 regular centers and 18 voluntary centres

located at different state agricultural universities and research organizations under ICAR

system. Vegetable production is distributed across the country, with 47.3 per cent area in the

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states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Bihar. Vegetables occupy

about 7 per cent of cultivated area, whereas potato, tapioca and sweet potato is grown in

about 3.7 per cent of the cropped area. Percent share of production of important vegetables in

India is given in figure 1.

Fig. 1. Percent share of important vegetables in production

Table 1 : Top 10 Vegetable Producing States

S.

No.

State Production (in '000 MT) (2014-15)

1 West Bengal 26354.61

2 Uttar Pradesh 23575.61

3 Bihar 14467.15

4 Madhya Pradesh 14315.41

5 Gujarat 11543.29

6 Odisha 9425.13

7 Karnataka 8564.77

8 Maharashtra 8136.26

9 Andhra Pradesh 6445.60

10 Chhattisgarh 5739.51

Production potential

About 40 different vegetables are grown commercially in different parts of the

country. In addition, a number of underutilized/lesser-known vegetables owing to their

quality, production, and consumer acceptance are of economic significance. Still there exists

a wide gap between the national average yield and potential productivity. This indicates that

there is ample scope to double the productivity within next 5-6 years through adoption of

improved varieties/hybrids, production and protection technologies. In addition, replacement

of seeds with improved varieties/hybrids, optimizing input-use efficiency, integrated nutrient

and pests management coupled with efficient post harvest management practices can also

play a critical role to achieve the productivity of 30-35 t/ha (Table 2).

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Table 2: Average and potential productivity (t/ha) of different vegetables.

Crop India (Average) World (Average) Potential productivity

Tomato 24.20 33.99 60-80

Egg plant 18.88 26.83 50-80

Chilli 10.12 16.68 30-40

Okra 11.45 5.20 15-20

Peas 09.66 7.39 18-20

Pumpkin 22.19 12.57 25-30

Cucumber 16.93 16.98 40-50

Watermelons 24.47 31.2 30-40

Cabbage 22.35 19.24 30-40

Cauliflower 18.99 17.49 35-40

Source: NHB, 2016-17 (3rd

est.), FAOSTAT, 2014.

The national average productivity (Table 1) of different vegetable crops is between

9.66 to 24.47 t/ha, whereas, the world average productivity is between 5.20 and 33.99 t/ha.

The productivity level of 15 to 80 t/ha for different vegetables has been achieved under the

optimum conditions from the progressive farmer‘s field. The main causes of low productivity

are non-adoption of improved varieties/hybrids, non-availability of varieties/ hybrids resistant

to biotic/abiotic stresses, low seed replacement rate, and imbalanced use of chemical

fertilizers by vegetable growers. In addition, post harvest losses due to non-availability of

storage facilities and unorganized market are bottlenecks in getting maximum returns from

the vegetable production.

Enhancement and conservation of plant genetic resources

Conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources are fundamental requirement

in improvement programme of any agricultural crop and their importance has increased in the

recent years with changing scenario of ownership and legal regimes with respect to

biodiversity. In India, IIVR, Varanasi has been designated as national active germplasm site

for vegetables and presently about 5809 accessions of 41 different major and minor vegetable

crops are being maintained with the maximum accessions of tomato, okra, brinjal, pea and

cucurbits (Table 3). In addition, many of the wild species of tomato, brinjal, chilli, okra and

cucurbits are being maintained for different breeding objectives (Arora et al, 1995). These

germplasm need to be characterized for their phenotype, molecular diversity and disease and

pest resistance. Some of the unique materials identified in vegetables include, a complete

gynoecious line (Gy-263B) of bitter gourd, a parthenocarpic line (IIVRPG-105) of pointed

gourd, a leaf curl resistant line (BS-35) of pepper, a dwarf with short internode line (No. 315)

of okra, high carotene line (SA-90) of pumpkin, and a downey mildew resistant line (BS-159)

of snapmelon. In the case of tomato, a jointless peduncle mutant (F-6050), a line (F-7028)

with high lycopene content, a line (F-6061) with high carotenoid content, ToLCV resistant

lines (H-88-74-1, H-88-78-4, H-24, H-86, Kashi Aman and Kashi Adarsh) had been

identified. These lines are registered and deposited in National Gene Bank, NBPGR, India

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and are available to the researchers.

Table. 3: Germplasm holding at national active germplasm site, IIVR, Varanasi.

Source: Annual Report, ICAR-IIVR, 2016.

Genetic improvement

The intensive research and development, and the entry of corporate sector in

vegetable seed business have contributed a lot to the vegetable production of the country, but

still there exists a vast gap between the national average and potential productivity. There is

an ample scope to double the productivity in the next 5-6 years through adoption of improved

varieties/hybrids, production and protection technologies. Accordingly, there is a need to

achieve the productivity level of 25 t/ha in phased manner with the use of improved

technologies including replacement of seeds with improved varieties/hybrids, optimizing

input use efficiency, integrated plant nutrient and pest management. Majority of the vegetable

growers are either unaware about the developed improved varieties/hybrids of vegetable

crops or seeds of such varieties/hybrids, especially those bred at public sector are not readily

available. A large number of high yielding varieties/hybrids have been developed at Indian

Institute of Vegetable Research. The institute has developed the 59 varieties in 18 vegetable

crops. Among the developed varieties/hybrids 35 has been recommended from AICRP and

notified and released by CVRC for different Zones. While 16 varieties/hybrids have been

notified for state release by CVRC and 8 new varieties were recommended by the institute for

state release. The list of the varieties/hybrids is given in table 4.

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Table 4: List of varieties/hybrids developed by ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research,

Varanasi

Crop Released and notified Notified for state New variety

recommended

from Institute

Tomato

Kashi Vishesh, , Kashi

Anupam, Kashi Hemant, Kashi

Sharad, Kashi Abhimaan

(Hybrid), Kashi Aman

Kashi Amrit Kashi Abhay

Brinjal Kashi Sandesh (Hybrid), Kashi

Prakash, Kashi Komal (Hybrid)

Kashi Taru Kashi Uttam

Chilli Kashi Surkh (Hybrid), Kashi

Gaurav, Kashi Sinduri (paprika

type)

Kashi Early

(Hybrid)

Kashi Tej (Hybrid)

French Bean Kashi Param - Kashi Sampann

Cowpea Kashi Shyamal, Kashi

Kanchan, Kashi Sudha, Kashi

Nidhi

Kashi Gauri, Kashi

Unnati

Pea Kashi Nandini, Kashi Samridhi,

Kashi Ageti

Kashi Udai, Kashi

Shakti, Kashi Mukti

Dolichos bean Kashi Haritima - Kashi Khushhaal

Okra Shitla Uphar (Hybrid), Shitla

Jyoti (Hybrid), Kashi Mohini,

Kashi Vibhuti, Kashi Pragati,

Kashi Satdhari, Kashi Lila,

Kashi Bhairav (Hybrid), Kashi

Kranti, Kashi Vardaan

-

Radish - Kashi Sweta, Kashi

Hans

Cauliflower Kashi Kunwari, Kashi Agahani -

Muskmelon - Kashi Madhu

Ash Gourd Kasi Ujwal, Kashi Surbhi Kashi Dhawal

Pumpkin - Kashi Harit

Bottle Gourd - Kashi Bahar

(Hybrid) , Kashi

Ganga

Sponge

Gourd

Kashi Divya -

Pointed

Gourd

- Kashi Alankar, Kashi Suphal

Summer

Squash

- - Kashi Shubhangi

Satputia - - Kashi Khushi

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Under coordinated research, a total of 289 open pollinated varieties, 154 hybrids and

51 resistant varieties of 26 vegetable crops have been identified for release and cultivation

through multi-location testing under AICRP. Some of the very popular open pollinated

varieties recommended for growing in different agro-climatic regions of India are listed in

Table 5.

Table 5. Some of the vegetable varieties recommended for growing in different agro-climatic

regions of India.

Tomato Sel-7, Sel-1-6-4, Sel-32, DT-10, BT-12, KS-17, BT-116-3-2, NDT-3, KS-

118, DVRT-2, BT-20-2-1, NDT-9, NDTS-2001-3, Mani Laima, BT-136,

VLT-32, Kashi Amrit (DVRT-1), Kashi Vishesh (H-86; resistant to

TLCV), Kashi Hemant (IIVR Sel-1), Kashi Sharad (IIVR Sel-2), Kashi

Anupam, Kashi Aman, Kashi Adarsh, Swarna Lalima, Swarna Naveen

(resistant to bacterial wilt), Swarna Baibhav, Swarna Samridhi (resistant to

bacterial wilt), Swarna Sampada (resistant to bacterial wilt and early

blight).

Brinjal H-7, NDB-25, H-8, BB-26, Punjab Barsati, Sel-4, DBSR-31, KS 224,

DBR-8, DBSR-44, AB-1, PLR-1, BB-26, BB-13, JB-64-1-2, KS-331, JB-

15, CHBR-1, DBSR-91, JB-64-12, Green Long, Punjab Sadabahar, NDB-

28-2, DBL-21, KS-235, ABSR-2, HABR-4, Kashi Taru (IVBL-9), Kashi

Prakash (IIVR Sel-9), Resistant to bacterial wilt: Swarna Mani,

SwarnaShyamli, SwarnaPrathibha, SwarnaShobha, Swarna Shakti

Chilli Sel-1, LCA-206, AKC-86/39, BC-14-2, RHRC-Cluster Erect, PMR-57/88-

K, LCA334, ASC-2000-02, Kashi Anmol (KA-2), Kashi Gaurav, Kashi

Sinduri (paprika) (IVPBC-535)

Okra P-7, B-57, Sel-10 ( Arka Anamika), Sel-4 (Arka Abhay), HRB-55, HRB-

9-2, NDO-10, HRB-107-4, Kashi Pragati (VRO-6), Kashi Satdhari (IIVR-

10), Kashi Lila (IIVR-11), KashiMohini (VRO-3), Kashi Mangali (VRO-

4), Kashi Kranti (VRO-22), Kashi Vardaan

Pea VL-7, Ageta-6, VL-6, PH-1, PH-1, NDVP-8, NDVP-10, VL-8, NDVP-12,

Oregon Sugar Podded, CHP-2, Kashi Nandini (VRP-5), Kashi Udai (VRP-

6), Kashi Shakti (VRP-7), Kashi Mukti (VRP-22), ), Kashi Aarti (VRP-3),

Kashi Samridhi (VRPMR-11), Kashi Ageti, Kashi Kanak (VRP-2),

Swarna Amar, Swarna Mukti

Cowpea Sel-61-B, Sel-263, Sel-2-1, IIHR-6, NDCP-13, Kashi Shyamal (IVCP-1),

Kashi Gowri (VRCP-2), Kashi Unnati (VRCP-3), Kashi Kanchan (VRCP-

4), Swarna Harita, Swarna Sweta, Swarna Suphala, Kashi Sudha (VRCP-

5), Kashi Nidhi (VRCP-6)

Onion Line-102, Arka Kalyan, Arka Niketan, Agri Found Dark Red, VL-3, Agri

Found Light Red, Punjab Red Round, Agri Found Light Red, PBR-5, L-

28, HOS-1

Dolichos bean Deepaliwal, CHDB-1, Swarna Utkrisht, Kashi Haritima

Cauliflower 235-S, KT-25, Synthetic-1, Early Synthetic, Kashi Kunwari (IVREC-2)

Cucumber CHC-2, CH-20, PCUC-28, Swarna Ageti, Swarna Sheetal, Swarna Poorna

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Bitter gourd Priya, RHRBG-4-1, KBG-16, PBIG-1

Bottle gourd Pusa Naveen, OBOG-61, NDBG-104, NDBG-132, Kashi Ganga

Pointed gourd Rajendra Parwal-1, Rajendra Parwal-2, Kashi Alankar (VRPG1)

French bean Arka Komal, UPF-191, IIHR-909, CH-812, CH-819, Kashi Param (IVFB-

1), Swarna Lata, Swarna Priya

Muskmelon NDM-15, Kashi Madhu (IVMM-3),

Ash gourd PAG-72, Kashi Dhawal (IVAG-502), Kashi Ujwal (IVAG-90), Kashi

Surbhi

Ridge gourd CHRG-1, PRG-7, IIHR-7, Swarna Manjari, Swarna Uphar, Kashi Shivani

Sponge gourd Sel-99, CHSG-1, JSGL-55, KSG-14, Swarna Prabha, Kashi Divya

Pumpkin CM-350, NDPK-24, Kashi Harit (IVPK-226)

Carrot Pusa Meghali, SKAUC-50

Radish Kashi Hans, Kashi Shweta

Cabbage Sel-8, Pusa Synthetic

Garlic G-1,G-50,G-282,VLG-7, DARL-52, G-323

Heterosis breeding

Heterosis breeding in vegetable crops in India is a recent development. The first F1

hybrid of tomato (Karnataka hybrid) and capsicum (Bharath) were released in India in 1973

by a private seed company (Kalloo, 1995). In the public sector first F1 hybrids, Pusa

Meghdoot (long) and Pusa Manjari (round) in bottle gourd developed and released by the

IARI, New Delhi in 1971 (Kalloo et al., 2000). Realizing potentials of vegetable hybrid

technology, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) initiated a network project on

‗Promotion of Hybrids in Vegetable Crops‘ from 1995-96. Today, a total thirteen vegetables,

viz., tomato, brinjal, chilli, capsicum (bell pepper), sweet pepper, okra, cauliflower, cabbage,

carrot, cucumber, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, muskmelon, and watermelon etc. with the

objectives (i) to promote hybrid research in order to increase productivity per se the country,

(ii) to incorporate biotic stress resistance in the hybrids, and (iii) to strengthen hybrid seed

research and hybrid seed production technology (Table 6).

Table 6. Hybrid varieties recommended for cultivation.

Tomato ARTH-4, MTH-6, ARTH-3, Pusa Hybrid-2, NA-501, DTH-4, KT-4, NA-

601, MH-2, BSS-20, Avinash-2, HOE-303, Sun-496, BSS-20, DTH-8,

CHTH-1, ARTH-128, KTH-2, JKTH-3055, KTH-1, Nun-7730, TH-01462,

Kashi Abhiman

Brinjal Arka Kusumkar, Arka Navneet, Kat-4, Pusa Hybrid-6, Pusa Hybrid-5,

ARBH-201, NDBH-1, ABH-1, MHB-10, MHB-39, NDBH-6, ABH-2,

ABH-2, Phule Hybrid-2, Pusa Hybrid-9, Phule Hybrid-2, ARBH-541, PBH-

6, JBH-1, BH-1, BH-2,VRBHR-1, IVBHL-54, ARBH-786, VNR-51, Kashi

Sandesh, Kashi Ganesh

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Chilli HOE-888, ARCH-236, Sungro-86-235, ARCH-228, Kashi Vishwanath

(CCH-2), CCH-3 (Kashi Early), Kashi Surkh, Arka Harita, Arka Meghna

Sweet pepper KT-1, Lario, DARL-202

Okra HBH-142, SOH-152, Kashi Bhairav, Sheetla Uphar, Sheetla Jyoti, Kashi

Mahima

Cauliflower Pusa Hybrid-1, DCH-541, SYCFH-202, Summer King, PCUCH-3, SYCFH-

203

Cabbage Shri Ganesh Gol, Nath-401, BSS-32, Nath-501, Quisto, KGMR-1

Carrot Hybrid-1

Muskmelon Hybrid M-3, Punjab Hybrid -1

Watermelon Arka Jyoti

Bitter gourd Pusa Hybrid-2, NBGH-167

Cucumber PCUCH-1, Hybrid No.-1

Bottle gourd PBOG-2, PBOG-1, NDBH-4, Kashi Bahar

Resistant breeding

Screening and development of vegetable varieties resistant to specific pathogen has

been an integral component of research programmes. The impacts of IIVR vegetable

breeding programmes made major strides in the development of varieties resistant to leaf curl

virus and bacterial wilt in tomato, YVMV in okra, powdery mildew in pea, bacterial wilt in

brinjal, Downy mildew and CGMV resistant in muskmelon. Some of the most popular

resistant vegetable varieties are listed in Table 7.

Table 7. Disease resistant varieties recommended for cultivation in different parts of the

country.

Crop Disease Variety

Tomato Bacterial wilt BWR-5, FMH-1, FMH-2, BT-10, BRH-2, LE-415

TYLCV H-24, H-86, Kashi Aman, Kashi Adarsh

Brinjal Bacterial wilt BB-7, BWR-12, SM-6-7, SM-6-6, BB-44, CHES-309, BB-

64

Okra OYVMV/OLCV P-7, B-57, Sel-10 ( Arka Anamika), Sel-4 (Arka Abhay),

HRB-55, HRB-9-2, NDO-10, HRB-107-4, Kashi Vhibhuti

(VRO-5), KashiPragati (VRO-6), Kashi Satdhari (IIVR-10),

Kashi Lila (IIVR-11), Kashi Mohini (VRO-3), Kashi

Mangali (VRO-4), Kashi Kranti (VRO-22), Kashi Vardaan

Chilli Anthracnose Kashi Sinduri (paprika)

Pea Powdery

mildew

PRS-4, JP-4, JP- 83, NDVP-4, DPP-68, KS-245, NDVP-

250, DPP-9411

Muskmelon Downey mildew DMDR-1, DMDR-2 (released as source of resistance)

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Molecular breeding

Determination of genetic purity of F1 hybrid seed is a quality control requirement in

the production of hybrid vegetable seed to avoid unacceptable levels of contamination with

self-seeds. This necessitates the determination of the proportion of hybrid seed in the given

seed sample. Thus far, the grow-out test is being used by commercial enterprises for seed

purity analysis. Now DNA-based markers have been developed for determination of the

proportion of hybrid seed in seed lots. The prerequisite for the use of molecular marker as a

routine method for seed purity testing at commercial scale are efficiency and reliability.

Ordinarily, a male parent-specific molecular marker is employed; if the male parent of the

concerned hybrid is homozygous for the chosen marker, the hybrid seeds will be positive for

the marker, while the self-seeds will lack the marker. It may be pointed out that a single seed

of many vegetables can be used for DNA isolation making the use of DNA-based markers

efficient, fast and less labor intensive for genetic purity testing of seeds, including hybrid

seeds.

Another important application of DNA markers is for the prediction of the magnitude

of heterosis in hybrids. Evaluation of hybrids for heterosis or combining ability in field is

expensive and involves considerable work. Molecular markers have been used to correlate

genetic diversity between the parents and the magnitude of heterosis in the hybrids of several

cereal crops like maize, rice, oat, and wheat. It has been reported that measures of similarity

based on RFLP and pedigree knowledge could be used to predict superior hybrid

combinations. However, both low and high correlations between heterosis and DNA-based

genetic distance between the concerned parents have been observed.

Some of the successful examples of molecular markers is identification of markers to

test genetic purity of a cytoplasmic-nuclear male sterility-based commercial hybrid (Kumar et

al., 2006), RAPD marker OPC07564 for female sex identification in pointed gourd (Singh et

al., 2002), RAPD markers used for a genetically diverse population of ash gourd (Pandey et

al., 2008), development of protocol for hybrid seed purity testing in solanaceous vegetables

(Singh et al., 2007), A SSR based QTL mapping has been created in two cucumber inbred

lines WI 2757 (resistant) and True Lemon (susceptible) against powdery mildew disease (He

et al., 2013). Two SSR markers (SSR218170-145 and SSR304158-186) were identified for ToLCV

resistance in tomato, these were located at 15cM on chromosome 10 and 35cM on

chromosome 7 (Singh et al., 2015). In the light of fast acceptance and integration of diverse

uses of DNA-based molecular markers by the plant breeders, these markers will more likely

to become an integral component of conventional plant breeding programmes.

Transgenic development

Conventionally, the genetic variation necessary for crop improvement is generated

through hybridization, mutagenesis and polyploidy. More recently, biotechnological

approaches have become available for creating the desired genetic variation; these techniques

include somaclonal variation (through which several useful variants have been obtained),

protoplast fusion (which yields hybrid plants between sexually incompatible species) and

anther culture (yields haploid plants, which give rise to homozygous lines following

chromosome doubling). However, the most potent biotechnological approach is the transfer

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of specifically constructed gene assemblies through various genetic transformation

techniques. The genes transferred by genetic engineering are called transgenes and the plants

containing the transgenes are known as transgenic plants.

Plant tissue culture techniques, in combination with recombinant-DNA technology,

are the essential requirements for development of transgenic plants. However, culture

techniques like anther/pollen/ovule culture, meristem culture can themselves be used for

improvement of different traits or as an aid to conventional plant breeding. In recent years,

isolated microspore culture has been preferred as a breeding tool and an experimental system

for various genetic manipulations. In addition, through the use of protoplast fusion and hybrid

embryo rescue, hybridization between distant taxa/species have been successfully achieved in

many vegetables. Protoplast fusion technique can be used for the transfer of cytoplasmic male

sterility from one species to another in very short duration. In cabbage, male sterile cybrids

are being utilized by seed companies in France to produce more economic hybrid seeds.

Some of the traits being transferred through genetic engineering relates to slow-

ripening in tomato, heat, drought and salt tolerance in tomato, insect resistance in tomato,

Brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, leaf curl virus resistance in tomato etc. Insect and virus

problems in okra remain to be challenging and a subject of active research. In India,

transgenic eggplant and tomato have been developed in many laboratories and few of them

(especially insect resistant transgenic eggplant) are at the edge of field trials. In the light of

pleotropy, co-suppression and many other adverse consequences of transformation, it has

been predicted that to obtain and stabilize improved transgenic genotype, selection would be

needed. Improved genotypes obtained through tissue culture techniques have already proven

their worth in vegetable breeding.

IPNM module and organic farming

A significant increase in yield and quality could be achieved with the use of integrated

plant nutrient management (IPNM) modules, which combines inorganic fertilizer, organic

inputs, biofertilizers, micronutrients and advanced agro-techniques starting from the high-

tech seedling raising to post-harvest management. One such IPNM module in tomato has

been developed, which uses nitrogen@120 kg/ha and 60 kg/ha each of phosphorus and

potash along with pressmud 5 t/ha and root dipping treatment with Azotobacter before

transplanting as well as foliar spray of Sulphur (Ferrous ammonium sulphate) @ 20 ppm at

30, 45 and 75 days after transplanting. In the case of tomato hybrid Avinash-2, an yield of

1645 q/ha compared to 600 q/ha in control has been obtained using this module. Similarly, in

brinjal hybrid Kashi Sandesh, application of nitrogen @120 kg/ha phosphorus and potash

each@60 kg/ha along with pressmud 5 t/ha and soil application of Azospirillum and

phosphate solubilizing microorganism (PSM) @10 kg/ha each, foliar spray of zinc 50 ppm

and boron 50 ppm at 30, 45 and 75 days after transplanting gave an yield of 976 q/ha.

The rates of nutrient removal by vegetable crops are extremely important, specially for

designing the nutrient supplementation strategy for sustainable productivity. A general

recommendation of 120-150:60-80:60-80 kg ha-1

of N: P2O5:K2O still holds good for many

vegetable crops. The following table indicates the range of fertilizer rates used in Indian soil for

different vegetable crops as reported in the AICRP-VC for the last three decades (Table 8).

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Table 8. Recommendations of major fertilizer in vegetable crops.

Vegetable Fertilizer dose in Indian soil (kg ha-1

)

N P2O5 K2O

Brinjal 80 – 120 40 - 100 60 - 120

Cabbage 100 – 200 80 - 150 60 - 200

Cauliflower 100 – 200 80 - 150 60 - 200

Chilli & Capsicum 120 – 180 100 - 200 60 - 200

Cucumber 80 – 150 50 - 200 60 - 200

Garden pea 0-40 40-60 40-60

Garlic 100 – 200 60 - 150 60 - 200

Muskmelon 100 - 150 60 - 120 60 - 100

Okra 100 – 200 80 - 150 60 - 200

Onion 120 – 300 60 - 150 60 - 200

Tomato 100 – 200 60 - 150 60 - 200

Watermelon 100 – 160 60 - 120 60 - 200

Considering the growing concerns and potential markets worldwide, there is a need to

standardize and develop protocols for organic farming for different agro-ecological zones of

India. The quality of fruits in terms of acidity and vitamin C significantly improved in tomato

cv. H-86, DVRT-1, DVRT-2 and Sel-7 under organic farming. However, a decrease of 10-

27% in yield was recorded as compared to control (recommended NPK). In the case of

broccoli, the application of FYM + digested sludge (each @ 10 t/ha) and seedling inoculation

with VAM significantly improved the fresh and dry weight of head and yield in broccoli over

the recommended dose of NPK. Significant increase in carotenoid content in broccoli was

recorded with sole application of digested sludge (20 t/ha) or combined application of FYM +

digested sludge coupled with seedling inoculation in either PSM or VAM. Vitamin-C content

significantly improved in broccoli by application of organic manures (either FYM or

Digested sludge @ 20 t/ha each). The combined application of organic manure and

Rhizobium, significantly improved the nodulation in garden pea cv. Azad Pea-3. However,

the plant weight and pod yield were recorded at par to control (recommended NPK). Organic

manures and biofertilizers, independently or in combination improved the total carbohydrate

(5.6%), vitamin-C (22.5%) and total carotenoids (11.8%) in pea. However, it did not affect

the moisture, crude protein and insoluble dietary fiber content (De and Rai, 2005).

The use of biofertilizers improved the availability of nutrients and shelf-life of the

fruits during storage. The soil application of Azotobacter @ 15 kg/ha coupled with NPK @

150:60:80 kg/ha influenced the pericarp thickness, shelf-life and yield in tomato hybrids. The

shelf-life of tomato was enhanced by 3-5 days at ambient temperature. The combined

application of phosphate solubilizing bacteria and Azotobacter was not as effective in

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enhancing the shelf-life of tomato fruits. A number of biofertilizers particularly Azotobacter,

Azospirillum, Acetobacter and phosphate solubilizing microorganism, besides Rhizobium

have been found to increase the quality yield of different vegetable crops. These biofertilizers

are applied as inoculants through seed or soil treatments.

Vegetable-based cropping system

Vegetables in crop rotations can improve cropping intensity in the most popular rice-

wheat or sugarcane-based cropping system. Intercropping of maize, cole crops and mustard is

possible with long duration and initially slow-growing field crop such as sugarcane.

Suppression in yield of sugarcane is only 10 per cent when intercropped with brinjal, chilli,

okra, onion and potato. Introduction of cowpea after wheat and pea after rice could lead to

higher intensity and economic benefits to the farmers in rice-wheat belts of India. The

intercropping of pea in winter maize and cowpea in summer maize has been found more

remunerative (Table 9).

Table 9. Important crop rotations for vegetable crops and their yield equivalent in rice.

Crop rotation Yield equivalent

to rice

Total income

(Rs)

Rice (E)-garden pea-wheat-cowpea 248 q 1,22,000

Rice (E)-tomato-cucumber 480 q 2,40,000

Cucumber-radish-wheat-cowpea 246 q 1,23,000

Rice-pea-muskmelon 242 q 1,21,000

Cowpea (E)-cauliflower (E)-wheat 246 q 1,23,000

Rice (E)-cauliflower (M)-cowpea 246 q 1,23,000

Rice (E)-cauliflower + coriander/

fenugreek-cowpea

296 q 1,40,000

Rice (E)-cabbage + coriander/

fenugreek-bottle gourd

330 q 1,55,000

Seeds: A viable input for higher productivity

Seeds of most of the vegetables are high value-low volume types and require a greater

attention. The genetically pure seed with high germination and vigour is a critical input for

vegetable growers since the dividend of all other inputs in vegetable production are

dependent on its quality.

To boost the vegetable seed production, breeder seed production are being done at 14

centres under this AICRP-VC in different parts of the country. The breeder seed produced is

further converted into foundation and certified seeds. The vegetable breeder seeds produced

against the indents in this system during the last 6 years have been given in Table 10.

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Table 10. Vegetable breeder seed production in India during last six year

Year Breeder seed

Indent (kg) Production

(kg)

Surplus (kg)

against indent

Surplus against

indent (%)

2010-11 36786.64 37886.64 1100.00 2.99

2011-12 2302.07 2390.34 88.265 3.83

2012-13 13579.98 13805.04 225.06 1.66

2013-14 6502.78 23032.45 16529.67 254.19

2014-15 6893.75 7070.415 176.665 2.56

2015-16 15238.52 25791.8 10553.28 69.25

At ICAR-IIVR farm, the overall seed production programme (Breeder + TL) was

undertaken in 29 varieties of 17 vegetable crops. A total of about 18615 kg seeds of different

vegetables were produced which include 2652 kg breeder seeds also. A quantity of 1765.00

kg breeder seeds produced against the target of 1760.05 kg as per National indents from

Deputy Commissioner (Seeds). In addition to it, 887 kg breeder seeds of different varieties

of ICAR-IIVR were also produced.

The seed production programme was undertaken at the Regional Research Station of

the institute at Sargatia, Kushinagar also where 2792 kg TL seeds of different vegetables

were produced. In addition to it, the centre produced 155q each planting material of turmeric

and Elephant Foot Yam along with 150 q seeds of paddy & lentil at the centre. To augment

the seed availability, the participatory seed production programme at farmers‘ field was also

undertaken. Through this programme, 744 kg seeds of vegetable pea, 808 kg seeds of cowpea

and 3028.50 kg seeds of okra were produced during the year.

Hybrid seed production

The hybrid seed production programme was undertaken during the year for Tomato-

Kashi Abhimaan, Brinjal- Kashi Sandesh and Chilli- Kashi Tej under the protected

conditions. About 1.4kg of tomato (Kashi Abhiman), 4.7kg of brinjal (Kashi Sandesh) and

4.5kg of chilli (Kashi Tej) F1 seeds were produced for the growers.

Seed quality enhancement

Vegetable seeds vary greatly in size, shape and color, thus posing difficulties in

precision seeding and uniform plant spacing. Pelleting of the seeds increases size, weight and

alters seed shape for precision planters and also minimizes the damages. Seed coating

technique has also been utilized to ameliorate environmental stresses. Recently, there is a

renewed interest in the use of coated seeds to aid in complete mechanization and to simplify

the green house and home garden operations. In seed pelleting, a small quantity of inert

material is coated on seeds, which creates natural water holding and provides a small amount

of nutrients to the young seedlings. A complete blend of different seed enhancement

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techniques including priming, pelleting, coating and even the use of synthetic seeds are

envisaged as the essentials for the seed production programmes in the times to come.

The production of vegetables in India utilizing modern techniques like precision

farming, healthy seedling management, mulching and fertigation, bower system, protected

cultivation, grafting and use of pollinators needs to be follow to get better returns.

Precision farming techniques

Precision farming provides opportunities for attracting and retaining youth in

vegetable farming. It can be adopted by a group of vegetable farmers who can organise

themselves into a precision farming group. This would help to reduce expenditure and

enhance productivity and profitability. A farmer of Pullagoundanpudur village, Coimbatore

district, Tamil Nadu practiced the precision farming as a group for growing vegetable crops

(Source: NAIP Sub-Project, 2017). He planned to cultivate onion, tomato, brinjal,

cauliflower, chilies and turmeric. He got high yield and quality farm produce by using

sufficient water and fertilizers at regular interval. Particularly onion fetched high price in

markets because of good quality. Retailers came to field to take the produce directly. He

spent Rs. 3, 35, 400 for cultivation practices and got high profit of Rs. 9, 66, 000 per hectare

from turmeric, onion, chillies and coriander. Other farmers of his area are also practicing

precision farming and getting benefits.

Healthy seedling management

The supply of nursery on demand to the farmer‘s door is one of the latest business

model adopted by the farmers of the Punjab. This practice may generate the employment and

reduce the cost of production by minimizing the seed cost and time. Modern nursery raising

under protected conditions gives disease free plants particularly viruses. Many vegetable

crops are grown through seedling but some vegetables don‘t like to be transplanted which in

include cucurbits and many of the root crops, such as carrots, beets, turnips, and parsnips etc.

Crops like corn, beans, and peas are also growing better by direct-seeding in the field. Either

seed of these crops can be grown in pro-trays using sterile cocopit growing medium for a

short time compared to permanent potted plants, their fertilizer requirements are more

immediate. These plug trays should be kept under poly or net house. Before sowing the seeds,

the growing media should be watered and allowed to dry for 24 hrs. Don‘t over harden your

plants. Whereas, in other vegetables like chilli, brinjal, tomato etc. seeds direct shown on bed

or in pots, and at proper stage these seedlings transferred to main field. Usually seedlings will

be ready for transplanting in 18-21 days after sowing. Hardening of seedlings under open

sunlight should be done for 2-3 days before transplanting. Certain crops, such as cabbage and

broccoli, can bolt (before flowering) quickly if seedlings over three weeks old are repeatedly

exposed to temperatures lower than 4°C for a couple of weeks. For healthy seedling sprays

the insecticides and fungicides timely as require.

Mulching and drip irrigation

Healthy vegetable crops are grown by using polythene mulch and drip irrigation.

Fertilizers are given with help of drip irrigation. This insures uniform application of fertilizer

and water near root biosphere. Critical stages when moisture stress is more critical are (a) at

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transplanting, b) early flowering stage and c) fruit development stage. Moisture stress at

flowering stage results poor fruit set and bitterness of fruits in ridge gourd. Moisture stress

during fruit development greatly reduced fruit size. Black polythene mulch should be used

during winter season (low temperature) whereas reflective mulch is used during summer

(high temperature). Reflective mulch also repels aphids and jassids. The use of mulch reduces

the weed infestation; increase water and nutrient use efficiency and reduce fruit rotting.

About 40-80% higher marketable yield has been reported in mulch and fertigation culture as

compared to without much and drip irrigation makes vegetables more profitable. In rainfed

areas, where water is limiting factor, gravity operated drip irrigation system may be helpful to

get optimum yield in vegetable crops.

Bower system for growing cucurbits and high density planting

Generally farmers grow vegetable crops on ground in open field or in pot under

control conditions. Therefore, the using of bower facilitates in vegetables for low cast of

irrigation, easy pest management, uniform fruit shape, colour, increase harvesting efficiency

and high yield. Small farmers are using these methods for low cost trickle irrigation system,

less labour requirements, for better yield and quality of vegetable crops. In case of cucurbits

it has been observed that if vines are allowed on the ground, nearly 25-30% less yield has

been recorded and 8-10% fruits become unmarketable due to misshaping and discoloration.

The planting distance of crops can be reduced and plant population per unit area increased by

training of plants on bower system, which increases the fruit yield.

Protected cultivation

Protected cultivation of vegetables is providing opportunities for improving quality,

productivity and favourable market price to the growers by reducing climatic extremes

(temperature, rainfall, pest incursion) in hot and cool areas. The National Horticulture Board

provides financial support for developing protected cultivation infrastructure. Although

Vegetable growers can substantially increase their income by protected cultivation of

vegetables in off-season as the vegetables produced during their normal season generally do

not fetch good returns due to large availability of these vegetable in the markets. Insect proof

net houses can be used to reduce pest and pesticide levels and make virus-free cultivation of

tomato, chilli, sweet pepper and other vegetables during the rainy season. Parthenocarpic

cucumber production under protected cultivation gives very high yield with quality fruit. Low

cost greenhouses can be used for high quality vegetable cultivation for long duration (6-10

months) to obtain appropriate price of produces.

Organic Vegetables for sustainability and soil health

Unlike other food crops, most of the vegetables are succulent and attract several insect

pests. Some pesticides used to control them remain chemically active for a long period and

produce hazardous effects on the environment. Also, some of them do not degrade and enter

the human body along with vegetables consumption. Therefore, in the developed countries

like the USA and Europe, a conscious consumer has started demanding organically produced

foods. The production of organic vegetables has now become a commercial venture outside

India where organically produced vegetables are available in the market at a premium price.

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However, In India it is done only on small scale for domestic and export purposes. The

primary benefit of using organic manures for vegetable production is to improve the soil

structure and availability of micro-nutrients.

Grafting to boost vegetable production

Grafting is the union of two or more pieces of living plant tissue that grow as a single

plant. Grafting vegetable plant onto resistant rootstocks is an effective tool that may enable

the susceptible scion to control soil-borne diseases, environmental stresses (resistance against

low and high temperatures) and increase yield and quality of vegetable fruit (Rouphael et al.,

2010). Besides, it is also used to alter hormonal production which in turn influences sex

expression and flowering order of grafted plants. The cultivated area of grafted vegetables, as

well as the kinds of vegetables being grafted, has been consistently increased. At present,

most of the watermelons Citrulluslanatus (Thunb.)Matsum.&Nakai, oriental melons

(Cucumismelo var. makuwa Makino), greenhouse cucumbers (Cucumissativus L.), and

several Solanaceous crops like tomato, chilli, and brinjal are used for grafting before being

transplanted to the field or greenhouse (Lee et al., 2010). The purpose of grafting also has

been greatly expanded, to increasing low-temperature and salt and wet-soil tolerance,

enhancing water and nutrient uptake and increasing plant vigor and extending the duration of

economical harvest time (Lee et al., 2010).

Hydroponics: A soilless vegetable production system

Hydroponics refers to the practice of growing plants in nutrient solutions. This can be

done either in liquid systems or in aggregate systems in which the plants are planted in a

soilless media consisting of substances such as vermiculite, peralite, sand, coconut coir,

expanded rock, gravel, rockwool or peat to provide mechanical support. Here roots of the

plants are floated in nutrient solution provided with circulating air or bubbling air. This

technology is also suited for high value vegetable like tomato, capsicum, cucumber and for

leafy vegetables etc. Using hydroponics systems, mineral nutrients are dissolved in water and

feed directly to a plant‘s root system allowing the plants to focus their energy into growing

mostly upward, promoting quicker growth, faster harvests and higher yields. Hydroponics

systems are used year-round both indoors and outdoors for growing vegetables. The main

advantages of hydroponics are soilless cultivation, less use of water, nutrient, safe vegetable

and high yield. Whereas disadvantage is high moisture levels associated with hydroponics

and overwatering facilitate occurrence of some diseases and initiating cost of infrastructure is

more. If you have limited space and cannot form a full-fledged vegetable garden, hydroponic

gardening would be a rewarding experience. In India, the Defence Laboratory, Haldwani in

Uttaranchal is doing extensive research work on hydroponics.

Post-harvest technology and supply chain assured better price

Due to 15-20% post harvest losses, an efficient post harvest management has become

an absolute necessity. This loss is not only in form of produce in money but also wastage of

labour, energy and inputs involved in production of vegetable crops. If farmers can be trained

for pre and post-harvest management and value addition, can increased the incremental

advantaged over actual income. In India, consumption of fresh vegetable is more preferred as

GPA-2018


compared to frozen or refrigerated. This is due un-affordability of refrigerator by households

living in the rural areas. Even in urban areas, modern consumers do not want store vegetable

products for longer periods within the household due to concern of taste, flavour, and texture

and health consciousness. Therefore, challenges are to refine methods for short term storage,

so that premium quality is retained rather than to focus on longer term storage for prolonged

marketing. Harvesting at right maturity is the most important determinant of storage life and

finally its quality. Many vegetables, for example, leafy vegetables and fruit vegetables which

is harvested for consumption at immature stage (such as cucumbers, bottle gourd, okra,

brinjal, pumpkin, beans, peas, and green chilli), attain optimum eating quality prior to

reaching full maturity. Delay harvesting of these vegetables leads to low quality

produce.Proper management practices include selection of optimum time to harvest in

relation to crop maturity and time of harvesting. Field packing (selection, sorting, trimming,

and packaging) of produce at the time of harvest can greatly reduce the number of handling

steps in preparation vegetables for marketing. Over the last few years, there has been a

positive growth in ready to serve beverages, juices, dehydrated and frozen vegetable

products, pickles, convenience veg-spice pastes, processed mushrooms, and curried

vegetables. Besides processing of major vegetable for various value added products, Indian

processing industries are also looking for value added products from minor or underutilized

crops also. There are few ICAR- IIVR vegetable products viz., vegetable slices, steeping

preserved carrot, french bean, pointed gourd and cauliflower etc. using for ready to eat.

Integrated disease and pest management

Vegetables are short duration crops and amenable to attack by various kind of

diseases during their production. Occurrence of the disease is based on interaction of crop,

environment and pathogen types. A huge crop loss is expected when all the three factors are

favourable. In general, 30-80% crop losses have been recorded in different vegetables due to

diseases. Among the diseases, wilt and leaf spot are considered to be the major threat to

vegetable cultivation. Phytopthora, Fusarium, Verticillium and Ralstonia are predominant

genus causing wilt diseases while Alternaria, Cercospora, Colletotrichum,

Pseudosperanospora, Erysiphe, Phomopsisand Xanthomonas are causal agents of leaf spot

diseases. Apart from this, major menace to vegetable production is due to viral diseases

especially caused by leaf curl and spotted wilt viruses.

Insect pests are the major biotic constraints in vegetables production in India. Apart

from causing direct damage they also act as vectors for several viral diseases. Average yield

loss due to major insect pests in different parts of the country is reported to vary from 33 to

40 per cent. Among these tomato fruit borer (Helicoverpaarmigera), brinjal shoot and fruit

borer (Leucinodesorbonalis), chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis) and mite

(Polyphagotarsonemus latus), fruit and shoot borer (Earis spp.) on okra, diamondback moth

(Plutellaxylostella) on cole crops, fruit fly (Bactroceracucurbitae) on cucurbits are important

ones. In recent context of changing agro-ecosystems and climate, several other insect pests

such has serpentine tomato leaf miner, brinjal gall midge, okra stem fly, white fly, Maruca,

fruit fly, giant African snail and bitter gourd leafhopper gradually attaining the major pest

status in different regions of the country and adding to heavy loss of crops. Earlier gall midge

GPA-2018


known to be a minor pest is gradually becoming a regular problem in chilli, capsicum and

brinjal in the states of A.P., Karnataka and in brinjal in Chattisgarh, whereas Hellulaundalis

on cabbage and red spider mite on okra, brinjal, cowpea, Indian bean, etc., have intensified

the severity of occurrence. Few new pests have emerged and are of great concern to vegetable

growers.

Among farmers, chemical method of control still enjoys first choice because of its

easy availability and quick action. In India, only 25-30 percent of the total cultivated area is

under pesticide cover. Per hectare consumption of pesticide in India is around 381g a.i./ha

which is lower than the world average of 500g a.i/ha. It is estimated that around 13-14 % of

total pesticides used in the country are applied on vegetables, of which insecticides account

for two-thirds of total pesticides used in vegetables (Kodandaramet al., 2013). However,

some of the tolerant varieties/lines have been identified against major insect pests and being

used as one of the major components of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Research

conducted under All India Coordinated Research Programme (AICRP) on Vegetable Crops

(AICRP-VC), Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi and Indian Institute of

Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore have developed several regional/location specific

IPM technologies for many important pests of vegetables. Through AICRP (VC) alone a total

eighty six technologies have been developed in 11 important vegetable crops (Fig. 2).

Use of pollinators

Honeybees, mainly Apismellifera, remain the most economically valuable pollinators

for vegetables grown in protected or open field conditions worldwide. In most developing

countries, crop production is by small scale farmers, who mainly produce for their own

consumption and the extra for market. One of the reasons of not managing pollination is the

lack of understanding of its economic value. Generally, 3-4 bee hives are required per acre in

vegetable crops for proper pollination and fruit set has been recorded 15-20% which was

increased. For better fruit yield and quality, 81 bee visits per flowers are required. Farmers

should use pesticides very judicially and only if necessary, pesticides should be applied in the

evening. In an experiment many pollinators was used to increase the yield of Solanum

lycopersicum, Capsicum frutescens and Solanum melongena and results indicated that these

crops are found with greater fruit set (Kasinaet al., 2009). Almost 40% of the annual value of

crops increased from bee pollination while more than 99% of this benefit is attributed to

pollination by feral bees.

Future research strategies

Several biotic problems of vegetable crops still need to be solved with suitable and

effective control masseurs. Biotic problems like gemini, tospo and Iris yellow mosaic viruses;

wilt, mildews, blight and anthracnose diseases are the major limiting factors in harnessing the

actual potential of improved varieties of different vegetable crops. For instance, the occurrence

of tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV), Tospo virus (TsWV) in tomato, YVMV and ELCV in okra,

PepLCV in chilli, downy mildew in cucumber and muskmelon, bacterial wilt in brinjal can

cause yield loss upto 80% depending upon the severity. Hence there is urgent need to prioritize

breeding goals for developing multiple disease resistant cultivars with premium attributes.

The biotechnological tools should be utilized to accelerate the breeding process. Moreover,

GPA-2018


there are some important desirable traits those are specific for every crops should be included

in their breeding programme. These characteristics are essential for their better quality,

storage and market value generation.

Besides developing improved cultivars of major vegetables, following research

strategies should be adopted to meet the challenges of vegetable productivity and production:

Screening of germplasm/landraces for biotic, abiotic stresses and quality traits

Creation of PGR database of major crops for their effective utilization

Development of multiple disease resistant varieties/hybrids with premium attributes

Development of male sterile lines, especially in chillies, tomato, eggplant, onion,

muskmelon etc.

Development of tropical gynoecious lines in cucurbits for economic hybrids seed

production.

Specific under utilized groups/crops should be prioritized for survey, collection and

utilization. The germplasm collection in unexplored areas or reservoirs should be first

priority.

Development of vegetable-based cropping system

Strengthen research on nutrient/ water use efficiency

Promotion of off-season production of vegetables and use of low-cost polyhouses

should be popularized.

Training programmes on various aspects of vegetable and its seed production and

protection technologies for the members of co-operatives, government officials and

farmers needs to be strengthened.

Conclusion

It is well established that the vegetable cultivation provides more return and jobs,

especially to the small holders and therefore, can contribute to eradicate poverty and hunger.

The availability of vegetables to the population at reasonable price through increased

productivity may provide micronutrients rich diet to the school going children and economic

and health security to women. Although commendable progress has been made on the

research front and a number of technologies have been developed, poor adoption of such

technologies has always been a major handicap in increasing productivity. Therefore,

promotion of developed technologies through various mechanisms is key to harness the

available technologies, thus ensuring the increased productivity and profitability to the

farmers. Likewise pro-active government policies for development of infrastructure and law

enforcement, which support execution of such promotional activities, are equally pertinent to

achieve higher productivity. The successful implementation of research and developmental

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strategies described herein is expected to provide further strength to Indian vegetable growers

and expected to contribute towards millennium development goals.

References

Anonymous (2016). National Horticulture Database. NHB, New Delhi.

Annual Report (2016-17). ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi, U.P., India.

Arora RK (1995). Genetic resources of vegetable crops in India: their diversity and

conservation, pp. 29-39. In: R.S. Rana, P.N. Gupta, Mathura Rai and S. Kochhar

(eds.), Genetic Resources of Vegetable Crops, NBPGR, New Delhi, India.

De N and Rai M (2005). Organic farming techniques for sustainable vegetable productivity.

In: 5th

Peoples Congress on Peoples Technology, Foset, Vigyan Bhavan, Kolkata, pp.

46-53.

FAOSTAT (2014). Available at: http://www.faostat.fao.org.

Kalloo G (1995). Status of vegetable research in India with special reference to vegetable

hybrid technology. In. Paroda RS and Kalloo G (eds.) Vegetable Research with

special reference to Hybrid Technology in Asia-Pacific Region. FAO Regional

Centre, Bangkok, pp. 125-151.

Kalloo G, Baneree MK, Kumar S and Parkash C (2000). Hybrid vegetable technology in

India: An overview. In Kallo G and Singh K (eds.), Emerging Scenario of Vegetable

Research and Development. Researchco Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 104-117.

Kumar S, Singh V, Rai, S., Kumar, S, Singh, M, Rai, M (2006). Tagging of male sterility and

fertility restorer genes in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.). Sci. Hortic. 111, 197-202.

Singh M, Kumar S, Singh AK, Ram D and Kalloo G (2002). Female sex-associated RAPD

marker in pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.). Current science, 82: 131-132.

Singh N, Singh M, Kumar S, Singh V, Kumar R, Prasanna HC, Rai M (2007). RAPD marker

for hybrid seeds purity testing in tomato. Current science, 93(25):462-463.

He X, Li Y, Pandey S, Yandell BS, Pathak M, Weng Y (2013). QTL mapping of powdery

mildew resistance in WI 2757 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Theoretical and

applied genetics, 126 (8): 2149-2161.

Pandey S, Kumar S, Mishra U, Rai A, Singh M, Rai M (2008). Genetic diversity in Indian

ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) accessions as revealed by quantitative traits and RAPD

markers. Scientia Horticulturae, 118 (1): 80-86.

Singh RK, Rai N, Lima JM, Singh M, Singh SN and Kumar S (2015). Genetic and molecular

characterizations of Tomato leaf curl virus resistance in tomato (Solanum

lycopersicum L.). The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 90 (5):

503-510.

GPA-2018


Wheat Research in India: Frontiers and Priorities

G.P. Singh

Director, ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research

Karnal – 132001, Haryana

Globally, wheat (Triticum spp.) occupies around 217 million hectares holding the

position of highest acreage among all crops with annual production hovering around 731

million tonnes (USDA, 2018). The nutri-rich cereal is one of the principal staples consumed

by all ages and class of people across countries. In India, the crop has been cultivated in

29.58 million hectares (13.63% of global area) to produce the all-time highest output of 99.70

million tonnes of wheat (13.64% of world production) with a record average productivity of

3371 kg/ha (MoA&FW, 2018). The commodity being a food security grain, next to rice – a

rich source of energy and calorie intake – finds a considerable share in the consumption

basket. The commodity being procured by the government extensively and distributed to a

majority of the population, it ensures not only food security but also nutrition security.

Despite the crop has been under cultivation yesteryear, coordinated research in wheat has

begun after the inception of the multi-location and multi-disciplinary research programme in

1964-65.

Wheat Research in India – An Overview

Wheat research in India started during 1905 after Sir Howards joined as the Imperial

Botanist at Pusa, Bihar. The genotypes under cultivation during those period were popularly

known as ‗sorts‘ - a mixture of various botanical forms - and were grouped on the basis of

grain characters like grain colour (red or amber), grain hardness (hard or soft) etc. An era of

tall bread wheat varieties has been noticed from 1905 till 1962. During this phase of wheat

improvement, pureline varieties were developed through ‗selection‘ approach from the

‗sorts‘. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (erstwhile Imperial Council of Agricultural

Research), popularly known as ICAR funds and promotes the overall wheat research in India.

During the initial phase, regardless of research impetus, the yield potential of the crop could

not be raised to an expected level. An important landmark in wheat research happened with

the inception of the ‗All India Coordinated Wheat Improvement Project (AICWIP)‘ in 1965

at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, the nodal centre. AICWIP is

one of the largest crop improvement network projects which set the dawn for ‗Green

Revolution‘ in India. Under this project, several high yielding wheat varieties have been

developed which became extensively popular and adopted by the farming community. For

instance; C 306, HD 2009, WL 711, UP 262, HUW 234, HD 2189, WH 147, Lok 1, HI 617

(Sujata), HD 2285, HD 2329, PBW 343, Raj 3765, PBW 502, HD 2733, HD 2967, HD 3086,

DBW 17, PBW 550, GW 273, GW 322, GW 496 in bread wheat; and Raj 1555, PBW 34, HI

8498 and PDW 233 in durum wheat were developed and became the popular deliverables of

the project. Apart from the aforementioned varieties, several viz., NP 4, Kalyansona,

Sonalika, Sharbati Sonora, WL 711, HD 1220, HD 1931 ‗SIB‘, HD 2009, HD 2172, UP 262

etc. developed through AICWIP were also cultivated beyond national borders.

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The AICWIP in 1978 was elevated from its project status to Directorate of Wheat

Research and subsequently has been shifted to the present location at Karnal in 1990. During

the IX Five Year Plan, barley was added to the AICWIP and it was restructured as ―All India

Wheat and Barley Improvement Project‖ in 1997. With the addition of Barley Network, the

Directorate has been elevated to Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research in 2014 and

now popularly known as ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal. During 2017, the project has been renamed

as All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Wheat and Barley with ICAR-IIWBR

as headquarter. It is a premier organization under the aegis of ICAR coordinating the

multidisciplinary and multi-location testing of varieties in different AICRP centers' across the

diverse ecosystems for increasing and stabilising the wheat production. Currently, there are

29 funded centres located in different agro-climatic regions across the country that supports

the multidisciplinary research (Table 1). The project, hitherto, has contributed in the release

of 448 high yielding improved wheat varieties comprising bread, durum and dicoccum wheat

(Fig 1).

Table 1. Zones, states and funded centers of AICRP on wheat

Zone Area covered Funded centres Number

Northern Hills

Zone

(NHZ)

0.9 mha wheat

area

Western Himalayan regions of

J&K (except Jammu and Kathua

distt.); H.P. (except Una and

Paonta Valley); Uttaranchal

(except Tarai area); Sikkim and

hills of West Bengal and N.E.

States

CSK-HPKVV,

Palampur

CSK-HPKVV,

Dhaulakuan

CSK-HPKVV,

Bajaura

CAU, Imphal

SKUAST-K, Srinagar

5

North Western

Plains Zone

(NWPZ)

12.66 mha wheat

area

Punjab, Haryana, Delhi,

Rajasthan (except Kota and

Udaipur divisions) and Western

UP (except Jhansi division),

parts of J&K (Jammu and

Kathua distt.) and parts of HP

(Una dist. And Paonta valley)

and Uttaranchal (Tarai region)

PAU, Ludhiana

CCSHAU, Hisar

GBPUAT, Pantnagar

RAU, Durgapura

SKUAST-J, Jammu

5

North Eastern

Plains Zone

(NEPZ)

9.12 mha wheat

area

Eastern UP, Bihar, Jharkhand,

Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and

plains of NE States.

CSAUAT, Kanpur

NDUAT, Faizabad

BHU, Varanasi

BAU, Sabour

BAU, Ranchi

BCKVV, Kalyani

UBKV, Coochbehar

AAU, Shillongani

8

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Central Zone

(CZ)

7.18 mha wheat

area

Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

Gujarat, Kota and Udaipur

divisions of Rajasthan and

Jhansi division of Uttar Pradesh

IGKVV, Bilaspur

SDAU, Vijapur

JAU, Junagarh

MPUAT, Udaipur

JNKVV, Jabalpur

JNKVV, Rewa

JNKVV, Sagar

JNKVV, Powerkhera

RVSKVV, Gwalior

7

Peninsular Zone

(PZ)

1.10 mha wheat

area

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh, Goa, plains of Tamil

Nadu

UAS, Dharwad

MPKVV, Niphad

MPKVV,

Mahabaleshwar

ARI, Pune

4

Southern Hills

Zone

(SHZ)*

< 0.01 mha wheat

area

Hilly areas of Tamil Nadu and

Kerala comprising the Nilgiri

and Palni hills of southern

plateau.

- -

* Southern Hills Zone (SHZ) has been merged with the Peninsular Zone (PZ)

Fig 1. Varietal spectrum in wheat since the AICRP

India, the largest wheat growing country produces wheat across five major zones

(Table 1) viz., North Western Plains Zone (NWPZ), North Eastern Plains Zone (NEPZ),

Central Zone (CZ), Peninsular Zone (PZ), Northern Hills Zone (NHZ) and Southern Hills

Zone (SHZ) based on the agro-climate conditions. In the recent past, SHZ has been merged

with the PZ. In each zone, one Zonal coordinator has been nominated by the ICAR-IIWBR

and the Zonal Coordinator facilitates the Director, ICAR-IIWBR in the constitution,

dispatch, conduction and monitoring of advance varietal trials in respective zone. Among the

29 funded centers (Table 1) spread across 17 states under AICRP, Madhya Pradesh has the

highest number.

Bread wheat Durum Dicoccum Triticale Total

SVRC 132 22 1 0 155

CVRC 246 37 6 4 293

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Wh

eat

& T

riti

cale

Va

rie

tie

s

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Under AICRP, besides the funded centres, around 94 voluntary centres also cooperate

in evaluation of varietal trials across India (Table 2). In the case of voluntary centers, 29 are

located in the NWPZ (31%), followed by NEPZ in 21 (22%) locations and PZ in 18 (19%)

locations (Fig 2). In addition, some other testing sites are also provided by State Agriculture

Departments. These locations have been identified in such a way that all the agro-climatic

zones of the country (five mega zones) are represented.

Fig 2. Funded and Voluntary AICRP Centres

Table 2. Zone-wise voluntary centres under AICRP on wheat

Zone Centre

NHZ

Almora, Bara, Berthin, Chamba, Gaggar, Gangtok, Imphal, Kalimpong, Kangra,

Katrain, Khudwani, Kukumseri, Leh, Majhera, Ranichauri, Pithoragarh, Sangla,

Shimla, Sundernagar, Una, Wadura

NWPZ

Agra, Alwar, Banasthali, Balachaur, Bhatinda, Bharatpur, Bikaner,

Bulandshaher, Avikanagar, Barielly, Bawal, Bhatinda, Bikaner, Bulandshahr,

Dausa, Delhi, Dhakarani, Dhanauri, Dhiansar, Diggi, Faridabad, Faridkot,

Gurdaspur, Hanumangarh, Hardoi, Jobner, Jodhpur, Kapurthala, Kashipur,

Karnal-CSSRI, Kaul, Kotputli, Moradabad, Nagina, Rampur, Rohtak, Rauni

(Patiala), Shikopur, Sriganganagar, Tabiji, Uchani, Ujhani

NEPZ

Allahabad, Araul, Azamgarh, Barabanki, Barpeta-KVK, Baharaich, Banka, Baxa

(Jaunpur), Basti, Bikramganj, Burdwan, Chirang-KVK, Chianki, Deegh, Dumka,

Dhubri-KVK, Dalipnagar, Etawah, Ghazipur, Ghaghraghat, Gumla-KVK,

Hazaribagh, ICAR-Patna, Kaushambhi, Kalichak, Lucknow, Malda, Majhian,

Mohitnagar, Pusa-IARI, RAU, Purnea, Tissuhi, Varanasi

CZ

Ambikapur, Amreli, Anand, Arnej, Banswara, Bardoli, Belatal, Bhilwara,

Bhopal, Dhandhuka, Jabalpur, Jhansi, Indore, Jalore, Mauranipur, Navsari,

Pratapgarh, Raigarh, Raipur, Sanosara, S.K.Nagar, Tancha

PZ

Akola, Amravati, Annegiri, Arbhavi, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Bidar, Belavatagi,

K.Digraj, Kalloli, Karad, Kolhapur, Kopargaon, Mudhol, Parbhani,

Pravaranagar, Ugar, Savalvihir Wellington, Paiyur, Mandya, Ooty

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AICRP: Modus Operandi

The overall implementation and function of the AICRP on wheat and barley rests

with the Director, ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal. As mentioned earlier, the project objectives and

activities are achieved through meticulous action plan devised at the annual workshop of the

project which is being held at any location across India. The Director is empowered to

execute any further changes in the ongoing project activities under the direction of the ICAR.

The following are the major mandates of the organisation.

The Mission

Thrust Areas of the AICRP

Three - tier varietal evaluation through multi-location testing for different agro-

ecological zones and specific target regions/areas.

Germplasm enhancement and evaluation through national and international nurseries /

trials

Multi-location agronomic studies on integrated nutrient management for optimization of

input use efficiency

Multi-locational screening of genotypes for disease and pest resistance, development

and testing of different components of integrated pest management and their integrated

application

Coordination and monitoring seed production programme.

Dissemination of different technologies to the farmers through FLDs

Unit wise Activities of AICRP

The AICRP on wheat located at ICAR-IIWBR has five major units (Crop

1 •Basic and strategic research on wheat and barley to improve productivity and quality

2 •Coordination and developmental of crop production and crop protection technologies for sustainable production

3 •Providing genetic diversity and accelerate the breeding cycle through off-season facilities

4 •Surveillance and forewarning for management of rust diseases

5 •Dissemination of improved technologies, capacity building and development of linkages

Ensuring food security of India by enhancing the productivity and profitability of

wheat and barley on an ecologically and economically sustainable basis and making

India the world leader in wheat & barley production

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Improvement, Resource Management, Crop Protection, Quality Improvement and Social

Sciences) comprising about 50 scientists working for wheat development following trans-

disciplinary mode of research and ensure food and nutrition security. The specific activities

of the research units of AICRP functioning at the ICAR-IIWBR are given below:

1. Crop Improvement

Coordinating trials across zones and raising off-season nursery at Dalang Maidan

Improve yield potential by harnessing the genetic base

Develop genotypes tolerant to biotic and abiotic stress

Seed production based on demand from the stakeholders

Germplasm conservation and categorization

Use of molecular markers for wheat improvement

2. Resource Management

Developing varieties adapting for scarce resources

Long-term experiments for improved package of practices

Developing technologies/agronomic practices that use resources for breaking yield

barrier

Long-term experiments on conservation agriculture

Long-term experiments on rice-wheat system including the system of wheat

intensification

Weed floral management

Crop residue management

3. Crop Protection

Disease and pest screening in multi-location trials

Management of diseases through genetic interventions

Multiple disease resistance study

Developing region-specific IPM module

Pests and diseases surveillance

Molecular and biochemical markers for crop protection

Eco-friendly management of pest and diseases

4. Quality Improvement

Identifying genotypes with good quality traits for making chapatti, bread, biscuit and

pasta

Develop biochemical and molecular techniques to screen early generation breeding

material

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Generate wheat quality map for use of policy makers and traders

Breeding for quality improvement

Use of anti-oxidants for better human health

5. Social Sciences

Technology transfer (Lab to Land) through various extension methods including

FLDs

Organizing workshops, seminars, farmers‘ day, field days etc. for awareness creation.

Identifying constraints in technology adoption & adaptation strategies for climate smart

farming.

Bridging the yield and knowledge gaps for enhancing production

Entrepreneurship and skilling with special emphasis for women & youth in product

making.

Knowledge and livelihood empowerment of stakeholders.

Publication of literature in local languages for the benefit of stakeholders

Integrating agriculture knowledge and information to the stakeholders through ICTs

Formulation of Action Plans

The annual AICRP meet is held to discuss the priorities and thrust areas that need

focus during the succeeding year(s) and accordingly action plans are formulated under

different disciplines viz. crop improvement, resource management, crop protection, grain

quality improvement and social sciences. For effective planning, smaller groups consisting of

participating scientists of one discipline with a few invited external experts prepare

preliminary work plan during the first day of the annual meet. The corresponding Principal

Investigator (PI) of each unit puts the work plan for discussion during the general session and

the amendments, if any, are again considered and the final approval is sought.

Development of the Project

Subsequent to the approval of any action plan, the specialists groups formulate

suitable trials / experiments. These trials are elaborately developed with the involvement and

inputs from several of the cooperating scientists in terms of nomination of genotypes / seed

material developed at respective centers, specific agro-chemicals for testing, fine tuning of

methodology and experimental design and/ or details of methods of fabricating specific

components required for the study.

Executing the Project

The PI of each discipline ensure timely constitution of trials, dispatch of seed material

/ agro-chemicals, detailed guidelines for conducting the trails and supply data sheets for

recording all the relevant data as the trial progresses. The advanced varietal trials are

constituted and dispatched by the respective zonal coordinators. PI also ensures timely

collection of the data from the cooperating centers at the end of the season, its compilation,

analysis and prepares the report for presentation in the subsequent annual meet.

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Monitoring the Project

During the season, as the trials are laid out and experiments are in progress, effective

monitoring is done by multidisciplinary monitoring teams including the zonal coordinator as

chairman, members from cooperating centres from the zone and the representatives from the

IIWBR. Director and Principal Investigators also monitor the trials/experiments across the

zones.

Evaluation of the Project

Data from all trials is analysed at ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal and uploaded on the website.

Mid course corrections and amendments are made. During the workshop, the entire

programme is reviewed and technology generated through the specific studies is put to test in

on-farm trials or frontline demonstrations. The test entries are retained/ promoted for

advanced tests based on pre-fixed well defined norms, which take into account the yield

potential, disease resistance particularly rust diseases, adaptability and grain quality

parameters. None of the test entries is allowed to continue under tests until unless it confirms

to minimum standards set for yield potential and rust resistance. Suitable varieties for each of

the zones and target region are identified at the end of three-tier evaluation and these are

recommended for nomination to the Central Sub-committee for Crop Standards, Notification

and Release of Varieties (CVRC).

Technological Interventions of AICRP

Post implementation of the AICRP, several major technological interventions have

been realised across the wheat growing regions of the country (Table 3). Green revolution is a

major highlight of the project which was realised by the introduction and wide adoption of

semi dwarf high yielding varieties. This was followed by mechanisation in states like Punjab

and Haryana, fine tuning the package of practices, demonstration of latest and improved

varieties and technologies at farmers field, release of landmark varieties like C 306, Lok 1,

Sonalika, Kalyansona, PBW 343, UP 2338, WH 542, GW 322, HD 2967 and HD 3086 etc.

AICRP also facilitated to break the genetic yield potential of wheat by releasing those

landmark varieties (Fig 3).

Table 3. Major technological interventions post inception of AICRP

Year/Period Technological interventions Remarks

1967-68 Green revolution Introduction of high yielding semi dwarf

varieties.

1970s High yielding semi dwarf

varieties

Wide adoption of varieties like Sonara

64, Lerma Roja, Sonalika etc.

1980s Mechanization Increased mechanization (use of tractors)

particularly in states like Punjab and

Haryana.

1990s Scientific package of practices Package of practices which are region

specific were identified and

recommended to the farmers.

1990s Front line demonstrations Demonstration of newly released crop

production and protection technologies

and its management practices in the

farmers‘ field to get the maximum

possible yield under different agro-

climatic regions and farming situations.

GPA-2018


1995 Introduction of 1B/1R

translocation - release of PBW

343

A popular variety among farmers till date

which has the potential to yield 6.3 t/ha.

Early 2000s Resource conservation

technologies (RCTs)

RCTs like zero tillage, rotary till,

rotavator were popularized among wheat

producers.

Early 2010s Release of Superior Wheat

Varieties like HD 2967 and

HD 3086, and WB 2 released

as a first bio-fortified variety

HD 2967 (released in 2011) is a popular

variety among farmers and accounts for

about 20% area under total wheat with a

yield potential of 6.6 t/ha.

HD 3086 is a recently released variety

having the highest yield potential till date

(7.11 t/ha)

WB 2 is India‘s first released bio-

fortified wheat enriched with zinc (42

ppm)

Fig 3. Yield potential of landmark wheat varieties in quintals per hectare

Since the establishment of the AICRP, the productivity of wheat has increased by 3

folds (308%: + 2.54 tonnes/ha) as furnished in the below Fig 4. During the same period,

production has increased to the tune of 859 per cent, i.e., from 10.4 million tonnes to a

gargantuan 99.70 million tonnes of wheat with the area witnessing an increase of 135 per cent

(12.57 million ha to 29.58 million ha).

Fig 4. Yield levels of wheat during pre-AICRP and post-AICRP

GPA-2018


Latest wheat varieties released for farmers (2017-18)

1. Central released varieties: The CVRC recommended the release of 7 varieties, namely K

1317, DBW 168, DBW 173, UAS 375, HI 1612, MACS 4028 (durum) and HI 8777 (durum)

from among the varieties identified by the VIC and PBW 660 identified during previous year.

SN Variety and parentage Developed

by Area

Prod.

cond.

Yield

(q/ha) Notif. No. Special

feature Avg. Pot.

Bread wheat

1.

K 1317

(K0307/

K9162)

CSA UAT,

KANPUR NEPZ

Rainfed,

Timely

sown

30.1 38.6

399(E),

dt.

24.01.18

Resistant to

brown

rust & leaf

blight.

Good

Chapati

quality

(Score:8.05)

2.

DBW 168

(SUNSU/

CHIBIA)

ICAR-

IIWBR,

Karnal

PZ

Irrigated

Timely

Sown

47.5 70.1

1379(E)

dt.

27.03.18

Very good

for

chapati

(8.15/10),

biscuit

quality, Soft

grains (36),

resistance to

brown

& black rust

3.

DBW 173

(KAUZ/AA//KAUZ/PBW602)

IIWBR,

Karnal NWPZ

Irrigated

Late

Sown

47.2 57.0

1379(E)

dt.

27.03.18

Tolerant to

terminal

Heat

(HSI=0.98),

Resistance

to

yellow &

brown rust

4.

UAS 375

(UAS 320 /GW322// Lok 62)

UAS,

Dharwad PZ

Rainfed,

Timely

Sown

21.4 29.1

1379(E)

dt.

27.03.18

Resistance

to

brown &

black rust

5.

Pusa Wheat

1612(HI1612)

(KAUZ//ALTAR

84/AOS/3/MIL

AN/KAUZ/4/H

UITES)

ICAR-

IARI

RS, Indore

NEPZ

Rest.

irrigation,

Timely

sown

37.6 50.5

1379(E)

dt.

27.03.18

32.4% and

52.4%

yield gain at

one

and two

irrigations,

Resistance

to

yellow and

brown

rust

Durum wheat

6.

MACS 4028 (d)

(MACS

2846/BHALEG

AON3*2)

ARI, Pune PZ

Rainfed,

timely

sown

19.3 28.7 1379(E)

27.03.2018

Resistance

against

stem and

leaf rust,

early

maturing

(102

GPA-2018


days),

protein

content

(14.7%)

7.

Pusa Wheat

8777 (HI

8777)

(B93/HD

4672//HI8627) (d)

ICAR-

IARI

RS, Indore

PZ

Rainfed,

timely

sown

18.5 28.8 1379(E)

27.03.2018

Resistance

to leaf

rust, protein

(14.3%),

zinc (43.6

ppm) and

iron

(48.7 ppm)

content

2. State released varieties: Seven wheat varieties namely, BRW 3723, HW 5207, GJW 463,

KRL 283, HUW 669, CG 1013 (Chattisgarh Genhu-3) and UAS 334under different

production conditions prevailing in the states were recommended by the respective SVRCs

which were notified for release by the CVRC.

SN Variety name

and parentage

Developed

by

Area Prod. cond. Grain yield

(q/ha)

Notif. No. Special

feature

Avg. Pot.

1 Sabour Nirjal

(BRW3723)

(ACHYUT/

BL1887)

BAU, Sabour Bihar Rainfed,

Timely Sown

28.7 47.3 2805(E)

25.08.2017

Drought

tolerance

2 HW 5207

(CoW 3)

(HW3029//V76

3-2312(Yr15)

IARI RS

Wellington+

TNAU

Coimbatore

Tamilnadu Rest. irrigation,

Timely sown

40.8 59.6 2805(E)

25.08.2017

Resistance

to leaf and

stem rust,

carrying

LR24+SR2

4, Sr2, Yr15

3 Gujarat

Junagadh

Wheat 463

(GJW 463)

(GW496/

KLP010)

JAU,

Junagadh

Gujarat Irrigated, early

sown conditions

of Saurashtra

and Irrigated,

Timely sown

conditions of

rest of Gujarat

55.7

(ES),

50.9

(TS)

78.3

(ES),

67.5

(TS)

2805(E)

25.08.2017

Moderately

resistance

to brown

and black

rust

4 KRL283

(CPAN 3004

/KHARCHIA

65//PBW 343

ICAR

CSSRI,

Karnal

Uttar

Pradesh

Salt affected

soils (Irrigated,

Timely sown)

20.9 41.0 1379(E)

27.03.2018

Resistance

to leaf

blight,

Karnal bunt

and hill

bunt

5 HUW669

(Malviya 669)

(ALTAR84/HU

W206/MILAN)

BHU,

Varanasi

Uttar

Pradesh

Rainfed/ Rest.

Irrig.

24.1 43.0 1379(E)

27.03.2018

Resistance

to all the

three rusts

and leaf

blight

GPA-2018


6 Chhattisgarh

Genhu-3 (CG

1013)(GW 322/

KYZ 0285)

IGKVV

RS,Bilaspur

Chhattisgarh Irrigate, Timely

Sown

33.4 49.3 1379(E)

27.03.2018

Resistance

to leaf rust

7 UAS334

(SITE/MO/4/N

AC/TH.

AC//3*PVN/3/

MIRLO/BUC)

UAS,

Dharwad

Karnataka Irrigated,timely

sown

49.1 59.5 1379(E)

27.03.2018

Zinc

content

(43.1 ppm),

resistance

to black and

brown rust

Research Upstream

When a new thrust area is identified, such as biotechnology, preparatory research for

combating new disease threats like wheat blast, Ug 99, etc., and adequate technical

information needs to be generated, it is generally initiated as lead research at the headquarters

and /or some of the key centers. Subsequently, a network programme is developed to

facilitate exchange of material and information within these key centers. Technical

information and material so generated would now be tested under regular AICRP involving

more number of centers representing wider ecological diversity. Lead research conducted at

different State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) including cooperating centers also

strengthens the core AICRP technical programme. For instance, during the period 2012-17,

about 21 network projects were initiated /completed which has budgetary outlay of about

INR 1683.63 lakhs. These projects were funded externally from ICAR, AP Cess, NATP,

ACIAR, DBT, BBSRC, CIMMYT, etc.

Downstream Support for Technology Transfer

The suitable technologies tested and developed under AICRP and recommended

through the annual meet are being further tested and demonstrated on farmers‘ fields through

Frontline Demonstrations funded by Department of Agriculture and Cooperation & Farmers

Welfare (DAC&FW) of Govt. of India. Likewise, the suitable varieties identified through

AICRP for various production conditions in different zones are being multiplied under

breeder seed production programme supported by DAC&FW. The National Seed Corporation

(NSC) procures the seed thus produced for further multiplication and distribution on large

scale. Knowledge and skill based technologies for crop production and protection generated

through AICRP are being disseminated through suitable training programmes being

organized at ICAR-IIWBR and at different equipped cooperating centres under SAUs. A

large number of trained middle level and field level extension functionaries are in turn

transferring the technology to the farmers – the final clientele of technology.

Research Priorities

Productivity of the crop has to be increased coherently keeping in account of the

increasing wheat demand posed by multiple challenges like burgeoning population, shift in

dietary preferences, climate change and vulnerability, farmland degradation, reducing

operational holdings and changing demand across diverse end products of wheat. In the

present decade, area under wheat has been almost stable and hovering around 30 million

GPA-2018


hectares. Increasing the crop acreage is directly beyond the control of research managers,

whereas, breakthrough in average productivity can be made possible by cross-cutting

research interventions resulting in improved technologies and practices. The outcome and

output of the AICRP is expected to meet the set production target of 140 million tonnes of

wheat by 2050. The target can be achieved by utilizing the developments in science and

technology with a prime focus on:

Promoting novel wheat breeding programmes like adopting tissue culture to save time

and integrating conventional breeding and biotechnological tools.

Trait focus on wheat productivity, rust resistance, second tier diseases, quality, input

use efficiency and abiotic stress tolerance for incremental yield.

Developing varieties for specific Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs).

Designing agro-technological packages like site specific nutrient management,

Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed System (FIRBS) and need based nitrogen application.

Special initiatives on integrated pest management, monitoring Puccinia striiformis

virulence across national borders and Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) for developing

quality product to consumers.

Developing hybrid wheat for incremental yield and C4 wheat for resource saving.

Reducing the yield loss in central zone due to abiotic stresses.

Technology promotion through different extension methods including digital

platforms

Knowledge empowerment though market intelligence.

Conclusions

India has attained the status of self-sufficiency in wheat production being a surplus

producer and has registered itself as a net exporter since 1978. Post inception of the AICRP,

the country has achieved several milestones over the past decades in terms of wheat output

and exports with a drastic reduction in imports. The output, outcome and impact of the

AICRP are clearly visible in terms of variety release, crop acreage, yield enhancement,

gargantuan output and improved livelihood of stakeholders. Amidst several production

challenges, the target of 140 million tonnes by 2050 for ensuing food and nutritional security

has to be produced by setting research priorities under the AICRP for sustainable production.

Cutting-edge research and harnessing the potentials of science and technology after setting

research priorities under AICRP through a mission mode approach will help to achieve the

set target and sustainable wheat production for future India.

GPA-2018


1952-2018: The Journey of Sugarcane in Sub-tropical India

specially Uttar Pradesh

Dr P.K. Singh

Principal Scientist (Plant Breeding)

ICAR- Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Dilkusha P.O., Lucknow – 226 002

Mob: 9910731338; 9415183851 E-mail: [email protected]

1. Introduction

It is widely accepted that India is the original home of sugarcane and the cane species

Saccharum barberi was indigenous to the country. The earliest reference to the crop has been

traced to a verse in Atharva Veda composed by the Aryans between 3000 and 7000 years

ago. The verse says ―I have crowned thee with shooting sugarcane so that thou shall not be

averse to me‖. Sugarcane has, thus, been known in India long ago. Historical evidence shows

that Indian canes were taken to Babylon by the Arab traders, where from these were taken to

Syria, Cyprus, Malta and Sicily Islands in the Mediterranean. Alexander and Columbus took

canes from India and introduced them into West Indies. It is also opined that after the times

of Budha, Indian Sailors possibly had contacts with Burma, Indonesia and Malaya and would

have brought Saccharum officinarum to India from Indonesia.

Saccharum is the latin name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1735 by derivation from

Karkara and Sakkara from Sanskrit and Prakrit. It conveyed the shape of black gravel

possibly meant to refer to sugar crystals developed from dark syrup. It is the opinion of many

explorers that sugarcane had its origin in Saccharum barberi Jeswiet of north India and that

Saccharum officinarum had Polynesian origin. Jeswiet in his revised publication described

sugarcane under S. officinarum L., S. sinense Roxb. and S. barberi Jesw. S. officinarum is the

thick stalked noble cane, rich in sucrose and was therefore used for chewing in South East

Asia, Indonesia and the Pacific islands. The rest two were considered harder, thinner and less

sweet canes mainly confined to China, Japan and India. Barber and also Jesweit indicated that

Saccharum officinarum was evolved in Malaysia- Indonesia- Papua- New Guinea region or in

the islands of Polynesia or Melanesia groups. Brandes and co-workers have mentioned in

their records of expedition during 1928 that maximum diversity was noted in New Guinea

where from S. officinarum might have evolved and since S. robustum was endemic to this

area, it may be the ancestor of the S. officinarum, which is acceptable also, as both the species

had a chromosome number of 2n= 80. Warner and Grassl also confirmed it after the

expedition in 1957. S. spontaneum group originated possibly in the India-Burma-China

outskirts before it was transported to Pacific. Daniels and co-workers proposed three centers

of origin for different cane species:

Indonesia/Papua New Guinea- Saccharum officinarum evolved from S. robustum present in

this area. There might have been some introgression here between S. spontaneum of South

East Asia and non- Saccharum genera of this zone.

India-Burma-China border region- Here, genus Saccharum, Saccharum complex and S.

barberi might have their origin.

GPA-2018


China-Japan area- Here, Miscanthus is suggested to have been involved in origin of S.

officinarum and S. sinense.

2. Sugarcane Breeding- Origin and Expansion

The ancient sugarcane cultivars were of two kinds i) thick, having soft rind, sweet,

colorful but pest and disease susceptible ‗Noble‘ canes belonging to the group S. officinarum

and ii) thin, hardy, vigorous growing types belonging to S. barberi and S. sinense. Being a

vegetatively propagated crop, sugarcane improvement in the early years was only through

‗variety substitution‘. Naturally occurring promising types called ‗Sports‘ (vegetative

mutants) were spotted in larger plantations and from there they were isolated, multiplied and

grown as a new variety. ‗Green Sport‘ and ‗Gillmans Sport‘ were such selections.

Sexual reproduction in sugarcane commenced with the chance discovery of naturally

germinated sugarcane seedlings from ‗true seeds‘, almost simultaneously from Java and

Barbados in 1887-88. That triggered sugarcane breeding in many countries.

In India, sugarcane breeding for better varieties commenced with the establishment of

a Breeding Station at Coimbatore in 1912. The free flowering environment at Coimbatore

was the most favourable factor for locating this breeding centre. The primary objective to

start with, was to produce improved varieties for replacing the indigenous canes, with low

productivity, which were occupying the vast subtropical cane belt. The initial efforts to

improve them through hybridization with the thick, tropical canes were disappointing, owing

to the erratic and defective flowering behavior of the original canes, even under Coimbatore

conditions. Faced with this dilemma, Dr. Barber, the pioneer Sugarcane Breeder at

Coimbatore took an unorthodox but bold step to rope in the wild species S. spontaneum as a

parent in the breeding programme. This paid immediate dividends in the production of the

first famous sugarcane hybrid- Co 205, which effectively combined the hardiness, remarkable

growth vigour, resistance to pests and diseases from the wild parent and the commercial

needs of yield and sugar from the tropical cane parent (Vellai- S. officinarum). This variety

released from Coimbatore in 1918 became an immediate success and replaced the old

cultivars especially Katha, because of its superior yield of both cane and sugar.

Breeding for tropical India started in 1926. The long chain of superior varieties from

Coimbatore viz. Co 213, Co 312, Co 313, Co 419, Co 453 and so on became popular all over

the country. This ushered in the ‗Sugar Revolution‘ much earlier than the well known ‗Green

Revolution‘. Some of the Coimbatore varieties like Co 213, Co 281, Co 290, Co 331, Co 419

and Co 421 even crossed the shores to become important commercial varieties in many

outside countries.

3. Genetic resources

Sugarcane is known to be under cultivation in India from the Vedic times and India is

considered to be one of the centres of diversity for Saccharum and allied genera. The genus

Saccharum falls under the family Poaceae and has the following species:

GPA-2018


Status Species

Cultivated species : S. officinarum, S. edule, S. barberi, S. sinense

Wild species : S. robustum, S. spontaneum

Related Genera : Erianthus spp., Narenga sclerostachya, Sclerostachya fusca,

Miscanthus spp.

The Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore (SBI) is one of the two world

repositories of sugarcane germplasm collection, in addition to being a pioneer institute in the

task of collection of cultivated and wild relatives of Sugarcane. The other such repository is,

the Sub-tropical Horticulture Research Station of USDA at Miami, Florida, USA. Bulk of the

Indian Sugarcane Germplasm collection is maintained at the Kannur Research Centre and the

S. spontaneum, Erianthus spp. and the working germplasm collection are maintained at

Coimbatore.

4. Comparative growth since 1952 onwards

The sugarcane cultivation as commercial crop and establishment of sugar factories in

India started during 1930s, primarily due to the success of high yielding varieties like Co 205,

Co 213, etc in the North India especially in Eastern UP and Bihar. By 1950, sugarcane

cultivation gained importance in Uttar Pradesh which led to the establishment of Indian

Institute of Sugarcane Research at Lucknow to provide technological solutions for the

problems related to sugarcane cultivation. Although, the development of new varieties

remained with Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, but the selection of advanced

generations of the clones was taken-up on priority at Lucknow and other Centers located in

sub-tropical belt to select adapted varieties. But, as indicated in the given table, with the rise

in the number of sugar factories in the tropical belt there was considerable reduction in the

area and production of sugarcane in sub-tropical belt. It was attributed to the lack of high

yielding, high sugar and adapted varieties in this area.

Item In 1951-52 1974-75 2000-01 2017-18

Sugarcane

Area

(000 ha)

India 1941 2894 4316 4774

UP 1200 1492 1938 2299

% 61.82 51.55 44.90 48.15

Sugarcane

Production

(000 tons)

India 74760 144289 295956 376905

UP 40030 61497 106068 182075

% 53.54 42.62 35.84 48.31

Sugarcane

Yield

(t/ha)

India 38.52 49.86 68.57 74.70

UP 36.41 41.22 54.73 79.19

% 94.52 82.67 79.81 106.01

Sugar Prod. India 1483 4794 18511 32190

GPA-2018


(000 tons) UP 846 1430 4394 12049

% 57.04 29.82 23.73 37.43

Number of

Sugar

Factories

India 138 247 436 493

UP 66 74 110 119

% 47.82 29.95 25.22 24.14

5. Establishment of AICRP on Sugarcane (1970) at Lucknow and National

Hybridization Garden (1972) at Coimbatore

With an aim of restructuring the sugarcane improvement research in a coordinated

mode, All India Coordinated Research Programme on Sugarcane was established with

headquarter at IISR, Lucknow during 1970 under Fourth - Five Year Plan. Further, to provide

opportunity to all the Breeding Centers working under AICRP(S), a National Hybridization

Garden, with parental germplasm, breeding lines etc, was established at Sugarcane Breeding

Institute, Coimbatore. The new system provided a unique opportunity to breed new varieties

which were suitable for specific areas, but had short life span due to their susceptibility to

various diseases and pests. But, the system also provided for robust screening and selection of

new parents which resulted in widely adapted varieties such as CoS 767, Co 1148, CoJ 64,

CoLk 8102, CoLk 8001, BO 91, CoS 8436, etc which ruled on vast areas under sugarcane

cultivation. The list given here provides an insight into the rapid increase in number of

varieties credited to this system.

Period Varieties under cultivation in sub-tropical India

Pre-twenties Hemja, Katha, Khakai, Pathri , Saretha

Twenties Co 205, Co 210, Co 213, Co 214, Co 223, Co 281, Co 290

Thirties Co 205, Co 213, Co 223, Co 244, Co 281, Co 285, Co 290, Co 312,

Co 313

Forties Co 213, Co 312, Co 313, Co 331, Co 356, Co 453

Fifties Co 312, Co 313, Co 453, Co 951, CoS 245, CoS 510

Sixties Co 312, Co 975, Co 1107, Co 1148, BO 17, CoS 510

Seventies Co 312, Co 1148, Co 1158, BO 17, CoS 510

Eighties Co 1148, Co 1158, Co 7717, BO 91, BO 99, CoJ 64, CoS 687, CoS 767

Nineties BO 91, BO 99, BO 108, BO 109, BO 116, BO 120, BO 128, BO 130, Co

1148, Co 1158, Co 7717, Co 87263, Co 87268, Co 89003, CoH 56, CoH

92, CoH 98, CoH 7801, CoH 7803, CoJ 64, CoJ 81, CoJ 83, CoJ 85, CoJ

86, CoLk 8102, CoLk 8001, CoP 9302, CoPant 84211, CoPant 84212,

CoS 687, CoS 767,

CoS 8201, CoS 7918, CoS 8436, CoS 88230, CoS 94257, CoS 94272, UP

9530,

CoS 95222, CoS 96255, CoS 96268, CoS 97264, CoSe 92423, UP 9529

GPA-2018


6. Provision for Release and Notification of sugarcane varieties (2000-01)

Considering the rapid proliferation of varieties at State level, the provision of Release

and Notification of sugarcane varieties by Government of India was initiated from the year

2000-01. The system was successful in curbing the practice of identifying and releasing

varieties which were not thoroughly tested and were found to be disease or pest susceptible at

later stages. The confidence of farmers in varieties released from AICRP(S) system increased

in due course and high yielding adapted varieties thoroughly tested at different Centers across

States gained importance. This also resulted in focused seed cane production system by

avoiding thinning of resources for producing seed cane of non-popular varieties. The impact

of the varieties released through AICRP(S) system can be easily observed in terms yield and

production, which rapidly increased during last decade (refer table given earlier). Some of the

important varieties released through this system for sub-tropical India (including Uttar

Pradesh) are CoPant 90223, CoH 92201, CoS 95255, Co 98014, CoS 96268, CoPant 97222,

CoS 96275, Co 0118, Co 0238, CoH 128, Co 05011, CoPK 05191, Co 05009, Co 89029, BO

128, CoSe 95422, CoSe 92423, CoSe 96436, CoLk 94184, Co 0232, Co 0233, CoSe 01421,

CoP 06436, Co 0233, Co 0232, Co 09022, CoLk 09204, CoLk 11203, CoLk 11206 etc.

7. Impact of Breeding Strategy during different phases

During early 1950s, the parental clones used in the development of new varieties were

either first generation hybrids (obtained from crossing among species level germplasm

clones) or initial derivatives of such crosses. These parental material exhibited good level of

hybrid vigour and had broad genetic base owing to their inter-specific origin and nobilization

through back-crossing. During this period, commercialization of new varieties was limited

and hence a lot of emphasis was laid on maintaining their field performance through

advancements in agro-techniques. From 1970s, with the establishment of NHG at

Coimbatore, the strategy of breeding become more focused towards selection of suitable

varieties of sub-tropical India as parents for developing new varieties. The result was

manifested in the form of reduction in the genetic base and shorter life span of the

commercial varieties. But, this strategy also resulted in some high yielding, high in fibre,

disease & pest resistant highly adapted varieties of sub-tropical India such as CoLk 8102, BO

91, CoSe 92423, CoS 767, Co 1148 etc which provided the much needed base for breeding

totally different set of varieties.

During 1980s, it became clear that the narrow genetic base varieties may not sustain

the commercial requirements for longer periods, hence, the process of developing Inter

Specific Hybrids (ISH clones) was again initiated at SBI, Coimbatore and the clonal

generations developed were tested under different environmental conditions. The outcome

was a set of ISH clones which were used as parents in NHG. Simultaneously, during the same

period, the concept of Early Maturing varieties gained momentum to increase the cane

crushing period of the sugar factories. Moreover, the diversification of sugar factories by

addition of co-generation plants for electricity, prompted for development of High Sugar-

GPA-2018


High Fibre varieties of sugarcane. The encouraging result of these breeding efforts started

pouring-in from 2000-01 and is still continuing. The high crushing capacity sugar mills along

with their diversified needs are replacing the old factories and the production results for last

two years has shown that the new sugarcane varieties in cultivation are in perfect accordance

with the present day commercial needs. The choice of parents for these varieties, such as Co

0238 (CoLk 8102 x Co 775), CoLk 94184 (CoLk 8001 Self), CoLk 09204 (CoLk 8102 x CoJ

64), Co 0118 (Co 8347 x Co 86011), CoPK 05191 (Co 1158 GC), CoLk 11203 (CoLk 8102 x

Co 1148), CoLk 11206 (CoPant 90223 x Co 62198) etc, clearly indicates the successful

breeding strategy adopted during last three decades.

The sugarcane being a commercial crop, contributes significantly to India‘s GDP and

it provides raw material to one of the most organized industrial sector that is Sugar Industry.

Its contribution in the economy of Uttar Pradesh is well admired with 37 lakh sugarcane

farmers who supplied cane worth Rs 35,454 crore during 2017-18 crushing season along with

61 cogeneration units producing about 1,555 MW of power, 32 distillery and ethanol units

having total production capacity of 2,668 kilolitres per day, besides supplying by-products for

production of pulp, paper, jam, board, furniture, organic matter and so on. In conclusion, it

can be said that the breeding efforts have made possible that India is not only self sufficient

for sugar but has capacity to now divert sugarcane for 2nd

generation ethanol production to

meet the future requirements of bio-fuels in energy sector. The challenges for next decade are

many because of climate change, energy requirements, increasing population, reducing farm

size, lack of irrigation water, new diseases and insect pests, etc but, it is sure that by

following modified breeding strategies these targets will be met in time or even before the

time.

8. My humble contribution (since 1992) in the Journey of Sugarcane

Five varieties Released/Identified: CoLk 9709, CoLk 09204, CoLk 11203, CoLk

11206 and CoLk 07201 (identified)

Two varieties under Process of Identification and Release: CoLk 12207 and CoLk

12209

Clones under AICRP(S) testing at different stages: >30

Germplasm Registration: 03

Parents submitted to NHG: >20

Germplasm Maintained and screened for sub-tropical India since 1994: 350

Reference Collection under DUS Testing since 2006: 140

Facilitation in Extant Varieties Registration: >35

Seed Cane produced for CVRC Released varieties since 2005: 8000-9000 q/year

GPA-2018


Role of millets for food security in the context of Climate change

B. Gopal Reddy

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh

An increasing population means an ever-increasing demand for food. This global concern has

led to antagonism over resources such as water and soil. Agricultural lands with irrigation

facilities have been exploited to a maximum, and hence we need to focus on dry lands to further

increase grain production. Millets as climate-change compliant crops score highly over other

grains like wheat and rice in terms of marginal growing conditions and high nutritional value.

These nutri-cereals abode vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, phytochemicals and

antioxidants that can help to eradicate the plethora of nutritional deficiency diseases. Millet's

cultivation can keep dry lands productive and ensure future food and nutritional security.

Keywords: food security; water resources; millets; climate change

Facing hunger and feeding the world population are two of the biggest challenges of the

modern world. Reasons contributing to this issue range from deficiencies in the supply of micro

and macronutrients, shortage in production of foods leading to supply–demand imbalances.

Although several of these triggers for hunger can be addressed leading to a slight reduction in the

population suffering from hunger and malnutrition from almost one billion in 1990–1992 to 850

million in 2010–2012, the threat of climate change and global warming still linger. Estimates

show that the reduction in food production rates along with the added pressure of feeding a

population exceeding 9 billion by 2050 could lead to 2–3 billion people suffering from hunger,

food and nutritional insecurities.

Climate change and increasing global average temperatures are reported to have a direct

impact on crop yields, crop productivity and overall sustainability of our food systems. Although

some estimates show that a few regions could benefit from climate change due to increased

productivity and yields, this will not be sufficient to feed the higher number of inhabitants

globally. Furthermore, most of the scientific community agrees that the current rates of global

warming and emissions of greenhouse gas would significantly reduce the overall crop

productivity. Thus, reducing the greenhouse-gas emissions to control global temperatures plays a

crucial role in achieving food security. However, the agricultural sector is one of the primary

contributors to greenhouse gases such as methane into the atmosphere. Higher emissions are

generally caused by intensive agricultural practices, which are being followed in different

locations around the world.

Importance of millets

The demand of food will increase proportionately with growth in world population. At

present, about 50% of world‘s total calorie intake is derived directly from cereals. Rice, wheat and

maize have emerged as the major staple cereals with a lesser extent of sorghum and millets. An

increase in the areas of crops with intense water requirements like rice, sugarcane (Saccharum

officinarum) and cotton (Gossypium) has resulted in the increase in 0.009%, in the distance,

between the ground level and ground water table and this loss is approximately equivalent to a

loss of 7191 L of ground water per hectare. There is a lesser possibility of increasing the

production of major staple cereals as the world is already facing the challenges of an increase in

dry lands and deepening of ground water level. According to the report of the National Rainfed

Area Authority (NRAA) even after realizing the full irrigation potential, about half of the net,

GPA-2018


sown area will continue to remain rainfed. This alarms the need of shifting to the alternative of

current cereal staples.

Millet's cultivation can be a solution to this problem as these can grow on shallow, low fertile

soils with a pH of soil ranging from acidic 4.5 to basic soils with pH of Over the course of the last

few decades, various researchers have used different models to predict the outlook of soil

conditions and water resources around the world, 50–100 years from now, which have been

summarized and presented. Although there have been previous attempts to review the modeling

data, they are generally limited to a specific region or a limited aspect of climate change.

However, in this paper, the modeling data are presented in three broad categories: soil conditions,

water resources and agricultural productivity. The criteria for selecting a study for this review are

mentioned below in a dedicated section. Combining the information from these studies from

select regions around the world could provide us with an insight on how to tackle the issue of

climate change. Furthermore, millet has been discussed as an alternative cereal due to its inherent

ability to grow under adverse conditions, which include low-quality soils and lack of irrigation

facilities.

Millets Cultivation

Cereal crops are not only a major source of macronutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and

proteins but also have a significant global warming potential. Among all the major cereal crops,

wheat has the highest global warming potential of around 4 tons CO2 eq/ha followed by rice and

maize (around 3.4 tons CO2 eq/ha). These crops also have a high-carbon equivalent emission of

1000, 956 and 935 kg C/ha for wheat, rice and maize, respectively. Despite their higher emission

rates, they are widely cultivated and are primary sources of nutrition for the global population.

However, the carbon footprints of other minor cereal crops such as millets and sorghum are

comparatively lower. This is one of the primary reason's millets can be one of the crops that could

reduce the carbon footprint in the world. According to the FAO (2014), the most cultivated

varieties of millet are Pearl, Proso, Foxtail, Japanese Barnyard, Finger and Kodo and are

cultivated across the globe. Different types of millets have different scientific names as well as the

common name based on the region in which they are cultivated, and these millets are cultivated in

different regions of the world and require different growing conditions. Rice, wheat, maize and to

a lesser extent, millets are consumed daily as primary sources of nutrition by billions of people

around the globe. Temperature and water availability dictate the growth pattern of these crops.

Rice and maize are grown in areas with ample supply of water, whereas cultivation of wheat is

done largely in areas with limited water resources and appropriate temperatures. Sorghum and

millets are grown in areas where water resources are scarce. Furthermore, millets can be

cultivated in semi-arid and arid regions because of their tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and

their substantial yield in low-quality lands with minimal input.

Millets are generally thermophilic (thriving at relatively higher temperatures) and xerophilic

(can reproduce with limited water input). A wide variety of millets is found in different regions of

the world that require different soil types for their normal growth. Pearl millet can grow on poor

sandy soils and is well suited for dry climates due to its ability to use moisture efficiently

compared to sorghum or maize. Pearl millets are thus generally grown in areas having marginal

soil with low annual rainfall in the range of 200–500 mm. Pearl millet is a traditional crop in

Rajastan, Gujarat, Maharastra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh states. It is considered to be an

important crop to ensure food security in regions of Africa and India. Finger millet, also known as

Eleusine coracana L., is grown in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra states.

Taking production statistics into account, it secures the sixth position in India among major cereal

GPA-2018


grains following wheat, rice, maize, sorghum and bajra. It can thrive at higher temperatures, and

in soils with higher salinity compared to other cereal crops. Optimum conditions for growing

finger millet are temperatures ranging from 11 to 27oC, soil pH of 5 to 8.2, and medium rainfall.

Proso millet is cultivated in Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh states. Proso

millet is a short-seasoned crop usually cultivated for 60–75 days, requires an average annual

rainfall of less than 600 mm and an average temperature of 17oC during the daytime is considered

optimum. Seeds of foxtail millets have been found in various sites in Europe, the Middle East,

and Eastern and Central Asia dated to the Neolithic and Bronze ages. Today, this millet is widely

cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar. Foxtail millet has a fast ripening

mechanism and a high photosynthetic efficiency; hence, it is perfectly suited to be used as a catch

crop. Moreover, it is rich in nutrition and has good resistance to pests and diseases. This crop has

a good yield with only single pre-sowing precipitation. Foxtail millet is more water efficient

compared to maize and sorghum. Barnyard millet is a drought-tolerant crop with a rapid

maturation rate and possesses high nutritional qualities. It is predominantly grown at Uttarakhand,

Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka states. Kodo millet originated in India. It is assumed that

domestication of this millet took place about 3000 years ago. Kodo millet is well suited for

tropical and sub-tropical regions. Kodo millet is said to possess the highest drought resistance

among all minor millets and believed to give good yield with a growing period lasting 100–135

days.

Effects of processing on millets

Processing of millets decreases the anti-nutritional factors in millets and improves the bio-

accessibility of nutrients. Many processing methods have been used traditionally like

roasting/popping, soaking, germination and fermentation. All these methods have been reported to

have a significant impact on the nutritional value of the grain. Malting of millets improves access

to nutrients and has been reported to increase the bioaccessibility of iron by 300% and of

manganese by 17%. The anti-nutritional factors decreased significantly with an increase in

germination time due to hydrolytic activity of the enzyme phytase that increases during

germination. The phytate content of millets can be reduced by germination as during the

germination the hydrolysis of phytate phosphorus into inositol monophosphate takes place, which

contributes to the decrease in phytic acid. The tannins are also leached during soaking and

germination of grains, and hence it results in the reduction in tannins. Boiling and pressure

cooking also result in reduction in tannins. Fermentation is known to reduce the anti-nutritional

factors and hence improves the protein digestibility. Irradiation has also shown the inhibitory

effects against anti-nutrients, and it enhances the protein digestibility. Extrusion cooking or high-

temperature short time (HTST) processing has been reported to reduce anti-nutrients like

phytates, tannins and increase bioavailability of minerals.

Conclusions

Millets can easily thrive in extreme conditions like drought, and some wild varieties can even

prevail in flooded areas and swampy grounds. These have low glycaemic index, abode gluten-free

protein and are rich in minerals (calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, etc.), B-vitamins and

antioxidants. These extraordinary traits make them nutritious and climate-change compliant

crops. These cannot only serve as an income crop for farmers but also improve the health of the

community as a whole. The use of millets in commercial/packaged food will encourage farmers to

grow millets and will open new opportunities and revitalize the farmers. The inclusion of millet-

based foods in international, national and state-level feeding programs will help to overcome the

existing nutrient deficiencies of protein, calcium and iron in developing countries.

GPA-2018


Evolving Global Framework for the Transformation of Agricultural

Education and Research Systems for Development

Sarma C. Mallubhotla1 and Bandana Bose

2

1International Development Consultant (Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition), Ottawa,

Canada. e-mail: [email protected] ; Corresponding and presenting author

2Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi (U.P), India.

e-mail: [email protected]

Agriculture continues to be the main engine of economic growth of practically all

developing countries, providing many multiplier effects and sustainable benefits. Productivity

growth that resulted from agricultural education, research, and technology development has

had tremendous influence on global food supply chains, with consequent beneficial impacts

on global food security and poverty reduction. The objectives of this article are to (a) discuss

the current landscape of agricultural education and research systems in Africa, Asia and Latin

America and (b) highlight the significance and need for a broad strategic framework based on

national priorities, comparative advantages of the countries, and the regional dynamics. The

role of international and regional partnerships in agriculture and sustainable development will

help to reaffirm the prominence of sustainable agriculture on the global development agenda,

and will mobilize appropriate financial, human and technical resources to achieve the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policy and institutional reforms are needed to

strengthen Agricultural Education and Training (AET) capacity to produce the desired skilled

workforce with entrepreneurial competencies. The agricultural knowledge policy should be

aimed at creating optimal conditions for knowledge generation, development of technologies,

and innovation. It is time to recognize that agricultural education and research systems are of

the top priorities in world development.

Global frame work of agricultural education and research system

Amrendra Kumar, Tanweer Alam, Udyan Mukherjee, Department of Entomology,


An immense increase in food production is needed to sustain global food security by

the year 2050. Because the students of these days will be the diligent of 2050, it is vastly

important that an adequate number of students are being educated to accomplish this

increasing food demand. Presently a lot of agricultural research is being done to find the best

techniques to meet this increasing demand. However, the number of students interested in

studying agriculture or any related science is lagging behind, which causes a hampering of

the innovation and application of agricultural knowledge. It seems that the current image of

agricultural education in developed regions is one of the obstacles in attracting enough

students. In developed countries students from other degrees in general enjoy a higher social

status than they do because they don‘t face any food security and food crisis problem.

Improving society‘s awareness on the role of agriculture in our daily lives can greatly

improve the image of the sector in general and therefore the amount of students choosing this

particular field of study. Other possible reasons for low interest in the study like the quality of

the study, the extra-curricular opportunities and the career perspective after graduation are

GPA-2018


also important. In developing countries the case is different. In many of those countries a

certain part of the population is facing food security problems themselves. This makes that

the awareness of the role of an agronomist in their daily life is much bigger. In these

countries the students have indicated that the agricultural students enjoy a higher social status

and the number of students showing interest in agricultural sciences is substantially higher. In

order to attracting more students in the field of agriculture the first step is increasing the

general interest of students in the sector. At this point, the vast majority of high school

students never even considers to study agricultural or any related science. As long as students

remain ignorant to the sector they consequently will not inform themselves about the content

and quality of the study, nor will they learn about the job opportunities this field can offer

them.

Agricultural education and research is key to technology development and increased

productivity. In practice, agricultural education and research in majority of the countries are

generally planned, funded and managed as separate systems, often by different organizations

and institutions. In more recent years three other actors have started to play a central role in

this process: Farmers‘ Organizations, NGOs and the private sector. Presently, it is estimated

that the private sector is responsible for approximately 80% of the research in plant

biotechnology worldwide. An important aspect of producer or farmer involvement in

research is participatory technology development (PTD). Most farmers in developing

countries already undertake small experiments on their own farms as part of their livelihood

strategy. PTD helps promote and support this process, but it is complementary, not a

substitute for on-station research. Another reason of producer involvement is helping set the

agendas for research programs. In order to respond to the opportunities and challenges

described, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) was established in October of

1996. This initiative forms part of the renovation process launched by the CGIAR, aimed at

mobilizing and integrating the various stakeholders of agricultural research for development

(ARD).

Information exchange and knowledge sharing

Udyan Mukherjee, Amrendra Kumar, Tanweer Alam, Department of Entomology,


Information is a vital tool to enable and increase farmers‘ livelihoods, provided the

farmer can use the information positively. This information needs to be shared so that others

not only have and use it, but can also customize it for themselves and share it again

thereafter. Most of the valuable and recent information‘s are not reach to the farmers due to

various reasons. A very huge amount of knowledge and information‘s are available and

stored on internet. However, it is only accessed by a very small percentage of farmers and

most of the information‘s are available in English knowledge. Although such tools are very

useful, Internet connectivity is limited in rural areas and often unaffordable to farmers and

most of the farmers are still illiterate. To help bridge this gap, we also work to make online

information available offline and in local language of the farmers. So, these information and

articles are periodically print and distributed among the Village Knowledge Brokers to share

GPA-2018


with their communities. Farmers are then able to read and also respond to these

information‘s. Agricultural extension workers play key role in these activities. We have seen

farmers who have benefited from increased farm outputs with each season and diversified

their income-generating activities helped by the use of appropriate tools for sharing

knowledge and local content. Much of the information we produce and disseminate is in

English – so many people in rural populations are unable to read them. Hence there is a need

to produce information in the local language, but those that cannot read are also left out. All

actors in the R&D process from research design through to those who will apply the

outcomes in the field should communicate with each other and should have equal access to

knowledge.‖ We need inclusive, participatory approaches to knowledge-sharing. This

knowledge has to be mobilized from a diverse set of sources. It is not sufficient, for example,

that research institutes only access each other‘s reports. They must tap into many other

information flows, including farmers, and find ways to document and provide access to this

knowledge. They must design information products and services for more diverse audiences.

They must devise different, collaborative, interactive ways to share and exchange

information.

Present Status, Emerging Trendsand Future Prospects of Agricultural

Engineering Education in India

Dr.Vinod Kumar Tripathi

Department of Farm Engineering,

Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

The Agricultural Engineering education addresses issues relevant to socio-economic

and technological development of a country. The quality and quantum of agriculture inputs

and their management techniques and also quality of farm produce and methods of value

additions would keep on changing with advancement of industrialization in general and with

improvement in economic condition of farmers and processors in particular.First Agricultural

Engineering education is started from Allahabad Agricultural Institute (Presently called as

Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences),Allahabad,UP, since

1942. As per recent estimate around 2000 students are graduated every year with agricultural

engineering degree from 41 agricultural universities and private engineering colleges

approved by All India Council of Technical Education. The agricultural engineering

curriculum has been revised as per fifth dean committee constituted by Indian Council of

Agricultural Research, New Delhi. There is need to modify the curriculum from time to time

to serve the changing needs of the agriculture and agro-industry sector. The education

planning should, therefore, be based on the future requirements of at least eight to ten years

ahead.In this light, the job of an agricultural engineer is to enhance agricultural production by

means of better engineering technologies, equipments, methods and inventions. Due to the

global trend towards standardization of all agricultural products and equipment, there has

been an upsurge in the demand of such professionals. The five main branches of Agricultural

engineering are farm equipments, rural structures, soil conservation, drainage, and irrigation

and rural electricity.After the completion of their course, such engineers can begin working

GPA-2018


as specialists in private consultancies, government and non-government organisations. They

can specialize in designing power and machine systems, animal or plant production,

environment management or in food and bioprocess. Skilled professionals can opt for

research activities. Agricultural engineers can also work in NGOs under various schemes and

projects.The agricultural engineering sector can plays a vital role in doubling the farmers‘

income in India.

Impact of Vocational Training on Knowledge Level of Rural Youth

B.D. Singh,andAditya*

Scientist, KVK,Barh, Patna *Asstt. Prof., Extension Education,

BAU, Sabour, Bhagalpur

Email :[email protected]

Human capital is an essential determinant of economic growth.Vocational training have

a positive impact on a person's motivation, attitude, self-esteem, and self-confidence

especially among the unemployed rural youth. Vocational training improves the productivity

and enhances the efficiency of the unemployed rural youth for better participation in economic

development.

Keeping above in mind, present study was conductedon Impact of vocational training

(Mushroom cultivation and Vermicompost production) on knowledge level of trainees. KVK,

Patna organized skill oriented training at campus on Mushroom Production and vermin-

compost production in the year 2016-17. All together 30 participants participated in each of

the trainings from different blocks of Patna district. A detailed questionnaire pertaining to

technical knowledge on mushroom production and vermicompost production was developed

for collecting basic knowledge about the different enterprise from the participants. A total of

100 score to different package of practices were assigned. Knowledge of trainees was

measured on the basis of their score obtained, in Pre training knowledge test and Post training

knowledge test. Knowledge of trainees was categorized as poor (up to 33 score), fair (34-67

score) and very good (68 to 100 score). Prior to the training on Mushroom Production, the

trainees were possessing poor technical know-how on Mushroom Production and its benefits

as evident from the above data. Out of 30 participant 28 participant were having poor

knowledge level (93%) and only 02 participant were having fair knowledge level (07%).

Evaluation after post training phase showed that there was a tremendous change in knowledge

level of the participant. 67% of the participant were attaining fair knowledge and 33% of the

participant were attaining very good knowledge level on bee keeping.Similarly, Pre training

knowledge test of training on vermicompost production technique indicated poor technical

know-how in vermicompost production technique and its uses as evident from the data. All the

30 participant were having poor knowledge level. After post training phase there was a

tremendous change in knowledge level of the participant. Only 13% participant were poor in

knowledge level while 29% 0f the participant were attaining fair knowledge and 58% 0f the

participant were attaining very good knowledge level.On the basis of above data it can be

concluded that training conducted by KVK on vermicompost production technique was very

effective in increasing knowledge level of the participant.

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It can be concluded from the study that the trainees who attended the training

programme on Mushroom cultivation and vermicompost production technique, gained

sufficient technical know-how in all the practices in the training programmes. Organization of

such training programme has been found quite effective in improving competency level of the

participant. Trainees themselves realized the importance of training and expected for regular

training programme, wherein one gets the opportunity for updating technical know-how. The

findings also clearly depicted that the follow-up of the trainings by the KVKs is necessary

which would provide much needed guidance to the trainees and avoid discontinuance of the

enterprises.

Evaluation of Different IPM Modules against Gram Pod Borer

[Helicoverpa Armigera (Hubner)] On Chickpea

Dr. Ram Keval and Sunil Verma

Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Institute of agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005 India


The field experiment was conducted during Rabi, 2016-17 and 2017-18 at

Agricultural Research Farm, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University,

Varanasi to evaluate the effectiveness of different integrated pest management (IPM)

modules against gram pod borer, [Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner)], on chickpea (Cicer

arietinum L.) variety ‗BG 256‘. The IPM modules showed significant difference in the per

cent pod and grain damage by gram pod borer. Among the various modules evaluated for

both the years i.e. Module M2 (Mustard as intercrop, pheromone traps @ 20/ha, Emmamectin

benzoate 5 SG and HaNPV), followed by module M1 (pheromones trap @ 20/ha,

chlorantraniliprole, and NSKE @ 5 %), were found effective against management of H.

armigera over module M3, module M4 and control. Grain yield was higher (1613 and 1622

kg/ ha) during 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively. Followed by module M1 and pod damage

was lowest in module M2 (9.67 % and 10.33 %) during the consecutive years, followed by

module M1 in comparison to other modules and control. The highest cost: benefit (C: B) ratio

was found in module M2, 1.36 and 1.38 (during 2016-17 and 2017-18) followed by module

M1, module M3 and module M4. The module M2 (Mustard as intercrop, pheromone traps @

20/ha, Emmamectin benzoate 5 SG and HaNPV) is found superior against management of H.

armigera over all modules and can be employed by farmers in pest management programme.

Conversing Information into Knowledge System:

Emerging Extension Approach

Dr. A. K. Sah

ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India

Today a new paradigm of information delivery is fast emerging in Indian agriculture.

The old ways of delivering services to the farmers, cane growers and other stakeholders in

Indian Sugar Industry are being challenged and traditional societies are being transformed

into knowledge societies all over the world. ‗Task Force on India as Knowledge Superpower‘

(GOI, 2001) emphasized the necessity of developing the capacity to generate, absorb,

disseminate and protect knowledge and exploit it as a powerful tool to derive societal

GPA-2018


transformation. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is seen as an important

means of achieving such a transformation. If used as a tool for providing scientific

knowledge to local sugarcane farming community, ICT heralds the formation of knowledge

societies in the rural areas. However, this can only be realised when knowledge and

information are effectively harvested for overall agricultural development in general and

sugar industry development in particular.

Agricultural extension, in the current scenario of a rapidly changing sugar scenario,

has been recognised as an essential mechanism for delivering knowledge (information) and

advice as an input for modern sugarcane farming systems (Jones, 1997). However, it has to

escape from the narrow mindset of transferring technology packages to transferring

knowledge packages. If this can be achieved, with the help of ICT, extension will become

more diversified, more knowledge-intensive, and more demand driven, and thus more

effective in meeting farmers‘ information needs. ICT has many potential applications in

agricultural extension (Zijp, 1994). ICT can enable extension workers to gather, store,

retrieve and disseminate a broad range of information needed by stakeholders, thus

transforming them from extension workers into knowledge workers. the emergence of such

knowledge workers will result in the realization of the much talked about bottom-up, demand

driven technology generation, assessment, refinement and transfer.

Development of knowledge systems by conversing information and utilizing them for

inclusive growth of the Indian sugar industry may be focal theme of futuristic extension

approach. Harnessing the provision of ICT for knowledge management in sugar industry by

way of utilizing content management techniques and decision support tools should be

considered as key components. There is need to develop ―e-books‖ on sugarcane as ready

reckoner and static electronic resources available to the stakeholders in their language of

understandings. The development of decision support tools in the form of ―expert-systems‖

will be another key ICT tools to add in effective decision making by the stakeholders. To

extend the tangible benefits of developed knowledge systems ―Information KIOSK‖ at

village level will be must to be established at sugar mill premises or farms. Training of

clientele groups to develop local level expertise and enrich cognitive domain of farmers in

knowledge systems utilization & management must be another highlight of the new initiative.

Bioprospecting thermophilic bacterial population from Jammu & Kashmir

for industrial enzymes

Sneahpreet Kour, Brajeshwar Singh* and Diksha Raina Division of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences

SKUAST-Jammu

Email : [email protected]

Thermophilic bacteria can be isolated from terrestrial geothermally heated habitats

including shallow terrestrial hot springs. The cellular components of thermophiles are

extremely thermostable and these together with their unique metabolic capabilities, offer

considerable promise for biotechnological applications. Microorganisms isolated from these

environments are a good source of thermostable enzymes.

In the present investigation, cultivable diversity of aerobic thermophilic bacteria was

isolated from hot springs of Jammu division of Jammu & Kashmir viz. Rajouri, Tatta Pani

hot springs (106.10F) and Kishtwar, Padhyarna hot springs (131.4

0F). Total 53 thermophilic

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bacteria were isolated from Tatta Pani hot springs (Rajouri) and 40 from Padhyarna hot

springs (Kishtwar). Thermophilic bacteria were isolated and screened for industrial enzyme

potential (Amylases and Lipases). From Rajouri water samples five best performers were

selected for amylases (MBRS-1,2,3,10 and 11) and five for Lipases (MBRS-14,15,19,20 and

21). Five best performing cultures with maximum clearance zones for amylases were selected

among Kishtwar water samples (MBKS-21,28,29,39 and 40) and five for lipases (MBKS-

15,16,17,20 and 21). Most of the bacteria were Gram-positive rods with endospore and had

resemblance with genus Bacillus.

Keywords: Thermophiles, hot spring, thermostable, Tatta Pani and amylases

Modulation of postharvest quality of fresh horticultural produce by

exogenous polyamines treatment

Swati Sharma, Sudhir Singh and Jagadish Singh

Division of Vegetable Production, ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research

Varanasi 221 005, Uttar Pradesh, India

Polyamines are universally present in all living organisms. These aliphatic amines

play important roles in numerous physiological functions like growth, development,

flowering, fruit set and biotic and abiotic stress responses. The most common polyamines

present in the plants are putrescine, spermidine and spermine. Several workers have reported

beneficial effects on fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers in enhancing postharvest storage

duration by giving polyamines treatment. It has been observed that it is effective in delaying

ripening and senescence.Polyaminesand ethylene share common precursor S-adenosyl

methionine, thereby they reduce ethylene levels.Further, polyamines also aid quality

maintenance by retaining firmness, reducing respiration rate and color changes during

postharvest storage. The mechanism of action involves not only reduction in ethylene

biosynthesis, but also lowering cell wall degrading enzyme activity, up-regulation of nitric

oxide, lowering chilling injury, stabilizing membranes and lowered membrane

peroxidation.Extended shelf life and maintenance of quality was recorded in several crops

such as strawberry, litchi, zucchini, carnation, kiwifruit, pomegranate, plum, grape, mango

and papaya on exogenous polyamine treatment.However, effects waver dependent on many

dynamics like species, cultivar, stage, dose, storage conditions and mode of application. The

required doses need to be established by experiments to maintain quality of fresh horticultural

produce during postharvest storage.

Role of Plant Growth Regulators in Cucurbit Production

* A. K. Pal, Sandeep K. Mauriya and Kalyan Barman




The plant growth regulators (PGR‘s) are considered as a new generation agro-

chemicals after fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and are known to enhance the source sink

GPA-2018


relationship and stimulate the translocation of photo-assimilates thereby helping better fruit

set. In cucurbits, it is possible to increase the yield level by increasing the fruit set per cent by

use of some growth regulators. Cucurbits are cultivated for their mature and immature fruits.

Plant hormones play an important role in controlling the growth and development of plants.

Other endogenous chemical messengers called hormones, less interdependent set of external

environmental factors, such as light, water, temperature and gravity, also play indispensable

role in the development of plants. Application of plant growth regulators have significant

influence on morphological characters like vine length, number of leaves, number of female

flowers and fruit set per cent in cucurbits. There are numerous reports showing that

gibberellins promote growth of intact plants. The promotion of growth either in terms of

increase in vine length or the leaf area and leaf number has been thought to be due to

increasing plasticity of the cells followed by hydrolysis of starch to sugars which lowers the

water potential of cells resulting in the entry of water into the cells causing elongation. These

osmotic driven responses under the influence of gibberellins might be attributed to increase in

photosynthetic activity, accelerated translocation and efficiency of utilizing photosynthetic

products, thus resulting increased cell elongation and rapid cell division in the growing

portion of the vine.

Key words: Plant Growth Regulators (PGR’s), Cucurbits, Agrochemicals, Hormones.

Prospects and Emerging Challenges of Extension Education

in 21st Centaury in India

Pankaj Kumar Saraswat and Lungkhong Riamei, Kolom Rabi and I. Bhupenchandra

KVK Tamenglong Manipur, ICAR-RC for North Eastern Hill Region

Manipur Centre Imphal-795004

Since the education has been playing an important role in guiding the human being to

fight with the failure and get success in life. Therefore, education is an important tool for the

personal, social and economic development of the nation. In the changing situation, farmers

also need to be educated to transform themselves from mere producer-seller in the domestic

market to producer cum seller in a wider market sense to realize good returns on their

investments, risks and efforts. However, farmers have received most of the production

technologies from the extension education system. But the rate of percolation of new

practical findings through extension system to farmers at field level is very slow and piece

meal. Therefore, the extension education system needs to be oriented with access to recent

advances in information communication, technological knowledge and skills related to the

value addition and market. To bridge the gap between technology development and transfer

at farmer‘s door step, there is an urgent need for innovations in science of extension

education for making the farmers more competent and trained at their field. For managing

agricultural production with sustainable natural resource management, extension oriented

adaptive research need to be conducted taking existing technology in to consideration and

tailoring it to defined area. The lack of close working relationship between national

agricultural research and extension organizations with different categories of farmers and

farm organizations coupled with infrastructure and competent man power is one of the most

difficult institutional problems confronting National Agricultural Research and Extension

System in India. There are growing perceptions that the emerging demands of farmer‘s

education about the recent technological innovations and developments are not being

GPA-2018


adequately addressed. Also many times research system does not get adequate feedback to

plan and conduct demand driven research thereby a huge gap exist in quality of research

output required at the farmers level and that being developed. We have to make some real

breakthroughs in extension education network for correct dissemination of available

technology to farmers as well as extension functionaries. Therefore, extension education

network system should play a pro-active role in reaching to the farmers for getting first hand

information, farmers‘ perception, feedback and develop more new appropriate methodologies

for divers‘ farm environment.

Key words: National Agricultural Research and Extension System, technological innovations

and farmers’ education

‘Smart Krishi’ – An Innovative Farm Service Approach for Sustainable

Agriculture in Rice-Wheat system

S. P. Singh* and B. B. Singh

Centre for Agri-solutions & Technology, Tata Chemicals Ltd., Babrala, Indiradham,

Dist. Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, PIN 202421 *E-mail: [email protected]

Rice–wheat cropping in India is labour, resource and energy intensive; but less

profitable under diminishing resources and low adoption of technology. This could

deteriorate soil health and affect sustainability. A paradigm shift in approach is required to

break the vicious low input – low output cycle. Lack of mechanization and non-adoption of

ideal package of practice were identified as two prime causes affecting yield and farm income

in rice-wheat belt of Western UP. A unique Farm Service named ‗Smart Krishi‘ was

conceived to address both these issues – with a twin objective of 1) to improve level of

mechanization and 2) to ensure adoption of integrated input-management practices.

Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL), a leading crop nutrition solution provider, carried out

the service through Tata Kisan Sansar (TKS), a retail outlet operated on a franchisee model

and are exclusive for TCL. In this service model machines were owned by TKS and

operations were managed by TCL. A custom hiring package was developed comprising of

laser leveller, sub-soiler, Happy Seeder, paddy transplanter, mechanized spraying solutions,

and combined harvester/ reaper. Personalized input-package was developed on the basis of

soil test based decision support system. A systematic approach was developed for registering

farmers for input service and hand-holding during season. A pilot project on the same has

been successfully carried out at one of the retail outlets at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Adoption

of ‗Smart Krishi‘ service resulted >20% increase in crop yield and significant increment in

farm income in rice wheat cropping system.

Keywords: Rice–wheat, smart krishi, sustainability, mechanization, farm service, input-

management.

Present and future Agronomy education

J.K. Singh* and S.P. Vishwakarma

Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005


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Present Agronomy education has to cater to the needs of business and industry

oriented Agronomy with high monetary stakes. Agronomy education therefore, should be

capable to generate technology for higher and profitable production of such crop varieties

that are preferred by the food processing industry as well as for consumption by the people

universally. Agronomists should be qualified enough to deal with the environmental and

climate change challenges under field condition. The modern Agronomy present immense

opportunity for development of high tech farm Advisory Services network in south and

south-east Asian countries. Special courses are required to fulfil knowledge of link of crop

production to soil-human health-animal health-environment. Besides the above mention

developments in Agronomy education, the greatest challenge for agronomists particularly in

Southern hemisphere is to produce enough nutritious food and to satisfy hunger of more than

a billion people all over the world and to make them secured, whose food security is under

peril. Agronomist should also concentrate to do work on quality, safe and healthy produces of

crop rather than only on economical produce.

Gracilaria dura extract confers drought tolerance in wheat by

modulating abscisic acid homeostasis

Sandeep Sharma1ǂ*, Chen Chen

2, Kusum Khatri

1, Mangal S. Rathore

1,

Shree P. Pandey3

1CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, India ǂAcademy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR, New Delhi, India 2Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, Co-Innovation Center for Modern

Production Technology of Grain Crops, Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the

Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China 3Department of Molecular Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany

Water stress severely reduces the production of wheat. Application of seaweed

extracts have started to show promise in protecting plants from environmental stresses as they

contain several biostimulants. However, the modes of actions of these biostimulants are not

clear. Here, we investigated the role of Gracilaria dura (GD), a red alga, in conferring stress

tolerance to wheat during drought under controlled and field conditions by integrating

molecular studies with physiological and field investigations. GD-sap application conferred

drought tolerance by promoting growth (biomass increased up to 57%) and crop yield (up by

70%) via facilitating physiological changes associated to maintaining higher water content.

GD-sap application significantly increased ABA accumulation (2.34 and 1.46 fold at 4 and 6

days of drought, respectively) due to enhanced gene expression of biosynthesis genes. This

followed an activation of ABA response genes and physiological processes including reduced

stomatal opening, thus reducing water loss. Moreover, GD-sap application enhanced the

expression of stress-protective genes specifically under water stress. The findings of this

study provide mechanistic insights into the functional role of GD-sap in improving drought

tolerance and, show the potential to commercialize GD-sap as a potent biostimulant for

sustainable agriculture in regions prone to drought.

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Employment generation through value addition and diversification

in jute and allied fibres

Vinod Kumar Singh, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Kunal Pratap Singh and Anil Kumar 1 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Crop Improvement, J.R.S., Katihar

2 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Soil Science, J.R.S., Katihar

3 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Plant Pathology, J.R.S., Katihar

4 Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist, Entomology, J.R.S., Katihar

Jute is considered as the ―Golden Fibre of India‖ because through the export of jute

goods India earns about Rs. 2050 crore per annum. Jute and allied fibres plays an important

role in Indian industries and agriculture where the value of jute and allied fibre goods

manufactured annually is around Rs. 8000 crores. Lively hood of approximately 4 million

population of country is directly or indirectly based the production and manufacturing jute

and allied fibres. Jute fibre is considered as a cheap fibre, and its uses are restricted to the jute

granny bags and low quality house-hold articles. It is the requirement of the whole world to

produce value-added products out of jute material. Due to the versatility of jute fibres it can

be used in a variety of ways to manufacture the products and goods. Upon the advent and

refinement of new technologies, consumer‘s demands and environmental concerns worldwide

applications of jute and allied fibres got the fresh impetus of its growth, as its applications

ranges from the manufacturing of geotextiles, jute blankets, floor coverings, curtains, jute

carpet, jute bags, sofa cover, wall hangings, paper and pulp, jute particle boards, handicrafts,

calendars to blending with cottons in textile industries. That besides employment generation

and adding precious foreign exchange money into the exchequer also protects environment

from global warming because the jute fibre is a kind of natural fibre which is biodegradable.

Key words: Allied fibres, value addition, diversification, geotextiles

Participatory video as a tool for agriculture information dissemination

Ashima Muyal* and Dr. Gyanendra Sharma

*Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Extension Education, Institute of Agriculture Science,

Banaras Hindu University. Varanasi -221005, Uttar Pradesh, India

Professor, Department of Agricultural Communication, College of Agriculture, G.B.Pant

University of Ag. & Tech. PANTNAGAR -263145 (U.S.Nagar), Uttarakhand, India

[email protected]

In the modern agricultural scenario with the convergence of all extension efforts to

narrow down the gap between the extension workers and the farmers, the inclusion of

participatory extension approaches are of deemed importance. In lieu with limitations of

wider communication gap in agriculture extension to solve the production problems of a large

majority of small farmers there is a frantic search for alternative approach to develop useful

technologies. There is a need to make farmers more active partners in technology

development process. Participatory video as an extension approach is bringing together the

local communities with their own knowledge and capacity for research on one platform with

the researchers and other professionals. It is a useful means of sharing knowledge with

farmers, scientists, extension workers, agricultural journalists and other rural development

professionals. The paper highlighted the emphasized of the role of participatory video in

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agriculture information dissemination; evolution of participatory video, various agencies

using participatory video approach, application of participatory video, impacts of

participatory video through various cases. The functions and working of participatory video

and its role in development communication have also been studied. Finally, the study

supports the use of participatory video as a means of knowledge sharing and information

exchange among farmers and its future implication.

Key words: Participatory extension approach; Participatory video; Communication

Validation of molecular markers for rust resistance and identification of

suitable wheat germplasm targeting for northern region of India

Prashant Singh1, V.K. Mishra

2*, Neelam Atri

1#, Monu Kumar

2, Ashutosh

2, S.N. Kujur

2,

Parvin Kumar Mahto3

1Department of Botany, Institute of Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

2Departments of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 3Institute of Environment and sustainable Development, BHU, Varanasi

e mail: [email protected], e mail: [email protected]

Wheat rust is a fungal disease that affects wheat stem, leaves and grains. In northern

region of India, it is most destructive on wheat crop among biotic stresses. Wheat rusts are

the most economically important disease because they cause significant yield losses (about

20%) worldwide. Marker-assisted selection (MAS), which is being practiced for development

or improvement of a variety for different traits simultaneously which is difficult to recover

through phenotypic selection. In our study three molecular markers were used to identify

brown rust and yellow rust resistance genes, namely, Lr28, Yr9 and Yr15 in three diverse

wheat varieties of India i.e., FLW-30, FLW-29 and PBW-343+Yr15+Lr28.Among these

wheat lines, FLW-30 developed by ICAR-IIWBR Flowerdale,Shimla contains all the

mentioned 3 genes in which one of the brown rust (Lr28) and 2 resistance genes of yellow

rust (Yr9 and Yr15), while other lines showed different combinations. The identified wheat

genotypes may be useful as potential donors for brown rust and yellow rust resistance.

Validation of linked markers for rust resistance suggested that the markers can be deployed in

marker assisted molecular breeding for rust resistance.

Key word: Triticum aestivum, brown rust, yellow rust, SSR, Marker assisted selection

(MAS).

Recent advances and challenges in litchi production and

Value chain management

S K Purbey, Alemwati Pongener, Vinod Kumar, S K Singh, and Vishal Nath

ICAR-National Research Centre for Litchi, Muzaffarpur- 842002

E-mail:[email protected]

Litchi, belongs to the member of soapberry family, are brightly colored strawberry

shaped fruits with thin leathery skin and sweet musky aroma. This small but succulent fruit

has an impressive and very sweet history, beginning in Southern China around 1059 AD. Its

GPA-2018


decadence was shared with the world in the 17th Century, when it was planted in Burma, and

later continued its travels to India, England, and France, arriving in Florida in 1883 and

California in 1897. Lychee, Litchi, Leechee, or Lichi, there are as many spelling variations as

reasons to include this exotic fruit in our diet. India is one of the major litchi growing and

ranks 2nd

in world after China. Over the years India has rerecorded significant growth in area

(8About 90000 ha) and production (6 million tons) in litchi. The major limitations in

production management system are poor plant establishment, low and irregular yield, poor

flowering and fruit set, fruit cracking and sunburn narrow genetic base. On post harvest side,

pericarp browning, huge post harvest losses due to poor infrastructure and poor market

support system.

The ICAR-NRCL has developed and standardized techniques for better survival and

establishment of litchi air layers in nurseries and orchard. Litchi trees become unproductive

after 50-60 years in this regard a rejuvenation technique has been standardized whereby the

existing tree is utilized which come into bearing from the third years. Girdling technology has

been developed to promote regular bearing of litchi fruits. Foliar spray of borax (0.1%) twice

during fruit development stage and bagging of litchi fruit bunches with non woven PP bags

one month after fruit set minimizes fruit cracking, sunburn borer infestation and improves

colour, size and delays maturity. Post harvest application of various treatments like early

harvesting, sorting and grading, dip treatments with chemicals, pre-cooling, use of various

packages and packaging materials and storing at low temperature have been found to reduce

the pericarp browning but not for desirable period of export and distant market. Maintenance

of low temperature since its harvest to marketing along with sufficient packaging is believed

to be the most efficient method for extending the shelf life of litchi fruit. Unfortunately the

facility of cool chain system is lacking in developing countries including India.

Besides above, Litchi fruit is negligibly exploited at post harvest level for processing

particularly in India. These situations normally encourage to develop various litchi products.

As litchi fruits having excellent flavour and nutritive value can be exploited in processing and

value addition which will make it more remunerative, availability throughout the year and

minimize the post harvest wastage. These challenges and technologies need to be assessed in

an exploratory research approach before commercial adoption.

Key words: Litchi, girdling, pre harvest, post harvest, processing, value addition

Climate change and nutrient stoichiometry of wheat

Saroj Kumar Prasad

Department of Agronomy

Institute of Ag. Sciences, BHU

Climate change, an extreme atmospheric phenomenon is mainly associated with

anthropogenic activities and considered as the biggest global threat food security and human

health. Atmospheric concentration of GHGs has risen steeply since industrial age and likely

to reach between 530 and 970 part per million by the end of the century. Due to its radiative

strength it alters the elemental composition of atmospheric. The increased concentration of

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these gases not only alters crop nutrient stoichiometry such as C:N, N:P and P:Zn and other

elements but also nutrient composition (macro and micro) in grain. It also leads to decrease

in nitrogen rich (protein) and increase carbon rich (carbohydrates) molecules in food and

exacerbate the global malnutrition. Wheat is a major cereal grains, a supplier of

macronutrients, minerals and other micronutrients essential for optimal health. Plants can

show trade-offs in resource uptake and storage efficiency for different elements but due to

higher CO2 concentration alter the nutrient concentration and crop nutrient stoichiometry.

This altered nutrient stoichiometry of crop affects the quality of food grain, considered to be

the biggest global threat of food and health security.

Grafting tomato on eggplant improves yield, quality and

waterlogging tolerance in tomato

Anant Bahadur*, Md. Arshad Nadeem, Amit K. Singh, Sanchika Snehi, Anish K. Singh,

Vishal Agrawal, Nagendra Rai, P.M. Singh and B. Singh

ICAR- Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi

Grafting of desired scion on suitable resistant rootstock is practiced especially in

vegetables to solve the problem of soil borne diseases and nematodes. It is now commercially

practiced in fruit vegetables such as, tomato, eggplant, watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon,

etc, in Japan, Korea and other European countries. Inter-generic rootstocks are used for the

production of many fruit-bearing vegetables, particularly under protected condition. The

cultivated area of grafted Solanaceous and Cucurbitaceous vegetables has increased

tremendously in recent years because the objectives of grafting have expanded greatly. Now-

a-days, besides reducing infections by soil-borne pathogens, grafting is also being used to

enhance yield and tolerance to abiotic stresses. At ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi grafting work on

Solanaceous vegetable were started during 2013 with objective to enhancing water logging

tolerance in tomato. Three years study revealed that tomato plants grafted on eggplant

rootstocks (IC- 111056, IC-354557) have ability to tolerate 72 h water logging situation

during early establishment (August-September) and 96-120 h during active growth and/ or

reproductive stage (November-December) without any reduction in yields. Furthermore,

study on the performance of grafted tomato on eggplant rootstocks revealed that the

maximum number of fruits per plant (68.4 ±3.97) and yield (6.13± 0.28 kg/plant) were in

Kashi Aman tomato were grafted onto IC 354557 eggplant rootstock followed by Kashi

Chayan grafted on same rootstock (5.60 ± 0.33 kg/ plant). Kashi Aman grafted on above

rootstock exhibited 38.3% higher fruit yield over un-grafted plant. Among the tomato scions,

the maximum yield enhancement i.e. 66.7% over un-grafted was observed in Kashi Chayan.

As far as fruit quality was concerned, the level of ascorbic acid and acidity were enhanced in

majority of graft combinations whereas TSS, lycopene and β-carotene were mostly

unaffected or declined with eggplant rootstocks as compared to un-grafted plants.

Key words: Grafted tomato, yield, quality, waterlogging tolerance.

GPA-2018


Policy Perspectives in Agriculture and Institutional Development in India

Kumari Jyoti1, O. P. Mishra

2, A. K. Singh

3 and Himadri Roy

4

1, 4. Research Scholar, Department of Extension Education, IAS, BHU, Varanasi, U.P.

2. Late Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Extension Education, IAS,

BHU, Varanasi, U.P.

3. Professor, Department of Extension Education, IAS, BHU, Varanasi, U.P.

Agricultural growth is still a prerequisite for sustainable growth and poverty reduction

in our country. Therefore, the government has done various investments regarding irrigation

development, rural infrastructure and research and development. An organised attempt was

made for agriculture research and education was made with the establishment of five

agricultural colleges in 1905. The efforts were culminated with the establishment of an apex

organization, viz. the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1929 under the

Union Ministry of Agriculture. The programs of ICAR institutes and SAUs were linked

through the coordinated research projects of ICAR, and externally-funded projects of donors

like the World Bank. At the policy level, eight regional committees represented by ICAR,

SAUs, state governments and other development agencies had mandated to oversee regional

research, education and development activities for agriculture in the region. The regional

capacity was also strengthened by creating farm science centres or Krishi Vigyan Kendras for

assessment, demonstration and transfer of new technology to farmers, and development of

skills of the farmers, women and rural youth. These farm centres, 700 in number which were

mainly funded by ICAR and some of them were managed by civil society organizations.

Other Indian R&D Departments like the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the

Department of Science and Technology (DST), are primarily responsible for promoting

science in their respective fields, through sponsored programs. But these Departments are

now shifting focus to the establishment of institutions under their administrative control. The

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has also been organized on the pattern

of ICAR.

Mushroom: Nutritional Value and Health Benefits

M. K. Yadav1, Ram Chandra

2, S. K. Yadav

3 4S. K. Vishwakarma and

4S. K. Chaudhary

1Deptt. of Plant Pathology, Janta College, Bakewar, Etawah-206124 (U.P.),

Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, 208025, Uttar Pradesh, India 2Deptt. of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi –221005 (U.P.), 3Deptt. of Agricultural Entomology and Zoology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi –221005 (U.P.) and 4Deptt. of Horticulture, Janta College, Bakewar, Etawah (U.P.) 206124,

Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, 208025, Uttar Pradesh, India

* Email address: [email protected]

Mushrooms have been consumed since earliest history; ancient Greeks believed that

mushrooms provided strength for warriors in battle, and the Romans perceived them as the

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―Food of the Gods.‖ For centuries, the Chinese culture has treasured mushrooms as a health

food, an ―elixir of life.‖ They have been part of the human culture for thousands of years and

have considerable interest in the most important civilizations in history because of their

sensory characteristics; they have been recognized for their attractive culinary attributes.

Nowadays, mushrooms are popular valuable foods because they are low in calories,

carbohydrates, fat, and sodium: also, they are cholesterol-free. Besides, mushrooms provide

important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, proteins,

and fiber. All together with a long history as food source, mushrooms are important for their

healing capacities and properties in traditional medicine. It has reported beneficial effects for

health and treatment of some diseases. Many nutraceutical properties are described in

mushrooms, such as prevention or treatment of Parkinson, Alzheimer, hypertension, and high

risk of stroke. They are also utilized to reduce the likelihood of cancer invasion and

metastasis due to antitumoral attributes. Mushrooms act as antibacterial, immune system

enhancer and cholesterol lowering agents; additionally, they are important sources of

bioactive compounds. As a result of these properties, some mushroom extracts are used to

promote human health and are found as dietary supplements.

Key words: Bioactive compounds; Hypertension; Metastasis; Parkinson.

Water Productivity of Direct Drilled Rice as Influenced by Planting

Methods, Water and Weed Management Practices

Neelam Bisen* and Ramesh K. Singh

Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221004, India

[email protected]

The water crisis in agriculture is inevitable due to increasing population, shrinking

water resources and increasing demand in domestic and industrial sectors. The productivity

of water in rice is very low. Substantial water savings are possible through dry seeded rice

(DSR) under rice production system. Dry-seeding on flat land or raised beds with successive

saturated soil conditions reduces the amount of water needed for land preparation and thus

overall water demand. Dry seeding of rice also offers the option to resolve edaphic conflicts,

utilization of pre-shower mansoon and enhance the sustainability of both the rice-wheat

cropping system. Under DSR several water management practices can be adopted to reduce

water demand and water input and enhances the water use efficiency. Instead of keeping the

rice field continuously flooded with 5-10 cm of water, the flood water depth can be

decreased, the soil can be kept around saturation or alternate wetting and drying (AWD)

regimes can be imposed. In AWD, irrigation water is applied to get 2-5 cm flood water depth

after a larger number of days (ranging from 2 to 7) have passed since the disappearance of

ponded water whereas, in soil saturation generally irrigating 1 cm water depth is given a day

or so after the disappearance of standing water. This practice increases water productivity by

reducing irrigation water use.

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Weed infestation continues to be a serious problem in dry-seeded rice. Aerobic soil

conditions and dry-tillage practices, besides alternate wetting and drying conditions, are

conducive for germination and growth of weeds, which cause grain yield losses of 50–91%.

As several flushes of weeds emerge in DSR, the single application of herbicide as PRE or

POST often fail to have satisfactory weed control in DSR. Therefore it is needed develop a

weed management system that combines PRE and POST herbicides to overcome losses due

to weeds in DSR. Our study reveals that the herbicides combination involving Flufenacet @

120 g a.i ha-1 (PE) fb pyrazosulfuron @ 20 g a.i ha-1 + bispyribac sodium @ 25 g a.i ha-1

at 4-6 leaf stage of weeds when applied at FIRB seeded rice, and maintaining saturation

recorded higher yield, net returns, and B:C ratio of Dry seeded rice. The highest water

productivity was in FIRB method of sowing in combination with Flufenacet @ 120 g a.i ha-1

(PE) fb pyrazosulfuron @ 20 g a.i ha-1 + bispyribac sodium @ 25 g a.i ha-1 at 4-6 leaf stage

of weeds under continuous saturation.

Key words: alternate wetting and drying, saturation, dry seeded rice

Enhancement in the farmer’s income through cultivation of Green gram

(Vigna radiata L.) crop during summer season in Satellite village

of Panna district

R. K. Jaiswal1 and B. S. Kirar

2

1 Scientist (Plant Protection), JNKVV, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Panna – 488 001 (M.P)

2 Senior Scientist and Head, JNKVV, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Panna – 488 001 (M.P)

Corresponding Author E-mail: [email protected]

Green gram (Vigna radiata L. Wildzek) is an excellent source of high quality of

protein (25%) having high digestibility. It is also a good source of Riboflavin, Thiamine and

Vitamin C. India is the major producer of green gram in the world and grown in almost all

the states. The national and state (Madhya Pradesh) productivity of Green gram is 481 and

464 kg/ha respectively during 2016-17. The area, production and productivity of Green gram

crop in Panna district is 2710 ha, 2070 ton and 765 kg/ha respectively during 2016-17,

however, the area under Green gram crop during summer season in the district is quite low,

though, farmers has now started to grow the Green gram crop during summer season, but

they are unable to receive the good production because of several factors. The important

factors for reduced production and productivity of Green gram crop in the district is

occurrence of high incidence of yellow mosaic disease and insufficient availability of high

yielding and yellow mosaic resistant variety in the district. In view of this, the Government of

India has taken the initiative to increase the production and productivity of Green gram crop

through seed replacement with high yielding and yellow mosaic resistant variety along with

improved package and practices of crop through cluster demonstration under National Food

Security Mission programme during summer season so that farmer‘s income could be

doubled. Thus, in order to maximize the production and productivity of green gram along

with doubling the farmer‘s income, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Panna conducted the cluster

demonstration of Green gram in 10 hectares area during summer season of 2017-18 in

satellite village (Gukhour) of Panna district. Before this programme, the farmers of satellite

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village did not grow Green gram crop during summer season and generally they left their

land as fallow. The farmers of satellite village adopted all the technologies as suggested by

the scientist of KVK Panna to obtain higher production of green gram crop viz. selection of

high yielding and yellow mosaic resistant variety (IPM 02-03) along with seed treatment with

Carbendazim + Thiram @ 1 + 2 g/kg seed followed by Thiamethoxam (25 WP) @ 3 g/kg

seed, the seed was also inoculated with Rhizobium and PSB cultures @ 10 ml each/kg seed,

application of balance dose of fertilizers (20:60:20 kg/ha N:P:K), line sowing with seed-cum-

ferti-drill, application of Quizolofop-P-ethyl @ 625 ml/ha for the management of weed

infestation and foliar spray of Profenophos + Cypermethrin @ 625 ml/ha for the control of

insect pest infestation etc. The farmers obtained the yield 11.2 qt/ha from demonstration field

as compared to 6.8 qt/ha from control plot. The yield attributing parameter viz. number of

pods/plant was also observed higher (42.5) from demonstration field as compared to check

plot (29.5). The incidence of yellow mosaic disease was significantly higher in check plot

(37.5%) as compared to demonstration field (5%). The net income obtained from

demonstrated field (Rs. 41690/ha) was comparatively higher than the farmers field (Rs.

19660/ha). Thus cultivation of Green gram during summer season contributed to increase the

farmer‘s income in satellite village of Panna district.

Assessment of different chemicals for management of pod borer,

Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) in red gram in Saran District (Bihar)

Surerndra Prasad and Satendra Kumar Singh*

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Manjhi, Saran-841313

Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa


* B. R. D. PG Collage, Deoria, UP

The experiment were conducted at ten locations of Saran district (Bihar) during

Kharif 2016-17 to assessment of different insecticides against gram pod borer, Helicoverpa

armigera (Hubner) on red gram cv NDA-1. The result showed that technology option I spray

of spinosad 45.1 SC @ 0.33 ml/liter of water was most effective against pod borer and

highest yield 16.20 q/ha with compare of farmer practices spray of dimethoate 30 EC @ 1

ml/liter of water and yield obtained 8.90 q/ha, respectively. The cost effectiveness of

spinosad and indoxacarb was high and very favorable with incremental benefit cost ratios of

1:1.76 and 1:1.58 respectively, followed by farmer practices (1:1.03).

Key words : Helicoverpa armigera, insecticides, pigeonpea.

Effect of phosphorus, sulphur and biofertilizers on yield, nutrient uptake

and economy in fertilizer use in lentil (Lens culinaris)

A. K. Shrivastava*, R.K. Dwivedi*, and M.K. Ahirwar*

*JNKVV Krishi Vigyan Kendra Damoh

E-mail – [email protected].

A field experiment was conducted during rabi seasons of 2015-16 and 2016-17 to find

out the effect of P, S and biofertilizers on yield, nutrient uptake and economy in fertilizer use

GPA-2018


in lentil cv. Pant Lentil- 5, N, P, K and S contents in lentil grain were 3.57, 0.447, 0.67 and

0.205 %, whereas in straw 2.19, 0.214, 0.52 and 0.156 %, respectively. The corresponding

total N, P, K and S uptake values in grain + straw were 51.76, 5. 63, 11.06 and 3.35 kg/ha.

Higher levels of phosphorus (P60), sulphur (S30) and dual biofertilizers (Rhizobium + PSB)

encouraged the uptake of these nutrients in grain and straw significantly over their preceding

levels. The combined application of P60S30 + Rhizobium +PSB further augmented these

nutrients in grain and straw. Dual seed inoculation with biofertilizer proved most economical,

and, therefore, use of costly chemical fertilizers may be curtailed to some extent.

Key word : Phosphorus, Sulphur, quality, yield of Lentil.

Attitude of people about Agricultural Biotechnology in Jharkhand

V.K. Yadav1, Nirmal Kumar

2, A. K. Singh

3, B.P. Bhatt

4, B.D. Singh

5 and B.Jirli

6

1Pr. Scientist (Agril. Extension), ICAR-RCER,RC, Plandu, Ranchi,

2Pr. Scientist (Agril.

Extension) and Head, TOT division, ICAR-IINRG, Ranchi, 3Pr. Scientist (Horticulture)

and Head, ICAR-RCER,RC, Plandu, Ranchi, 4The Director, ICAR-RCER, Patna,

5SMS (Agril. Extension) KVK, Barh, Bihar,

6Professor ( Extension Education),

Deptt. of Extension Education , I.A.Sc , B.H.U , Varanasi

Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

Agricultural biotechnology deals with genetically modified (GM) crops, tissue

culture, micropropagation, marker assisted selection, etc. GM crops have potential to meet

food requirement of burgeoning population and cope up adverse impact of rising temperature

and climate change. However, the Government of India has allowed cultivation of only one

GM crop i.e. Bt Cotton. People are of different opinion about cultivation of GM crops. There

is apprehension from few people that GM crops may adversely affect human beings as well

as animals. But few people are in favour of adoption of GM crops for human welfare.

Opinion about agricultural biotechnology especially GM crops is crucial for providing

feedback regarding acceptance or rejection of the technology. The present study was

contemplated to find out opinion of people about agricultural Biotechnology especially GM

crops. Data was collected from 100 farmers and 50 scientists of relevant disciplines in

Jharkhand in 2017. Majority of farmers (48%) had neutral attitude about adoption of

agricultural biotechnology, followed by favourable (18%) and unfavourable (8%) attitude.

However, majority of scientists (68%) had favourable attitude, followed by neutral (10%) and

unfavourable (6%) attitude respectively. majority of scientists (50%) and farmers (46%) are

in favour that Government should allow cultivation of GM crops at farmers‘ field for

increasing production and productivity of crops.This study will be helpful in policy

formulation about adoption of Agricultural Biotechnology.

Assessment of ecosystem services under different resource conserving

technologies in rice-green gram cropping system

Mohammad Shahid*, R. Tripathi and A. K. Nayak

Crop Production Division, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack – 753006, Odisha


GPA-2018


Ecosystem services (ES), are vital for the sustainable supply of food and fibre. The

current trends of decline in the ability of agricultural ecosystems to provide ES pose great

threat to food security worldwide. Ecosystem service valuation was done for five resource

conservation technologies along with conventional control with and without application of

nitrogen under direct seeded and transplanted conditions in a rice-green gram system taking

into consideration the marketed ecosystem services (food and raw material) and non-

marketed ecosystem services (soil formation, soil fertility, carbon accumulation, nitrogen

fixation, biological control of pests, soil erosion and hydrological flow). It was found that use

of green manuring resulted in higher values of both marketed and non-marketed ES under

transplanted (TPR) and direct seeded rice (DSR).The ecosystem service under transplanted

rice was higher as compared to the direct seeded rice due to higher productivity. Zero tillage

under both TPR and DSR recorded higher ecosystem services as compared to conventional

method due to higher soil fertility and carbon accumulation value.

Vermiculture and Vermicomposting : A Boon for Sustainable

Agriculture in Fiji Island

S. N. Rai




Vermiculture employ earthworms for decomposition of organic waste for production

of organic manure. The importance of earthworms is known since time immemorial and it is

considered natural plough by the farmers. Earthworms are one of the most important fauna of

agro-ecosystems which dominate the biomass of invertebrates in many soils of temperate and

tropical regions of the world. The benefits are now globally realized that earthworms can

contribute much to the management of different pedo-ecosystems. They are useful in land

reclamation, soil improvement and organic waste management in addition to their use as a

protein-rich source of animal feed. Earthworms eat and mix large amount of soil or in

burrows, depending upon the species concerned. Their casts contain high concentration of

organic material, silt, clay and cations such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Earthworms also release nitrogen in to soil in their casts and urine. Earthworms change the

physical characteristics of soil by aerating during rain or irrigation. Earthworms thus enhance

incorporation and decomposition of organic matter, increase soil aggregate, improve porosity

and water infiltration and increase microbial activity.

Vermiculture may be a boon for Fiji which is a small Island nation located in the

South Pacific, 3000 km east of Australia and 1930 km south of the equator. It is endowed

with excellent climate which is very much suitable for vermicomposting. The land and

climate of Fiji are very good for growing horticultural crops such as vegetables and fruits. Fiji

farmers use imported chemical fertilizers which is costly resulting farming as an expensive

venture. The export market for organically produced crops is increasing worldwide providing

excellent opportunity to the farmers to use organic manure produced locally. To meet the

farmers‘ demands of organic manure there is a vast scope of vermiculture. The availability of

plenty amount of plant biomass, number of suitable earthworm species and excellent tropical

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climate are in favour of simple vermiculture technology. The products of vermicomposting

such as earthworms, vermicompost and worm meal benefit the farmers by enriching the soil

fertility, reducing the use of imported chemical fertilizers and the organically produced crops

fetch higher price in the national and international markets. The use of worm meal as a cheap

source of poultry, fish and pig feed value the farmers who rely on the costly animal feed

mostly imported from foreign countries. This paper deals with various aspects and

components of vermiculture technology and suggests measures for successful implementation

under Fiji condition.

Studies on nutrients estimation and value addition of mango

ginger (Curcuma amada)

Dhanmaya Sharma, Sujata Upadhyay*, S. Manivannan and V.R.Muddarsu

Department of Horticulture, Sikkim University, 6th

Mile

Tadong-737102, Gangtok, Sikkim

*corresponding author’s email id: [email protected]

With the advancement of science and the growing demands for food, various research

works have been conducted to increase the productivity and to meet the nutritional

requirements. Wild plants have been source of edible fruits and have proved beneficial with

medicinal properties also. Curcuma amada (mango ginger) is a plant of the ginger family

Zingiberaceae and is closely related to turmeric. The rhizomes are very similar to ginger but

have a raw mango taste.

The present research work entitled ―Studies on nutrients estimation and value addition

of mango ginger (Curcuma amada)‖ has been carried out at Dept. of Horticulture, Sikkim

University, Gangtok during 2015-2017. The objectives of the study were to analyze the

nutrients present in fresh rhizomes to prepare various processed products. The nutrients

estimation for processed products was also done. The assessment of the acceptability of

processed products was also done through organoleptic tests. The experiment performed on

mango ginger showed promising results. Processed products (pickle, candy, nectar and

powder) were examined for their quality, texture, taste, aroma and firmness through

organoleptic test. TSS, Vitamin C, Fibre %, acidity (citric and acetic acid) and essential oil

content were determined. Nutrient analysis of processed products through Inductively

coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Curcumin analysis by UV-

spectrophotometry was done.

Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used for statistical analysis. Among all

the treatments of pickle, treatment T3 (10% salt concentration, oil + spices) and T7 (15% salt,

oil + spices) were found to be the best. For candy treatment T3 (85% sugar an+ 0.03% citric

acid) and T2 (75% sugar + 0.03% citric acid) were found to be the best and for nectar,

treatment T3 (25% sugar) was found best as per the organoleptic test conducted. The

curcumin content in the powder was found highest in the treatment T4 (which was subjected

to 70°C for 48 hours).

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The mango ginger rhizome contained good amount of ascorbic acid in raw form.

However, after processing ascorbic acid content was significantly increased. Major elements

like S, K, C and N were found higher as compared to micro nutrients like Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn

etc. Some of the toxic elements were significantly decreased after processing which was

quite favourable result for the products as well as consumer‘s health.

Keywords: mango ginger, nutrients estimation, processed product, curcumin, organoleptic

test

Revamping National Agricultural Research and Education System

in the changing scenario

Madhumita Farm Manager, KVK, Vaishali

Agriculture sector is facing radical changes and challenges at national and global

level. The demand for agricultural commodities is steeply rising; food preferences of the

next-generation consumers are changing; and agriculture sector is struggling with

decelerating profitability which are dragging its performance. These upcoming challenges

and opportunities call for a paradigm shift in the innovation driven agricultural research

system to connect inventions with all the stakeholders in the entire food supply chain.

Holistic approach needs to be adopted in terms of research, technology-generation,

assessment and refinement, human resource development in agriculture and allied sciences

rather than going for piece-meal mode. Decentralization of research systems and participatory

approaches can better serve to provide administrative flexibility and to make agricultural

research more client-oriented and impact driven by bringing researchers closer to the end-

users. Increased public-private partnerships for market-driven development is the need of the

hour. Concerted efforts need to be made to transform the Indian Council of Agricultural

Research (ICAR) to be more sensitive to the needs of the farming community, especially of

the smallholders and of the poor living in the backward, fragile and marginal areas. It is

praiseworthy that many steps have been taken by ICAR to raise the quality of agricultural

education like those of developing accreditation norms for agricultural institutions, large

number of scholarships/fellowships created for promotion of excellence in agricultural

education, several awards instituted to promote excellence in teaching, research, extension-

work and publications, but it is not enough. Maintaining global standards and enhancing

competitiveness are equally important in agri-business and in technology development.

Vertical integration of agricultural education is essential to improve quality of human

resource. Efforts need to be made to develop state-of-the art infrastructure and to enhance

faculty competence for improving higher education in agriculture and allied disciplines.

Existing pool of talented human resource can be utilized to evolve globally competitive,

technically sound and more dynamic resource persons by the blended efforts of all ICAR

institutes.

Key words : Participatory approaches, holistic approach, public-private partnership, faculty

competence, vertical integration.

GPA-2018


Wheat blast - Threat to food security: A reappraisal

Dhiman Mukherjee and Sunita Mahapatra

Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidayalaya, Kalayani-741235

Wheat blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype triticum (MoT). is arguably

the most yield-limiting wheat disease and threaten to food security issue of the nations from

South East Asian countries. This disease was unknown to science up to its first detection in

the southern Brazilian state of Paraná in 1985. Since then, wheat blast has spread to all areas

cultivated with wheat in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. Unlike rice blast disease,

where many rice lines are known to provide nearly complete resistance to M. oryzae, the

resistance response of wheat germplasm to blast pathogen is rather limited to a few isolated

lines with low to moderate level of resistance. The first outbreak of wheat blast outside the

Americas was recorded in Bangladesh in February 2016, affecting a large area (15,000

hectares), establishing itself swiftly, and causing significant crop losses for small-scale

farmers. This disease was mainly confined to districts of Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga,

Jhenaidah, Jessore, Barisal, Bhola, and several other districts in the south of Bangladesh.

Infected plants showed the typical wheat blast symptoms with the spike becoming partially or

completely bleached with the blackening of the rachis in a short span of time. Several

research groups have reported that the pathotype found in Bangladesh was genetically similar

to South American isolates and, more importantly, did not evolve from the rice blast

pathotype or variants from other local hosts. The sudden appearance of a highly virulent MoT

variant presents a serious threat for food and income security in South Asia, home to 300

million undernourished people and whose inhabitants consume over 100 million tons of

wheat each year. Inaction allowing the spread of the disease could severely harm wheat

production in South Asia and push many smallholder wheat producers further into poverty.

The pathogen cycle and epidemiology of wheat blast are poorly understood, and prior

experience with wheat diseases suggests that eradication will not be possible. Large-scale

seed health measures, including seed treatment, can minimize the spread of inoculums but

may not avoid outbreaks or the disease‘s eventual movement to new areas. A multi-pronged,

multi-dimensional strategy is needed. Observations revealed that, wheat blast like disease

intensity varies widely from year to year, depending on environmental conditions. The

pathogen can be spread by seed and also survives on crop residues. Weather conditions

mainly coincide with concurrent heat and high humidity (84-92 %) and extended leaf wetness

periods (equal to or longer than 8 hr) coincide with the heading stage, disease severity

reaches maximum values and epidemic progress is rapid. The pathogen affects all aerial parts

of the wheat plant, but the most characteristic symptom found in the spikes, which become

bleached above dark lesions formed in the rachis, where the fungus sporulates. Blast directly

strikes the wheat ear and can shrivel and deform the grain in less than a week from first

symptoms, leaving farmers no time to act. Considering this aspect along with the limited

success achieved in managing wheat blast using chemical fungicides, it is going to be a

very challenging task to manage this disease. Therefore, it is imperative on the part of the

agricultural scientist to visit and explore the knowledge to sort out the problems and secure

nation from any threat of food security. Use of resistant variety such as Borlaug 100, BAW

1280, DBW 187 etc. and proper seed treatments, some extent solve this problem.

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Continuous monitoring and surveillance of wheat fields is another important measure to

protect against the expansion of wheat blast to other areas of Bangladesh or other countries in

Asia. The government can appoint more experts to the field level through the existing crop

monitoring cells for the sustainable wheat cultivation throughout the country. Training of

farmers (soil health monitoring, plant health monitoring and weather report monitoring for

predicting possible insect and disease attack) will be helpful to identify the wheat.

Capacity building in agricultural research and education:

an Indian perspective

Ashok Rai*, Ajay Kumar Rai and Yogesh Kumar

[email protected]

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kushinagar

On an average, 80% of the rural poor in India rely for their livelihood solely on

agriculture and allied sector. Agriculture employs about 52% of the labor force. Green, blue,

yellow and white revolutions have been responsible for bringing in prosperity to the farming

community and the success of which can be attributed to government policies and

establishment of institutions of higher agricultural education. These institutions developed

new breed of skilled human resource critical for sustaining, diversifying and realizing the

potentials of agriculture which were instrumental in not only generating new technologies but

also in their assessment, refinement and dissemination to the farming community.

Agricultural education now has to pick up a pace to meet up with fast changing national and

international scenario. India‘s present higher agriculture educational scenario suffers from

low access, not meeting quality standards, low funding, gender inequality, non-contemporary

course curricula and delivery methods, lack of faculty-competence in cutting edge

technologies etc.

The present situation demands a renewed thrust for enhanced quality and relevance of

higher agricultural education so as to facilitate and undertake human capacity building for

developing self-motivated professionals and entrepreneurs keeping in view the changing

scenario of globalization of education, emergence of new areas of specialization such as

IPRs, other WTO-related areas, techno-legal specialties etc., and the cutting edge

technologies such as biosensors, genomics and biotechnology, alternative sources of energy,

nanotechnology, etc. The younger generation needs to assure that they possess professional

capabilities to deal with the concerns of sustainable development (productive, profitable and

stable) of agriculture in all its aspects. Also, the education should address the primary

stakeholders‘ i.e. farmers‘ expectations especially for utilitarian mode. Further, there is

urgent need for agricultural graduates having knowledge, skills, ability and also

entrepreneurship to provide a class of village-based services such as diagnostic laboratories,

advisories on new innovations, markets and avenues of development assistance for farming.

In supersession to the above it may be concluded that a congenial working environment as

necessitated be assured under policy and planning w.r.t facilities provided and its long term

ground impact be assured along with suitable module to ensure high receptivity of the

farming community.

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Influence of Nitrogen Application with Boron on Growth, Yield and

Economics of Broccoli (Brassica oleraces L.var. Italica Plenck)

T. K. Singh1, Prashant Kumar

1,2, S. Dubey

1 and U. S. Bose

1

1. Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Rewa, JNKVV, Jabalpur (M.P.)

2. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hamirpur, BUAT, Banda (U.P.)


The present investigation was carried out to examine the response of different method

of nitrogen application and boron level on broccoli in vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh,

during rabi 2012-13.The experiment was formulated in Randomized Block design (RBD)

with three replications. Results revealed that the maximum plant height (49.60 cm), number

of leave/plant (11.78), length of leaf (38.15 cm), width of leaf (14.85 cm), leaf area (6541.35

cm2 ), stalk length (10.95 mm), stalk diameter (36.05 mm) was recorded in T12 (N3 B3 -50%

as basal + 25%+25% top dress at 30 and 50 DAT + 2.0 kg/ha). Whereas minimum days taken

to first curd initiation (47.33), days to 50% curd initiation (53.00), days to 50% curd maturity

(69.33), curd maturity duration (15.99) was showed in T1 (N1 B0 -100% RDF as basal + No

boron). Significant effect for yield parameter the highest curd length (13.30 cm), curd

diameter (13.15 cm), curd circumference (41.29 cm), gross plant weight (1023.35 g),

marketable curd weight (835.45 g), net curd weight (655.85), curd yield (244.79 q/ha) was

exhibited in T12 (N3 B3 -50% as basal + 25%+25% top dress at 30 and 50 DAT + 2.0 kg/ha)

and minimum was found in T1 (N1 B0 -100% RDF as basal + No boron). The maximum net

return of Rs. 200472 was calculated in treatment T12 as compared to other treatments tried in

this experiment during 2012-13.

Biological investigation and Seasonal incidence of Leaf Folder,

Orphanostigma abruptalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on Tulsi, Ocimum

basilicum L.

*Nagendra Kumar and Anil Kumar

Assistant Professor-cum-Scientist, Department of Entomology,

DRPCAU, Pusa (Samsatipur), Bihar-848 125

E-mail: [email protected] (*Corresponding Author)

Present study envisages the result of studies conducted on biology and seasonal

incidence of Leaf Folder, Orphanostigma abruptalis in the laboratory as well as field,

experiments were conducted during 2015-16. Under laboratory conditions eggs of O.

abruptalis were generationally laid upper and lower leaves and petiole of leaves. Individual

egg was spherical and creamy white. Egg ready for hatching turned a dark brown color due to

the maturing larvae within the egg. The average size of eggs was 0.058 ± 0.002 mm in length,

ranging from 0.050 to 0.067 mm and 0.041 ± 0.002 mm in width, ranging from 0.034 to

0.047 mm. The incubation period varied from 3 - 6 (mean 4.4 ± 1.7) days. The newly

emerged larvae were green in color with darker spots but, during the larval development were

characterized by a green–color body with conspicuous dark brown spots. The dark brown

spots were really sclerotized plates that are scattered over dorsal portion of the body. The

spiracles were bordered by dark brown color. The first instar larvae had dark brown to black

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heads, while later instar larvae had dark orange heads. Larvae of O. abruptalis moth have five

time to complete the larval instar. The larval period varied from 9 - 12 (mean 10.2 ± 1.2)

days. The pupal period varied from 4 to 6 (mean 5.0 ± 0.8) days. The size of male and female

pupae were little different. The averaged size of male pupae was 7.510 ± 0.112 mm in length

and 2.045 ± 0.101 mm in width. The female pupae averaged 8.075 ± 0.182 mm in length and

2.135 ± 0.105 mm in width. Total developmental period (days) varies from 16 – 24 (mean

19.4 ± 2.83) days. The adult individuals reared in the laboratory survived for 9 to 11 (mean

9.9 ± 0.87) days. Total life duration was recorded as 25-35 (mean 30.1 ± 3.17) days. The

incidence of Leaf Folder, Orphanostigma abruptalis on O. basilicum commenced from 47th

standard week onwards and continued till the month of January. Maximum larvae population

(4.1 Mean no. of larvae/plant) was recorded during 51st standard week in 2015. As the

temperature decreased, infestations were observed to increase in the 50th

standard week 2015

to 1st standard week of 2016 with a mean population range between 2.6-3.2 mean no. of

larvae/plant.

Key words: O. abruptalis, biology, seasonal incidence, Tulsi, life duration

Doubling income of mushroom farmers through round the year production

Manoj Kumar Pandey*1, A. R. Kumari

2, Ajay Tiwari

3 and Rajneesh Srivastav

4

1Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection),

2SMS (Home Science),

3Farm Manager,

4SMS

(Horticulture) Krishi Vigyan Kendra (ICAR-IIVR), Deoria- 274 506 U. P.


Mushrooms are a group of fungi which produce large fleshy fruiting bodies.

Mushrooms, a macro fungus with a distinctive fruiting body, have been part of fungal

diversity for around 300 million years. Their immense diversity of shape, texture, color,

smell, taste, ecological preferences leads to their complexities which render their

identification very difficult. Mushroom in nature are generally grow in places where dead

remains of plants such as leaves, straw, logs etc are decaying, hence in forests, fields and

meadows mushrooms grow in abundance. Mushrooms are fleshy fungi and comprise purely

vegetarian diet, which is very tasty and nutritious not all that mushroom occurring in nature

are edible, some are poisonous. So far more than 1600 mushrooms have been reported

worldwide of which 100 has been accepted as food. In India 6 mushrooms are under

commercial cultivation i.e. Button mushroom, Dhingri mushroom (Oyster), Paddy straw

mushroom, Milky mushroom, Black ear mushroom, Shiitake.

In India commercial cultivation of mushroom was started in 1971 when its annual

production was only 100 tonnes now it has reached to more than 40,000 tonnes. We have

mushroom growing activity spread over the length and breadth of the country, with local

spawn laboratories proliferated in area of grated demand. The per capita consumption is 15 -

20g only and by increasing the per capita consumption 200g, we should be able to market 1

lac tones of mushroom within the country.

Among the above 6 commercially cultivated mushrooms, only white button

mushroom produced in Deoria district during November-February. Rest of the time in a year

farmers‘ mushroom house found vacant. Cultivation of oyster is very easy and cheap it can be

cultivated even by semi skilled person after small duration of training. Production process of

oyster mushroom is very simple and it can be cultivated in a small piece of land. Its

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cultivation has potential for farmers of Deoria District. During summer milky mushroom and

rainy season paddy straw mushroom may remunerative for farmers.

Amelioration of Crops through Mutation Breeding

Sanjeev Singh, Ajay Prakash Singh* , S B Verma and S. K.Chakravarti1

Department of Agricultural Botany, Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi-221002. 1Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, I.Ag. Sc., BHU, Varanasi-221005


Crop improvement programmes through induced mutations were initiated about eight

decades ago, immediately after the discovery of mutagenic effects of X-rays on Drosophila

by Muller in 1927, and barley and maize by Stadler in 1928. Mutation breeding uses a plant‘s

own genetic resources mimicking the process of spontaneous mutations, that‘s under way in

nature all the time, the basis of evolution. Importantly it broadens biodiversity. Mutation

breeding has many comparative advantages. It is cost effective, quick, proven and robust. In

addition, mutation breeding is transferrable, ubiquitously applicable, non-hazardous and

environmentally friendly. A wide range of characters which have been improved through

mutation breeding include plant architecture, yield, flowering and maturity duration, quality

and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Percentages of mutant varieties by crop type are

as 49.5% in cereals followed by 21.9% in flowers/ornaments, 15% in legume and 13.6% in

others. More than 60 % of officially released mutant varieties are from Asia with China, India

and Japan topping the list. There are more than 3200 mutant varieties officially released for

commercial use in more than 210 plant species from more than 70 countries. The mutant

varieties developed and released in major crops have been cultivated by farmers in large areas

and have resulted in increased food production, thus contributing to food security.

Key words : Mutation breeding , induced mutants , crop improvement

Evaluation of HUW 234 × HUW 468 RILs population of wheat for terminal

heat stress using grain size parameters

Monu Kumar1, V K Mishra

1, R Chand

2, S N Kujur

1, P Singh

1, Ashutosh

1

1Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU,

Varanasi. 2Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

BHU, Varanasi

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Grain morphology in wheat (Triticum aestivum) is very important component, as it is

directly related to grain yield, TGW, quality, seed vigour, germination etc. and remains a

major breeding target. We studied different grain size parameters in wheat with reference to

terminal heat stress as it has been reported that high temperature significantly decreased grain

yield, number of grains per spike, plant height, grain filling duration, peduncle length,

peduncle weight and 1000 kernel weight (Rane et al., 2007; Bala et al., 2014). RILs

population of HUW 234 × HUW 468 were sown under two conditions i.e., timely (20th Nov)

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and late (20th Dec) during 2017-18. Harvested seeds from 167 RILs population including

parents were analyzed using "Grain Scan" a high throughput image based software tool and

obtained result of different grain size parameters like grain area, grain perimeter, grain length

and grain width used for calculating heat susceptibility indices (HSI).

In our study, ANOVA of HSI of 4 traits showed highly significant variation for

genotypes and genotypes × conditions confirmed a wide variation among RILs population.

The RILs were categorized on the basis of HSI values as, <0.0 (negative value indicating

better trait performance in late sown condition, highly resistant), 0.0 to 0.5 (resistant), 0.5 to

0.75 (moderately resistant), 0.75 to 1.00 (moderately susceptible) and >1.00 (highly

susceptible). A significant number of genotypes was recorded as HSI value <0.05, on this

basis 74, 72, 78 and 71 lines were found to be tolerant for seed area, seed perimeter, seed

length and seed width respectively. Out of these lines, 41 genotypes were common and found

to be tolerant lines. Therefore, estimation for HSI of grain size parameters could be effective

way for evaluation of wheat lines in terminal heat stress.

Growth and yield performance of Kharif Onion to different varieties and

planting time in Shahdol District (M.P.)

Mrigendra Singh, Alpana Sharma, Deepak Chouhan and P.N. Tripathi

JNKVV-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Shahdol (MP)

[email protected]

Onion is an important spice crop of Shahdol District of Madhya Pradesh with total

area and production of 746 ha and 20452.2 metric tonnes respectively (APC- Booklet 2016-

17). The experiment was conducted in the adopted villages to study the effect of different

varieties and planting time on the growth and yield of Kharif onion.

Two cultivars of onion namely Nasik Red and and Agri found Dark red (AFDR) were

transplanted on four days at a regular interval of eight days from 7th

July to 30th

July. Half

acre farmer fields were selected and transplanting was done on raised beds of 15x10cm.

Crops were grown following appropriate scientific cultural practices. The data were recorded

on different traits such as plant height (cm), number of leaves, leaf length(cm) and leaf

diameter(cm) by selecting twenty five randomly selected plants of each varieties from each

field . Bulb quality attributes such as bulb yield (q/ha), bulb weight per plant (g), dry bulb

weight (g/1000) and vertical bulb diameter (cm) was recorded after harvest of crop. The

maximum bulb diameter (7.4 cm) and bulb weight (92.59 g), average yield (251.97 q/ha) was

observed in AFDR. Also the highest bulb yield (221.04 q/ha) was noticed in third

transplanting T3 in AFDR cultivar. Thus, it could be concluded that AFDR cultivar with

transplanting time of 23rd

July turns to be the best combination for the farmers of Shahdol

District (M.P.).

Keywords: Kharif onion, AFDR, Nasik Red, Cultivars, transplanting, quality attributes, yield

GPA-2018


Transfer of Improved Technology of Mustard through Front Line

Demonstration in M.P.

V. K. Singh,1

I. S. Tomar2 and M. Singh

1

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, R.V.S.K.V.V., Jhabua, Madhay Pradesh. India 1Scientist, Soil Science, (Email: [email protected]) K.V.K. Jhabua 457661(RVSKVV

Gwalior) M.P. 2 Senior Scientist & Head, K.V.K. Jhabua-457661 (RVSKVV Gwalior) M.P

Mustard is one of the most important oilseeds crop in India, which plays a major role

in supplementing the income of small and marginal farmers of Jhabua tribal district in

Madhya Pradesh. One of the major constraints of traditional mustard farming is low

productivity due to non-adoption of recommended package of practices and improved

varieties. To replace this anomaly, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Jhabua under IIMR, Bharatpur had

conducted frontline demonstrations at adopted farmers‘ fields. Cultivation practices

comprised under FLD viz., use of improved variety, line sowing, balanced application of

fertilizers and control of mustard aphid through insecticide at economic threshold level

showed that percent increase in the yield of mustard ranged from 32.16% to 39.32% over

local check during the course of study from 2013-14 to 2017-18. The technology gap of 3.5

q/ha as minimum during 2017-18 to maximum of 9.2 q/ha at the initial stage of study (2013-

14) shows the gap in demonstration yield over potential yield, but the above gap reduced

subsequently in the following years.

Key words : Frontline demonstration, technology gap, extension gap, technology index,

mustard.

Response of Vermicompost and Elemental Sulphur levels

on the productivity of mustard

V. K. Singh,1

I. S. Tomar2 and M. Singh

1

KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA, R.V.S.K.V.V., JHABUA, MADHAY PRADESH. INDIA 1Present address Scientist- Soil Science, (Email: [email protected]) K.V.K. Jhabua

457661(RVSKVV Gwalior) M.P. 2 Senior Scientist & Head, K.V.K. Jhabua-457661 (RVSKVV Gwalior) M.P

A field experiment was conducted during two consecutive years of 2013-14 and

2014-15 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra farm to study the response of vermicompost and sulphur

levels on mustard. The treatment consisted of four level of vermicompost (0, 2, 4 and 6 t/ha)

and four level of sulphur (0, 20, 40 and 60kg/ha) applied through elemental sulphur were

tested in RBD replicated thrice. Application of 6 t/ha vermicompost and 40 kg S/ha

significantly increased seed and Stover yield and yield attributes as compared to control. Oil

content and total uptake of N, P, K and S increased significantly up to 6 t vermin compost/ha

and 60 kg/ha. Highest net return was recorded with the application of vermicompost/ha and

40 kg S/ha but benefit: cost ratio was recorded highest with the application of 4 t

vermicompost/ha and 40 kg/ha.

Key words: Elemental sulphur, B: C Ratio, mustard, vermicompost

GPA-2018


National Agricultural Research and Education System and Capacity

building

Tanweer Alam(1)

, Amrendra Kumar(2)

, Udyan Mukherjee(3)

, Department of Entomology,


Indian National Agricultural Research and Education System (NARES) is the largest

academic system in all over the world, effectively working in intimate association with

agricultural research, education and extension. The role of NARES to combat the challenges

of country's food problem and Green Revolution is well studied. NARES has enormous stock

of knowledge and information on crop sciences, horticulture, resource management, animal

sciences, agricultural engineering, fisheries, agricultural extension and agricultural education.

Digital technologies and online access to information for researchers, fast access to existing

scientific outputs and archived scholarly information on his topic of interest is as crucial as

current scientific knowledge is brought about with the help of NARES repository knowledge.

NARES comprises of mainly the research institutions under Indian Council of Agricultural

Research (ICAR), State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK,

Farm Science Center) and strives for agricultural growth and prosperity in the country. In the

present scenario of globalization, technology is transferring at a very fast pace. Strengthening

of libraries and capacity building in ICAR Research Institutes and SAUs is crucial for

digitally sharing knowledge in cost effective manner.

These libraries requires updated infrastructure to face the technological challenges.

There are more than 123 libraries in ICAR Institutions and SAUs. Some of these libraries are

old having vast collection; whereas others have recently started building their collection and

services. In earlier, the consortium of 12 libraries was formed as a pilot for implementation of

the project ―Strengthening of digital library and information management under NARES (e-

Granth)‖ funded by World Bank through National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP).

Under this project centralized infrastructure has been created for hosting the Digital

Repository and Integrated Library Management Software (ILMS) 'Koha' on SaaS model at

Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. After the pilot studies in 12

libraries, now the consortium has been extended to include 38 libraries.

Objectives of e-GRANTH

1. To create combined Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) of all 38 library resources

with Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) partnership.

2. To digitize important institutional repositories including rare books and old journals

and make them open access under NARES.

3. To strengthen capacity building and information management system in all libraries

of NARES.

The second one objective is to concentrate on creating digital repository named

'KrishiKosh', 'Krishi' is hindi word for agriculture and 'Kosh' for repository. KrishiKosh is an

Institutional Repository under National Agricultural Research & Education System

(NARES). Digitization work for development of the repository 'KrishiKosh' is going on at

following libraries, however, contents from other libraries of NARES is also being digitized

and included in the repository.

GPA-2018


1. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi

2. Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar

3. University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore

4. Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad

It is a unique repository of Knowledge in agriculture and allied sciences, having

collection of old and valuable books, institutional publications, technical bulletins, project

reports, lectures, preprints, reprints, research papers, theses, old records and various

documents spread all over the country in different libraries of Research Institutes of ICAR

and SAUs.

Panchagavya : Boon for Agriculture

Satendra Kumar Singh Department of Horticulture, B.R.D.P.G.College ,Deoria(U.P.)

*Correspondence Author : [email protected]

Mixture of cow milk, cow urine, cow dahi/ chach ,cow dung and cow ghee is called as

panchagavya. All the five components possess medicinal properties against many disorders /

diseases of plants. This kind of therapy is called as panchagavya theorapy. The panchagavya

also show many other applications like excellent agriculture application in the form of bio-

fertilizer, vermicompost and biopesticides, which sustain soil fertility, soil structure and

obtain food grain free from the health hazards of using chemical fertilizers, fungicides,

insecticides, weedicides etc. Panchagavya is also used abundantly in Ayurveda for treatment

of leucoderma, arthritis, renal disorders, dietary disorders, gastrointestinal track disorders,

acidity, asthma etc. 5kg fresh cow dung, 3 lit cow urine, 2 lit cow milk, 0.5kg cow ghee, 2 lit

cow dahi, 3 lit sugarcane juice, 3 lit coconut water, 12 ripe banana, 2 lit grape juice makes 20

lit panchagavya. 3 lit panchagavya mixed with 100 lit of water. These water mixture can be

used to vegetables, fruits and flowers for growth and development. It is also used in rice,

sugarcane, groundnut, jowar, bajara, ragi, maize, wheat, sunflower and coconut etc. for

growth and insect management.

Key word: Agriculture, boon and panchagavya.

Reinvestigating the pest status of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)

in India

Sabuj Ganguly*, Snehel Chakravarty and C. P. Srivastava


Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 *Email: [email protected]

Spodoptera litura Fabricius, commonly known as the tobacco caterpillar is a polyphagous

pest attacking an array of crops in India. The pest has been stated to be a minor pest in some

crops and sporadic in others. It was a notorious pest in tobacco in the tobacco growing tracts

of the country but has also been found to be equally harmful to other crops including cotton,

GPA-2018


soybean, groundnut and mung bean along with some commonly grown vegetables in past few

decades. The pest status that it presides had been allocated long back and by now it claims to

be reconsidered based on the wide spread epidemics that it caused to soybean and groundnut

in Rajasthan and other places in India, respectively. The outbreaks have been found to be

mainly during the rainy season and the factors include increasing acreage of tobacco and

many preferred crops mainly vegetables which provide abundant food sources, expanding of

protected cultivations which provide suitable sites for over wintering, more mild winter and

warmer spring, which enables the pest to occur earlier and build up higher populations in the

first generation, high temperature and less rainfall in summer and misuse of pesticides that

cause resistance to insecticides, less natural enemies and the most potent factor of

monoculture helps it to raise concern. The reinvestigation of the pest status of S. litura

through extensive study of research articles ascertains that the pest has become a major one in

certain crops like soybean and groundnut as it is seen to cause economic damage almost

regularly in the past few years which influences us to rethink.

Keywords: Spodoptera, outbreak, pest status, soybean, groundnut

Comparative efficiency of 125 watt Mercury Vapour lamp and 15 watt

Ultra Violet tube as light source in Light Trap against the

major insect-pest of paddy

Vaishampayan S. and Patidar S.

Deptt. of Entomology, J.N. Agricultural University, Jabalpur (M.P.)

The experiment was conducted at JNKVV Jabalpur during June to October 2017.

Two Light Traps using 125 watt Mercury lamp and 15 watt UV (Black light) tube as light

source were installed at farm. Comparative studies of trap catches revealed that numerically

i.e. based on number of insects collected Ultraviolet 15 watt has given higher response than

MV 125 watt in following species –Nephotetix virescens, Leptocorisa acuta, Cnaphalocrocis

medinalis, Mythimna seperata. While, Mercury vapour has given better response than

Ultraviolet in following species –Paropoynx stagnalis, Melanitis leda ismene. Statistically,

however, (at 5% level of significance)difference in trap catches in all the seven species were

non significant i.e. the trapping efficiency of UV 15 watt was atpar with MV 125 watt. In

another words Ultraviolet light source can be successfully used for operation of light trap as

survey and pest control tool.

Keywords: Light Trap, Mercury vapour, Ultraviolet, Paddy pest.

Doubling of Farmers Income By 2022 – Strategies and Challenges

Rohit Shelar, Himadri Roy

Department of Extension Education

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

E-mail ID: [email protected]

Earlier strategies for development of agricultural sector in India has focused on

raising agriculture output, strategies paid dividends as country was able to meet food

GPA-2018


shortage. Adoption of green revolution, India‘s food production multiplied by 3.7 times while

population multiplied by 2.5 times, which has been increase per person food production and

made India food self-sufficient but the strategies didn‘t explicitly recognize the need to raise

farmer‘s income. The NSSO data on Consumption Expenditure Survey of year 2011-12

revealed that more than one fifth of rural households with self-employment in agriculture

were having income less than poverty line. For doubling real income of farmers till 2022

requires higher annual growth rate in farmer‘s income. This implies that on-going and

previously achieved growth rate has to be sharply accelerated. Therefore, strong measures

like, improving productivity, diversification towards high value crop, efficiency in resource

use, focus on dry land areas, reducing cost through low input in agriculture, farming system

approach, smart nutrient management, climate change and sustainable agriculture, crop

intensification/diversification, value addition in produce, will be needed to achieve all

possible growth in farmer‘s income. On the one hand, rainfall is either elusive or extreme,

causing crop losses in successive seasons. On the other hand, farmers are committing suicide

because they have excess production but no one to give them fair price for their produce. So

for such conditions, remunerative prices for farmers by reforming the existing marketing

structure, reforming agriculture land policy, relief measures, raising productivity, these are

some challenges in doubling the farmer‘s income.

Keywords: Doubling famers’ income, strategies, challenges.

ICT Enabled Digital Plant Diagnosis System: Need of the Hour

Himadri Roy*1, Rohit Shelar

2 and Kumari Jyoti

3

Research Scholar, Department of Extension Education

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU, Varanasi.

*Correspondence e-mail ID: [email protected]

The agricultural sector in India is currently passing through a difficult phase. Though

agricultural production in India increased dramatically during the last four decades, Indian

agriculture is inflicting enormous losses to the potential agricultural production due to

manifestation of insect pests and diseases. Now days the application of Information and

Communication Technology (ICT) in digital plant diagnosis is increasingly getting

importance. Various mobile apps and expert systems have been developed which allows

farmers to identify pests and diseases using their mobile phones and provides remedial

measures with automated disease diagnosis feature. Farmers can upload a photo of their

infected crop and the apps or expert system will provide a diagnosis. Besides giving a

diagnosis and steps to mitigate the disease, these will also provide information on preventing

the disease in the next cropping season. Farmers are also presented biological treatment

options for pest and disease control. These digital plant diagnosis tolls also feature a library

of diseases which farmers can refer in case there is no connectivity. This latest technology

can help farmers in protecting their food crops from crop pests and crop diseases effectively.

Key words: ICT, Digital Plant diagnosis, Expert system, Mobile app

GPA-2018


Vermiculture and Vermicomposting : A Boon for Sustainable Agriculture

in Fiji Island

S.N. Rai




Vermiculture employ earthworms for decomposition of organic waste for production

of organic manure. The importance of earthworms is known since time immemorial and it is

considered natural plough by the farmers. Earthworms are one of the most important fauna of

agro-ecosystems which dominate the biomass of invertebrates in many soils of temperate and

tropical regions of the world. The benefits are now globally realized that earthworms can

contribute much to the management of different pedo-ecosystems. They are useful in land

reclamation, soil improvement and organic waste management in addition to their use as a

protein-rich source of animal feed. Earthworms eat and mix large amount of soil or in

burrows, depending upon the species concerned. Their casts contain high concentration of

organic material, silt, clay and cations such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Earthworms also release nitrogen in to soil in their casts and urine. Earthworms change the

physical characteristics of soil by aerating during rain or irrigation. Earthworms thus enhance

incorporation and decomposition of organic matter, increase soil aggregate, improve porosity

and water infiltration and increase microbial activity.

Vermiculture may be a boon for Fiji which is a small Island nation located in the

South Pacific, 3000 km east of Australia and 1930 km south of the equator. It is endowed

with excellent climate which is very much suitable for vermicomposting. The land and

climate of Fiji are very good for growing horticultural crops such as vegetables and fruits. Fiji

farmers use imported chemical fertilizers which is costly resulting farming as an expensive

venture. The export market for organically produced crops is increasing worldwide providing

excellent opportunity to the farmers to use organic manure produced locally. To meet the

farmers‘ demands of organic manure there is a vast scope of vermiculture. The availability of

plenty amount of plant biomass, number of suitable earthworm species and excellent tropical

climate are in favour of simple vermiculture technology. The products of vermicomposting

such as earthworms, vermicompost and worm meal benefit the farmers by enriching the soil

fertility, reducing the use of imported chemical fertilizers and the organically produced crops

fetch higher price in the national and international markets. The use of worm meal as a cheap

source of poultry, fish and pig feed value the farmers who rely on the costly animal feed

mostly imported from foreign countries. This paper deals with various aspects and

components of vermiculture technology and suggests measures for successful implementation

under Fiji condition.

Gamma Ray and EMS induced Mutations in Aromatic Rices

Sanjeev Singh*

Department of Agricultural Botany, Udai Pratap Autonomous College, Varanasi-221002


GPA-2018


The primary need of crop improvement is selection, which is based on variability.

Without variation, selection is ineffective. Among various methods, mutation is regarded as

an important tool for creating genetic variability. A study was made to evaluate yield and

yield attributing traits in M4 generation of two aromatic rice cultivars namely Pusa Basmati 1

and Kalanamak after treatment with gamma rays (10 kR, 20 kR, 30 kR, 40 kR and 50 kR

doses) and EMS (0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.5% concentrations) alone and/or in their

combinations (10 kR + 0.2% EMS, 20 kR + 0.2% EMS, 30 kR + 0.2% EMS, 40 kR + 0.2%

EMS and 50 kR + 0.2% EMS). Various types of macromutations were observed in M2

generation. Of these, 9 mutants from Pusa Basmati 1 and 12 from Kalanamak were identified

as true breeding for plant morphology and maturity characters in M4 generation. Many

macromutants showed a significant improvement for yield and other yield components as

compared to their parents. The traits like plant height, number of panicle bearing tillers per

plant, days to flowering, number of grains per panicle and days to maturity showed higher

values of heritability. High heritability combined with high genetic advance for number of

grains per panicle and number of panicle bearing tillers per plant in the mutant lines of both

the cultivars Pusa Basmati 1 and Kalanamak. advocated that selection would be effective for

these traits. The mutation breeding is reckoned to enlarge the frequency and spectrum of

mutations to increase the incidence of viable mutations as an approach towards directed

mutagenesis leading to develop short stature, early maturing and high yielding traits in

aromatic rices.

Key words: Aromatic rice, macromutations, gamma rays, EMS

Importance and Scope of Seed Production in Vegetable Crops

*Sandeep K. Mauriya, Kalyan Barman and A. K. Pal




India is the second largest producer of vegetable crops only next to China. In India

vegetables are grown in 9.54 million ha area with a production of 169.47 MT. The

requirement of vegetables in the country is estimated about 225 MT. by 2020. Therefore, it is

necessary to intensify our effort to increase vegetable production to meet the minimum need

as well as to ensure the nutritional security of the fast growing population in the country.

Under the present situation since we have limited scope to increase the area, increase in

productivity is the only option left. Substantial increase in yield and quality of vegetable

crops depends upon a number of factors like fertilizers, irrigation, plant protection measures

and suitable agronomic practices. However, the use of high quality seed plays a pivotal role

in the production of vegetable crops. The use of poor quality seed nullifies the utility of all

agronomic practices and other inputs applied to the crops no matter how lavishly they are

applied. Economically, the cost of seed is a very small component of the total cost of

production. Since ages, Indian farmers were mostly dependent on traditional varieties;

therefore seed requirements were met through farm- saved seeds. The use of traditional

varieties coupled with farm - saved seeds whose quality is not guaranteed resulted in drastic

reduction of vegetable production. With the establishment of AICRP (vegetables),

GPA-2018


tremendous progress has been made in development of high yielding varieties and about 252

varieties of vegetables have been identified through AICRP. After the genesis of NSP, NSE,

SSC and private seed companies, production of certified and foundation seeds have been

undertaken by them. Presently, the estimated requirement of vegetable seeds is about 20000

tones for tropical and subtropical types and 200 tones for temperate ones, which will

constantly increase in the years to come. Private sector seed companies account for about 25-

30 percent of seed production and farmers keep their own seed. Government agencies

including public sector corporation at the centre and state hardly contribute 5-10 percent of

the total seed requirement.

Key words: Vegetables, Seeds, Yield Quality.

Interbreeding status of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)

populations across India

Snehel Chakravarty*, Sabuj Ganguly and C. P. Srivastava

Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005, INDIA


Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is a very serious insect pest of agricultural

importance worldwide including India. Its wide range of dispersion and presence in crop

ecosystems belonging to almost all agro-climatic conditions has rendered it to various

distinctive abiotic and biotic pressures and this might through various physiological changes,

ultimately brought about changes in the genetic background of this species in long run. There

are reports about Indian populations of H. armigera exhibiting differential responses to

parasitoids, pheromones and insecticides. Detailed understanding of the interbreeding status

of H. armigera populations occurring in different geographical locations can be very useful to

know its population structure, behavior and differential response to various selection

pressures. Total twelve crosses were analyzed and the results revealed significant differences

among populations from different pulse growing zones of India with respect to fecundity and

egg hatchability. Among all the mating pairs, significantly higher average fecundity was

obtained for North West Plain Zone × North East Plain Zone pairing (890.40 ± 66.17 eggs

per female) which was at par with its reciprocal crossing i.e., North East Plain Zone × North

West Plain Zone pairing (866.00 ± 65.08 eggs per female), followed by South Zone × Central

Zone (796.50 ± 49.50 eggs per female) pairings. The pooled egg hatchability of two

consecutive generations for the different crosses also exhibited a similar trend. Significantly

higher per cent egg hatchability was recorded in North West Plain Zone × North East Plain

Zone pairing (86.18 ± 4.52 per cent) which was at par with its reciprocal crossing i.e., North

East Plain Zone × North West Plain Zone pairing (84.50 ± 3.13 per cent). Significantly

lowest egg hatching (66.50 ± 3.90 per cent) was recorded from South Zone × North West

Plain Zone pairing which was at par with its reciprocal cross (68.15 ± 3.57 per cent). Though,

all the populations were found to be freely crossable and the crosses also produced normal

fertile progenies, but wide range of variations observed among the crosses with respect to

GPA-2018


fecundity and per cent egg hatching seems to be due to existence of sub species in H.

armigera populations of India.

Information Exchange and Knowledge Sharing Carrier opportunities

in Floriculture

Sunil Kumar

Head, Department of Horticulture, North Eastern Hill University, Tura Campus, Tura-794

002 West Garo Hills District, Meghalaya, India

E. Mail: [email protected]

India is bestowed with varied agro-climatic zones conducive for production of

sensitive and delicate floriculture products. Floriculture is now emerging as an important

economic activity in India due to its vast domestic market which stands second after China.

Floriculture has potential to render more profit, generates employment for rural people

especially unemployed rural youth and school dropouts and conserves natural resources.

Floricultural crops like rose, carnation, tuberose, chrysanthemum, cymbidium, dendrobium,

heliconia, hedychium, begonia, bird of paradise, gladiolus, wax flower, hippeastrum, arum

lily, larkspur, schizanthus (poor man‘s orchid), lilies, tulips, hyacinth, daffodils, iris, crocus

are high in demand. Floriculture has immense potential and has tremendous arena like

protected cultivation, production of quality planting materials, cut greens and potted plants,

plug seedlings, bedding and annual flower production, hybrid seed production, value

addition, ancillary cottage industry, aromatherapy, production of dry flower, pesticides and

wasteland management. Protected cultivation offers a great potential in augmenting

production per unit area per unit time and quality of cut flowers. This technology has great

potential especially in peri-urban horticulture as a profitable venture for the growers and

nurserymen. The use of low cost poly house could be a very useful adjunct especially to the

women flower growers. Plug seedlings for bedding plants, herbaceous perennials, potted

flowering plants, hanging basket, foliage plants and cut flowers have become important

production practice in hi-tech floriculture industry. Value addition in floriculture creates a

novel product to cater the demands of the heterogeneous consumers. Floral extracts of rose,

jasmine, marigold and tuberose have a good market. Floral extracts like essential oils,

alkaloids, sapogenins, pigments, dyes etc. have tremendous demand in both domestic and

international markets. Damask rose is widely cultivated for extraction of essential oil, rose

water, attar and for preparation of gulkand. Jasmine and tuberose concretes find major use in

perfumery, tea flavouring and cosmetic industry. Secondary metabolites viz. anthocyanin,

flavonols, carotenoids and xanthophylls are common plant pigments and are important in

many aspects of life, imparting taste, aroma and colour to most of our foods and providing a

vast number of pharmaco-active chemicals used in medicine and agriculture. At present, the

technology for isolation of xanthophylls pigments (lutein and zeaxanthin) from marigold

(Tagetus erecta) has been perfected and large scale cultivation is being attempted in

association with extraction industry. Pesticides made from marigold, chrysanthemum,

periwinkle, sabadilla lily is safer and environmentally friendlier and shows the tendencies to

‘back of nature‘. The knowledge on the medicinal value of the ornamental plants can be made

use to encourage about cultivation of such plants for supplying the raw material to the

traditional ayurvedic industry. Flowers like geranium (skin refresher and astringent), jasmine

GPA-2018


(antiseptic, aphrodisiac and emollient), lavender (antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, muscle

relaxant, skin conditioners and astringent), rose (emollient, aphrodisiac and astringent), clary

sage (soothing agent), viola (soothing agent and skin conditioners) have greater potential in

aromatherapy. One may choose among these sectors, flourish and become a tycoon in

floriculture industry.

Information sharing and knowledge sharing as com municative activities

Vinay Pratap Singh

Assistant Professor Department of Plant Physiology

College of Agriculture JNKV Rewa Jabalpur (M.P.), India


Information sharing and knowledge sharing are closely related concepts that are often

used interchangeably. The term information sharing is preferred in library and information

science in particular, while researchers coming from fields such as management science,

strategic management, and human-computer interaction favour the term knowledge sharing.

Even though the existence of related concepts can be considered as a terminological richness,

they may also be confusing. The main motivation of the present study is to clarify these

terminological issues by comparing information sharing and knowledge as modes of human

activity. More specifically, a comparative approach is adopted to find out whether and how

information sharing and knowledge sharing would differ as communicative activities. In

general, information sharing can be understood as ‗a set of activities by which information is

provided to others, either proactively or upon request, such that the information has an

impact on another person's (or persons') image of the world … and creates a shared, or

mutually compatible working, understanding of the world‘ . Thus defined, the process of

information sharing incorporates two major aspects, i.e., giving information to others, and

receiving information that has been provided by the information giver. Similar processes are

characteristics of knowledge sharing. According to Hendriks knowledge sharing presumes an

act of externalisation by those that have knowledge, that is, knowledge owners.

Externalisation can take many forms, for example, codifying knowledge in a written

document or explaining the meaning of an idea in a lecture. Knowledge sharing also

presumes an act of internalisation by those acquiring knowledge, that is, knowledge

reconstructors. Internalisation may also occur in many different forms, including learning by

doing and reading books

Keywords: Information,Communication, knowledge ,understanding.

System of Wheat Intensification: Basic Concept and Methods

Awadhesh Kumar Singh1, Vijaypal

2, Sumit Kumar Singh

3 and Mahendra Pratap Singh

4

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pratapgarh-229408

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is world‘s most widely cultivated food crop. It can be

easily grown at below sea level 5000 m altitude and in areas where rainfall ranges between

300-1130 mm. Wheat contributes more calories (20%) and more protein to the world's diet

than any other food crop. In earlier days only traditional and undescript varieties of wheat

were cultivated. Those varieties have very poor quality character like tallness, suited to low

management with low yield potential. The turning point in the history of the wheat came after

GPA-2018


1963 with the introduction of dwarf, photo-insensitive, high yielding Mexican wheat

breeding materials (Norin Gene) developed by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. Mexican wheat has

fertile capacity, length and density of spike, disease resistance and greater responsiveness to

fertilizer without lodging. During the past two decades, productivity gains from the prevailing

wheat technologies with their heavy input-dependence have unfortunately been decreasing. It

was below the 1.1 per cent per annum. Retreating returns suggest that some new innovative

directions are needed so that wheat production in India can fulfill the future food demands of

an ever-growing population in a sustainable manner. Farmers face numerous constraints of

water supply, declining soil quality, access use of chemical and rising costs of agro-inputs.

The impact of these factors is compounded by the pressures and hazards of climate change.

The result of these constraints, farmers should go for alternative methods of crop

establishment and management. It gives higher yield at less cost, with less water

requirements, and with more resilience to climatic stresses – are desirable and should be

evaluated. Such benefits have been reported with a methodology for wheat production that

derives from a methodology what is known as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

(Stoop et al. 2002). The System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) play a significant role in

coping from different constraints and showing desirable effect on agronomical, economical,

social, and environmental factors.

Key Word: Food, Fertilizer, SWI, agronomical

Feasibility of Secondary Nutrient Management on Gro wth of Wheat in

Indo-Gangetic Region

Nishant Singh and Awadhesh Kumar Singh

Post Gratuate College, Ghazipur ( U.P. )- 233001, INDIA

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L) is the second most essential staple food that can fulfill

the nutrient requirement of the India. From introduction of new high yielding varieties and

balanced use of chemical fertilizer with creation of irrigation infrastructure have led to green

revolution during mid 1960‘s due to which India became second largest producer (~90 Mt)

next to China, contributing about 35% in cereal basket of the country. However, during

recent past, the enhancement of yield of wheat, large management yield gaps and intensive

cropping of wheat are major concerns for future food security. In addition to natural resource

depletion and biotic-abiotic stresses, the multiple nutrient deficiencies are the key factors that

contribute not only to yield but also to declining factor productivity, shrinking profits and

environmental footprints. In the traditional way of fertilizer nutrient management the very

basic principle of replenishing the soil nutrients reserves at the rates they are removed in

annual production systems are lacking. This can be done through all available nutrient

sources, inorganic and organic, but the bottom line is that any mismatch between nutrient

input and output that depletes the soil and creates imbalance. Though significant efforts have

been made on designing improved nutrient management practices. Recent approaches like

site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) provide an approach to ―feeding crops‖ with

nutrients as and when they are needed and hence making synergy for nutrient demand and

supply under a certain production system. However, such an approach along with careful

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management of other crop production factors, allowed reaching yield targets and efficiency

factors that are far higher than the current levels. But, soil testing has remained the major

bottleneck to realize potential benefits of these new and improved approaches.

Key Words: Nutrient, Improve, Management, Soil

Biofertilizers: A non-chemical source of plant nutrients for

sustainable agriculture

Sumit Kumar Singh*

Department of Entomology, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture,

Technology and Sciences, Allahabad - 211 007, INDIA

*Corresponding author email id: [email protected]

Biofertilizers are simply selective strain of beneficial soil microorganisms which

apply either by seed treatment or soil application and act as a source of plant nutrients at very

low cost. Special feature of these microorganisms are sustainability and eco-friendly action.

After application, multiplication of microorganisms occurs which further generate plant

nutrients in the soil or rhizosphere for plant use. Biofertilizers are help in recycling of

nutrients within the components of environment. It provides "eco-friendly" organic agro-

input and it can be expected to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, thus

promote organic farming for sustainable agriculture. The use of biological inputs such as N

and P-fixing bacteria, mycorrhiza or others are also able to maintain the biological, physical

and chemical condition of soil. Soil act as a living system only because of microbial

population present in it and without this soil unable to produce food. In recent years,

biofertilizers have emerged as a promising component of integrating nutrient supply system

in agriculture. Bio-fertilizers could be efficient to increase the growth, yield and quality of

agricultural products with very less input cost. Soil microbes are also play some important

role in many critical ecosystem processes, including nutrient cycling and homeostasis,

decomposition of organic matter etc. Thus biofertilizers can be a better option for sustainable

production system if we use it according to the proper methods and precautions.

Prospects in Animal and dairy science to help overcome long-term global

challenges

Mayank Dubey1 and Akhilesh Kumar Chaubey

2

1Assistant Professor (LPM), College of Agriculture,

Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda -210001 (U.P.) 2 SMS (Animal Science),

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Singrauli (MP)

E-mail – [email protected]

Everybody needs to eat, the world‘s population is growing, and feeding the planet‘s

billions in a safe and sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity.

Agricultural science has been vital for the continued existence of humanity since the first

wild plants and animals were domesticated in the countries about thousands of years ago and

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people abandoned the nomadic lifestyle. Agricultural science students study both natural

sciences, including chemistry and biology, and social sciences such as economics, business

and management. They may focus on animals or crops, or a mixture of both. Or they may

explore a career in food science, with agri-food, dairy food continuing to be one of the

biggest areas of economic growth for resource poor population. Animal science students,

meanwhile, work with animals in farm and domestic settings. This isn‘t about cute kittens but

is a career not just for people who care about animals but those who have an interest in

biology and health and are willing to get their hands dirty – or bitten at the distant rural areas

of the country. Country‘s dairy food sector is a massive economic success story which

continues to grow. It boasts a thriving export sector giving graduates of agriculture and

animal or dairy science excellent long-term employment prospects in dairy plants. Animal

science students don‘t just do their hands dirty with dung. They are just as likely to work in

labs or research and development, or in areas related to development, global food systems

and supply, genetics, environmental sustainability, disease and poverty, in food production,

or developing new ideas in business. Veterinary science graduates have almost full

employment. The dairy industry can offer competitive financial rewards, coupled with

significant opportunities to achieve your potential and a chance to feel part of a vibrant

community but to make yourself more employable, you should gain a scientific and

technological understanding of the industry, and a degree, especially one that includes a year

gaining practical.

Enhancement of Tomato Tolerance to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses

by Rhizobacterial strain

Anuj Kumar Murya

Department of Plant Phathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P.

*Author communication: [email protected]

Rhizobacteria play important roles in plant growth and health enhancement and

render them resistant to not only biotic stresses but also abiotic stresses, such as low/high

temperature, drought, and salinity. To select plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR)

with the capability to mitigate biotic and abiotic stress effects on tomato plants. A novel

PGPR strain, Variovorax sp. PMC12 from tomato rhizosphere. An in vitro assay indicated

that strain PMC12 produced ammonia, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), siderophore, and 1-

aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, which are well-known traits of

PGPR. The plants treated with strain PMC12 having more aboveground fresh weight was

significantly higher in tomato than in non-treated tomato plants under various abiotic stress

conditions including salinity, low temperature, and drought. Furthermore, strain PMC12

also enhanced the resistance to bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum.

Taken together, these results indicated that strain PMC12 is a promising biocontrol agent

and a biostimulant to reduce the susceptibility of plants to both abiotic and biotic stresses.

Key words – Rhizobacteria, PGPR, Abiotic stress, Biotic Stres.

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Scenario of Drought in Dholpur District, Rajasthan

Mangal Yadav*

Bhaskar Pratap Singh*

*Department of Farm Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh-221 005

E-mail: [email protected] Phone No:9410642414

Rajasthan is the largest state in India covering an area of 34.22 million hectare i.e.

10.5 % of the country‗s geographical area but sharing only 1.15 % of its water resources. The

estimated per capita water availability in the state during 2001 was 840 m3 and is expected to

be 439 m3 by the year 2050 against the national average of 1140 m

3 by 2050. More than 70%

of its people depend upon agricultural activities. The occurrence of drought leads to

reduction in reservoir and tank levels and depletion of soil moisture and groundwater. There

is a need to develop suitable criteria for planning drought adaption to crops for increasing and

stabilizing crop yields during non-drought conditions, and minimizing crop damages during

drought. District is frequently facing monsoon failure from last one decade. Monsoon failure

resulting in widespread drought implies a deepening of the already severe water crisis. The

monsoons recharge the groundwater and surface-water systems. In past, Dholpur District has

over-exploited her groundwater without recharging, creating a water famine. The food and

water security of the Dholpur district solely rely on the intensity of monsoon and ground

water. The present paper attempts to bring a detailed study of degree of drought and possible

feasible approaches of drinking water supply for Dholpur district. The study is based on

rainfall data collected by WRD Department Dholpur on their different stations. It is suggested

that the recharging of wells using latest water conservation techniques, rehabilitation of

traditional water bodies systems, better planning of water use. We conclude that if significant

improvements are not made with respect to adaptation to drought, it is difficult to adapt to

future regional climates which are expected to be marked by on average longer drier

conditions than present.

Key words: Meteorological Drought, Annual Rainfall Departure, Frequency of Drought etc.

Drought Study and Suitability of Drought Indices in Bundelkhand, India

Bhaskar Pratap Singh*, Virendra Kumar Chandola, Dinesh Kumar and

Anshu Gangwar

Department of Farm Engineering, I. Ag. Sc.,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, UP-India

Corresponding email*: [email protected]

Drought in Bundelkhand region of central India has been a matter of concern for

decades. In recent times, this region has become a synonym for drought, unemployment and

perennial water stress. A fourth successive drought in the last five years has shattered the

people of this backward region. Back-to-back droughts and erratic rainfall pattern in the era

of global warming has in fact also drastically affected the groundwater level in the state.

Since, temperature is already touching above 46 ºC, as a result water has evaporated from all

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rivers and ponds, and the tube wells are dry. Thus, a through drought study is needed for

proper planning and management of drought and available water resources in this area.

Various drought indices are used by various researcher of India and abroad. Drought indices

are used to monitor drought conditions of a region. Various drought indices (DIs) have been

proposed in past few decades like EDI (Effective drought indices), PDSI (Plamer‘s Drought

Severity Index), PDI (Perpendicular Drought Index), SSFI (Standardized Streamflow Index)

etc. and many more but some of those are region specific and have limitations of applicability

in other climatic conditions. This paper suggests the application of various drought indices

used in Bundelkhand region, India by various authors. Some of the indices are likely, the

Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) which has been used always to quantify the

precipitation deficit, Standardised Water-level Index (SWI) has been established to assess

ground water recharge deficit of the region. The calculation of Standardised Precipitation

Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is also based on the original SPI calculation procedure.

Various vegetative drought index like VCI, TCI and VHI can be calculated using NDVI with

the help of remote sensing approaches. Rainfall Departure (RD) is a good indicator of

dry/wet conditions for a given time over specified areas. It can be calculated by subtracting

the long-term average rainfall from monthly rainfall and dividing the difference by the long-

term average rainfall. Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) is a new index suitable for

hydrometeorological drought estimation, since it uses hydrometeorological parameters, such

as precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. Drought indices is a pragmatic way to

assimilate large amounts of data into quantitative information that can be used in applications

such as drought forecasting, declaring drought levels, contingency planning and impact

assessment. Thus, a means is provided to compare drought indices within each group of

application and to further study the trends in the development of drought indices in each

category.

Keywords: Drought indices, Effective drought index, Plamer‘s Drought Severity Index,

Standardised Precipitation Index, Rainfall departure.

Roles and importance of Entomology in the Agricultural society

Ingle Dipak Shyamrao*1, M. Raghuraman

2, Rupesh Gajbhiye

1 and

Abhinav Kumar1

1Research Scholar,

2Associate Professor

Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology,

Institute of Agricultural Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (U.P.)

*Email:[email protected]

Insects are very important to human beings. They pollinate our crops, they serve as a

food source to many humans, and they also provide products we use like silk, honey, dyes,

and chitin. Entomology is not only focused on the agricultural area but also proved beneficial

for human being. There is some beneficial insect like silkworm, honey bee and Lac insect and

also helpful insect like predators and parasitoids, which is considered economically

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important. Entomology is also important for the forensic which is a called as forensic

entomology, in which we study the insects that are found on the dead bodies. Using forensic

entomology we can able to determine the location of an incident, determine the time of the

infliction of wounds also determine the time of the death of a person. This can be done by the

identification of insects and their developmental stages. Each developmental stage has a

certain developmental time and so in this way we can determine the time of death of person.

Entomology is one of the branches of biology. It is a scientific study of insects. Insects are

very common in diverse areas; these tiny organisms belong to a vast group of global animals.

They are so far the most successful multicellular organism on this planet. Insect dominates

every ecosystem on the earth. This branch of biology is related to agriculture because these

insects characteristically come into view in agricultural crops as hazardous pest causing

crucial damage to our crops.

Keywords: Agriculture, entomology, importance, role

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