Mustard Crop Research Articles

Assessment of “Rubber wheel hoe weeder” for weeding efficiency in mustard crops and drudgery mitigation of farm women

Assessment of “Rubber wheel hoe weeder” for weeding efficiency in mustard crops and drudgery mitigation of farm women

Varietal evaluation of mustard crop in district Auraiya

Varietal evaluation of mustard crop in district Auraiya

To developed empirical models for irrigation level with benefit-cost ratio of mustard crop under water limiting conditions

To developed empirical models for irrigation level with benefit-cost ratio of mustard crop under water limiting conditions

Under climatological method to develop empirical model for the irrigation level and benefit-cost ratio of mustard crops

Under climatological method to develop empirical model for the irrigation level and benefit-cost ratio of mustard crops

Management of Alternaria blight disease of mustard through biofungicides

Alternaria blight, caused by Alternaria brassicae, is a major disease affecting mustard crops, leading to significant yield losses. Traditional chemical fungicides have been extensively used to manage this disease, but concerns over environmental pollution, development of resistance, and potential health hazards have shifted the focus towards alternative strategies. Biofungicides, derived from natural sources such as microbes, plants, and their products, have emerged as promising alternatives for managing Alternaria blight while ensuring sustainability and minimal environmental impact. The purpose of the present study was the use of biofungicides as a more sustainable alternative for managing Alternaria blight in mustard at Amity University, located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The organic treatment included FYM, Neem oil, Trichoderma viride in different combinations. Pusa Sag1 variety was used for the field study. The present findings revealed the significance differences were recorded in different growth stages of mustard among the various treatment tested. It has been found that minimum disease incidence was observed in T5-Trichoderma viride + FYM + Neem oil (3%), followed by T4Trichoderma viride + Neem oil (13%), T3Trichoderma viride (15%), T2Neem oil(28%), T1FYM(28%). Biofungicides holds great promise for sustainable disease control while minimizing environmental risks and promoting agricultural resilience.

Genotype and environment interactions of yield contributing characters of field mustard (Brassica rapa L.)

Genotype-environment interaction is the norm of reciprocal action that determines the relationship between gene and environmental factors. Gene and environment interaction takes place when different environments affect the genotypes and vice versa. The investigation portrays the interaction between genes and environments of yield contributing characteristics of eleven genotypes of field mustard. Three seeding-time environments, viz., early, late, and very late of eleven mustard genotypes were laid out with three replications in a randomized complete block design. Among the three environments, which one was favorable and which was not was determined by their significant differences through a combined analysis of variance. The IPCA 1 (first interaction principal component axis) score of genotypes in the AMMI (additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis) of G×E interactions was estimated as an indication of the ability to respond to the environments and the performance with changing environments of the genotypes. Considering all the scores, Sonali Sharisha (SS-75), and BINA Sharisha-10 were found to be highly stable genotypes, while among the three environments, the environment-1 (early sowing) was found the best sowing time for raising and harvesting a good mustard crop. Bangladesh J. Bot. 52(4): 1055-1065, 2023 (December)

Yield Gap Analysis and Impact Assessment of Rapeseed- Mustard through Cluster Front Line Demonstrations in Khowai District of Tripura, India

The present study was carried out by KVK Khowai Tripura to know the yield gaps between improved practices under frontline demonstration and farmers practice of rapeseed- mustard crops. The productivity ranged from 8.00 to 10.50 q/ ha with average yield under demonstration recorded 9.24 q/ ha under improved technology on farmers field as against a yield ranged from 5.50 to 6.50 q/ ha with a mean of 5.88 q/ ha recorded under farmers practice. However, in the demonstration plot the yield enhancement due to technological intervention was 36.21% over the farmers practice. An average net returns of Rs 18,644/- at demonstrations plot, while the average net returns from farmers practice is Rs 7046/-. The additional cost of Rs 5565/- gave additional net return; it is Rs. 11,510/- per hectare, respectively. The increase benefit cost ratio was also estimated; it ranged from 1.38 to 1.87 in recommended practices and 1.22 to 1.47 in farmers practice. An extension gap of 3.36 q/ ha was found between demonstrated technology and farmers practice, technology gap was observed 3.23 q/ ha, whereas technology index 24.86%. Therefore, CFLD of rapeseed- mustard was an effective for increasing the productivity and cropping intensity (%) of rapeseed- mustard and changing the knowledge, attitude and skill of the farmers. This created greater awareness and motivated the other farmers to adopt improved practices of rapeseed- mustard.

Detection of Aphid-Infested Mustard Crop Using Ground Spectroscopy

Timely detection of pest infestation in agricultural crops plays a pivotal role in the planning and execution of pest management interventions. In this study, a ground measured electromagnetic spectrum through hyperspectral sensing (400–2500 nm) was conducted in healthy and aphid-infested mustard crops in different regions of the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan state, India. The ground measured hyperspectral reflectance and its derivatives during the mustard aphid infestation period were used to identify the sensitive spectral regions in the electromagnetic spectrum concerning Aphid Infestation Severity Grade (AISG) to discriminate Lipaphis-infested mustard crops from the healthy ones. Further Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) were utilized to identify specific spectral bands to differentiate the healthy from aphid-infested crops. The spectral regions of 493–497 nm (blue), 509–515 nm (green), 690–714 nm (red), 717–721 nm (red edge), and 752–756 nm (NIR) showed high correlation with AISG for reflectance, first and second order derivatives. Further analysis of the spectra using PCA and PLSR indicated that spectral bands of 679 nm, 746 nm, and 979 nm had high sensitivity for discriminating aphid-infested crops from the healthy ones. Average reflectance and various spectral indices such as ratio spectral index (RSI), difference spectral index (DSI), and normalized difference spectral index (NDSI) of identified spectral regions and absolute reflectance of identified specific spectral bands were used for predicting AISG. Several regression models, including PCR and PLSR, were examined to predict the AISG. PLSR was found to better predict infestation grade with RMSE of 0.66 and r2 0.71. Our outcomes counseled that hyperspectral reflectance data have the ability to detect aphid-infested severity in mustard.

Nitrogen dose and placement in conservation agriculture for augmenting cropgrowth, productivity and profitability of Indian mustard (<i>Brassica juncea</i>)

Optimization of nitrogen (N) fertilization is vital for minimizing losses and realizing the yield potential of Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] under different tillage and residue management options. Hence, a field experiment was conducted during winter (rabi) seasons of 2021–22 and 2022–23 at research farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to study the effect of nitrogen placement methods under conservation agriculture (CA) for augmenting crop growth, productivity and profitability of Indian mustard. Experiment consisted a split-plot design with three crop establishment practices (CEP) [ZT-R, Zero tillage without residue retention; ZT+R, Zero tillage with residue; CT, Conventional tillage] in main-plots and nitrogen placement methods (NPM) [control (no N); recommended dose of N (RDN)-conventional; RDN-SSB (subsurface band placement of second N split along the crop rows); 80% RDN-SSB] in sub-plots. The ZT+R enhanced crop growth rate by 6.0–36.1% over CT at various crop stages. The ZT+R reported higher soil moisture by 9–20.7% over CT and ZT-R. Significantly superior seed yield (14.3–28.5%), net return (20.5–53.9%) and benefit cost ratio (21.8–79.0%) was obtained with ZT+R over ZT-R and CT while RDN-SSB recorded 7.3–9.1% higher seed yield over other treatments. Statistically at par results were obtained under RDN-conventional and 80% RDN-SSB for yield attributing characters and seed yield delineating that a saving of 20% N in mustard production is possible without compromising yield and this can reduce environmental footprint as well. Therefore, this study concluded that the residue retention under ZT along with subsurface N placement in mustard crop gives better vegetative growth, yield attributes and yield with a potential to save 20% N and can be opted in semi-arid Indo-Gangetic plains and similar agro-ecologies.

Seed yield and quality parameters of mustard as influenced by organic manures,sulphur and foliar application of zinc and boron in northern Telangana zone

Field experiment was conducted to study the effect of organic manures, sulphur and foliar application of Zn and Bon seed yield and quality parameters of mustard crop. Eleven treatment combinations were tested in the field. The treatment with 100% NPKS+ Foliar spray of 0.5% Zinc-EDTA and 0.2% Boric acid at flower initiation and at 50% flowering resulted in highest seed yield and quality parameters of mustard under Northern Telangana zone.

Influence of foliar treatment with microfertilizers on the productivity of white mustard in forest-steppe conditions of the Middle Volga region

The article presents the results of studying the effect of foliar treatments with microfertilizers on the productivity of white mustard in the conditions of the forest-steppe of the Middle Volga region. The object of research was two zoned varieties Lutsiya and Raduga. The experiment was carried out in 2020-2022 on the fields of the Penza Research Institute of Agriculture, which consisted in the foliar application of microfertilizers on mustard crops. Meteorological conditions during the years of research differed in contrast. The hydrothermal coefficient varied from 0.72 to 1.40. The results of field experiments confirm the varietal response of white mustard to the use of microelement fertilizers. The most effective microfertilizers for the Lutsiya variety are Izagri Vita and Agroverm. Their use made it possible to obtain the highest seed yield of 1.61 and 1.63 t/ha and a significant increase relative to the control variant by 0.15-0.17 t/ha. Variety Raduga formed the highest seed yield (1.61 t/ha) with foliar treatment of crops with Agroverm and BlackJack. In addition, the use of the BlackJack preparation contributed to obtaining the largest amount of oil in the seeds of both varieties - 29.72% (Lutsiya variety) and 29.31% (Raduga variety). The maximum protein content in mustard seeds, 36.59 and 37.17%, was noted in the variant with Humate + 7 treatment, which exceeded the control by 1.40 and 1.23%. On the variants treated with Megamix and Humate +7, the largest seeds were formed, the weight of 1000 of which was 6.50 (Lutsiya) and 6.54 g (Raduga). In addition, foliar feeding of mustard with microfertilizers also influenced the fatty acid composition of oilseeds. The use of Cytovit reduces the concentration of oleic acid to 33.9% and increases the content of erucic acid to 30.1% in the Lutsiya variety. In the Raduga variety, the use of Izagri Vita and Gumat + 7 contributed to an increase in erucic acid by 1.0-1.1%, the use of BlackJack increases the content of oleic acid to 60.2%. Treatment of plants with Agroverm leads to a decrease in the amount of linoleic acid to 8.7 and 9.9%, depending on the variety.

Estimation of evapotranspiration fluxes over mustard using a Two-Source Energy Balance model

Abstract A Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model computes surface energy fluxes using soil surface temperature and canopy temperature. An experiment was carried out in a research farm near the agrometeorological observatory, at Anand, India to parameterize the TSEB model for the mustard (Brassica Juncea) crop, to estimate surface energy fluxes and validate the TSEB-2T model. The TSEB-2T model was validated using net radiation measurements. Results revealed that modeled net radiation under all sowings. Very late sowing had comparatively high dr 0.61, r 0.78** and low RMSE 58.12 Wm−2, MAE 46.47 Wm−2 and low MBE 1.66. Net radiation over mustard ranged from 269 to 538 Wm−2 with relatively high peaks in the second sowing date. Sensible heat flux was relatively high during early growth and after the seed development phase. Latent heat flux and sensible heat flux had inverse partitioning patterns during the crop cycle of the mustard. Ground heat flux had negligible partitioning from net radiation after the seed initiation stage. During vegetative to pod initiation phases, the net radiation fraction for latent heat was high compared to sensible heat. Peak daily evapotranspiration based on modeled latent heat during the flowering to pod initiation phase was about 3.7 mm day−1.

Can Plant Nutrient Dynamics and Indian Mustard Yield Be Influenced by Addition of Organic Amendments Under Saline Sodic Soils?

ABSTRACT Arid and semi-arid regions are having huge potential for agricultural production but also have limitations of salinity and alkalinity. By mediating rhizospheric environment with the application of organic and inorganic nutrient sources, Indian mustard yield could be enhanced in these areas. For this, a field experiment was conducted to study the effect of organic (FarmYard Manure and vermicompost) and inorganic (urea) amendments with irrigation water of different sodium absorption ratios (SAR; 6, 10, 20 and 30). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design (SPD) with 24 treatment combinations keeping different SAR in main plots and organic and inorganic nitrogen sources in sub plots. Experiment results revealed that increasing SAR levels reduced the availability of major plant nutrients, i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The soil organic carbon mineralization rate and Indian mustard seed yield were also deceased with increasing levels of SAR. Application of nitrogen through farm yard manure (FYM) and vermicompost decreased the electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and enhanced the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil solution. Application of 50% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through urea and 75% through vermicompost produced maximum seed and stover yield of Indian mustard. Thus, supply of recommended dose of nitrogen as inorganic (50%) and organic (75%) sources improved the soil health and Indian mustard yield of arid lands with sodic irrigation water. The use of organic sources in place of sole application of N fertilizer may be a potential management option in sodic groundwater irrigated areas for enhancing mustard crop yield.

Study on Micro-Climate and its Effect on Growth and Yield of Mustard Crop under Prayagraj Conditions

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi season of 2022-2023 on the topic entitled “Study On Micro-Climate And Its Effect On Growth And Yield Of Mustard Crop Under Prayagraj Conditions” at field of collage of forestry in Prayagraj district of utter Pradesh. Keeping in this view experiment was conducted in Factorial RBD with three replications having two factors. The first factor comprised of three DOS (170ct. 3Nov. and 17 Nov.) whereas the second factor consisted of Four Indian mustard Cultivar viz: Jhalak, Kala Sona, Sriram, and Ratna Results showed that both dates and varieties 17 oct and Ratna were superior as compared to rest of treatment max. yield observed. However, the highest growth attributes Like plant height, number of leaves, no of branches yield, and yield attributes like No. of silique (cm) per plant, test weight, seed yield (q/ha) grain yield, dry matter, and length of siliqua was recorded under 17 Oct. growing crop Ratna variety, the Lowest yield and growth recorded under date 17 Nov. growing crop Jhalak followed by 3 Nov. growing Crop Jhalak.

Productivity and Profitability of Sesame / Green Gram / Urdbean – Mustard Based Cropping Systems under Moisture Conservation Practices

A field experiments was conducted on sandy loam soil during 2016 -17 and 2017 -18 at M.G. chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, Satna (M.P.) to find out the most productive and profitable mustard based cropping system under different moisture conservation practices. Treatment consisted three cropping systems viz. Sesame –mustard, green gram-mustard and urdbean –mustard and four moisture conservation practices (no irrigation, life saving irrigation, straw mulch @4 t/ha and kaolin 5% spray). Results revealed that on pooled basis of two years mulching @4 t/ha produced significantly higher grain yield of sesame (512 kg/ha), green gram (1023 kg/ha) urdbean (2349 kg/ha) and mustard (2558kg/ha) than no irrigation while numerical enhancement were recorded under life saving irrigation and kaolin 5 % spray treatment in seed yield of sesame, green gram, urdbean and mustard crop. The maximum mustard equivalent grain yield of 3759 kg/ha, system production efficiency of 33.52 kg/ha/day and system profitability of 339.00 Rs/ha/day was recorded under green gram – mustard system. Among the moisture conservation practices, straw mulch treatment had highest mustard equivalent grain yield of 4021 kg/ha, production efficiency of 35.83 kg/ha/day and system profitability (35.83 Rs/ha/day). The gross returns (Rs 182764/ha), net returns (Rs 139644/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (3.24) were maximized under green gram- mustard system x straw mulch @4 t/ha treatment on pooled basis.

Studies on Diversity of Major Insect Pests and Coccinellid Predators on Mustard Crop Ecosystem in Relation to Abiotic Factors

The present experiment was conducted to record the occurrence of insect pests and coccinellid predators on mustard crop ecosystem during rabi season 2021-22 and 2022-23 at Technological Park, Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Modi Puram, Uttar Pradesh. Total five major insect pests and different species of coccinellids were found associated with the mustard crop. Mustard sawfly, Painted bugs, Green stink bugs appeared during the early stages (48th SW to till 5th SW) and disappeared in the later part of the crop period. Cabbage butterfly was observed in the middle of the crop period (3rd to 11 SW). Mustard aphid and coccinellids were associated largely with the mustard crop i.e, from 48th SW to till harvest of the crop. Correlation studies revealed that the temperature and relative humidity are the two most important weather parameters that influence the insect pests and coccinellid population of mustard crop ecosystem.

Crop Classification and Crop Acreage Estimation Using Geospatial Technology in the Upper Gangetic Plains of Uttarakhand, India

Timely and accurate crop mapping plays an important role in food security, economic and environmental policies. Crop maps are also utilized for agro-environmental assessments and crop water usage monitoring. As a result, accurate and timely crop classification is essential for agricultural management and monitoring. Because it provides periodic large-scale observations of ground objects, satellite remote sensing has been regarded as an advanced tool to characterize crop types and their distributions on a regional scale. High-resolution, multispectral images of October 13, 2021, December 7, 2021 and March 6, 2022 of sentinel-2 satellite released by the European Space Agency (ESA) have been used for classification. Ground truth points have been collected manually with the android app ‘Mapmarker’ and Google Earth. Further, pre-processing of satellite imageries such as resampling, mosaicking and sub-setting have been done with the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) software. Crop classification and acreage estimation was conducted using Maximum Likelihood approach. It is the first time an attempt was made to estimate cropping intensity using geospatial technology in the upper Gangetic plains of Uttarakhand state. Rice and sugarcane areas of 108,884 ha and 11,479 ha, respectively, were estimated from the October 13, 2021 image. Pea crop area was estimated as 6,227 ha from December 7, 2021 image. Using March 6, 2022 image, wheat and mustard crop areas were estimated as 105,334 ha and 2,018 ha, respectively.

Correlation between the Seasonal Incidence of Aphids and Coccinellids on the Indian Mustard in Different Varieties and Sowing Dates

Ecological engineering plays an important role in Integrated Pest Management. Considering this, a field experiment was conducted at the Students’ Instructional Farm (SIF), Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur during the rabi season of 2020-21. The severity of the mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) in mustard (Brussica juncea L.) crop and its period of occurrence were not uniform in two successive crop seasons. The highest aphid intensities of 120.8 aphids per plant, 138.0 aphids per plant, 148.7 aphids per plant, and 176.1 aphids per plant were recorded on mustard varieties Varuna, Varuna, Azad Mahak, and Ashirwad, respectively, during mid-February (6th MSW) when the mustard was planted on 13th November, 23rd November, 25th November, and 10th December 2020. A negative correlation was established between the average temperature (r = -0.3599) and the actual intensity of aphids, as well as the weekly increase of aphids (r = -0.5838). On the other hand, average relative humidity had a positive influence on aphid incidence. The potentiality of predatory beetles (coccinellids) in the mustard ecosystem was found to be weather-dependent. The weather factors favourable for aphid multiplication did not support the enhancement of the population of predatory ladybird beetles.

Investigation of Physical and Frictional Properties of Mustard Seed Varieties to Design inclined Plate Metering Mechanism

The physical and frictional properties were studied for three distinct mustard seed varieties: RLC-1, GSC-7, and PBR-91, with the primary objective of designing an efficient inclined plate seed metering mechanism for agricultural seeders. Mustard, a globally significant oilseed crop, plays a vital role in both agriculture and industry. Our comprehensive analysis encompassed various properties, including seed dimensions, test weight (1000 seed), moisture content, geometric mean diameters, surface area, bulk density, true density, sphericity, angle of repose, and coefficients of friction on plywood and GI sheet surfaces.
 The results revealed significant variations among the mustard seed varieties. For instance, RLC-1 seeds exhibited lengths of 4.029 ± 0.37 mm, widths of 2.210 ± 0.31 mm, and thicknesses of 0.851 ± 0.19 mm, whereas GSC-7 displayed lengths of 4.110 ± 0.42 mm, widths of 2.300 ± 0.35 mm, and thicknesses of 0.910 ± 0.24 mm. Additionally, GI sheet surfaces exhibited a lower coefficient of friction compared to plywood.
 This comprehensive dataset informs the design of tailored seed metering mechanisms, optimizing seed handling, minimizing damage and losses, and reducing blockage during seeding operations, thereby enhancing overall efficiency in mustard crop cultivation and seeding technology.

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth Parameters, Yield Attributes and Yield of Mustard Crop in Chitrakoot Area

This field experiment was carried out during Rabi season of 2022-23 at Rajoula Agriculture farm, of Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya Chitrakoot, Satna (M.P.). The experiment having 9 treatment combinations replicated thrice in randomized block design. Mustard variety Pusa Mahak was grown with recommended agronomic practices. On the basis of the results emanated from current investigation, it could be concluded that application of T6 [IPNS (NPK + OM) (40:50:0 + 5 t FYM)] significantly recorded maximum growth parameters such as plant height (188.34 cm), number of branches plant-1 (6.37) and maximum yield attributing characters such as number of siliqua plant-1 (295.85), number of seed siliqua-1 (13.48) and 1000 seed weight (6.52 g). The findings showed highest grain yield (2179.83 kg ha-1) and straw yield (8304.75 kg ha-1), with treatment T6 [IPNS (NPK + OM) (40:50:0 + 5 t FYM)] in comparison to all the treatments. While the minimum value of growth parameters viz. plant height (169.24 cm), number of branches plant-1 (4.93) and yield attributes such as number of siliqua plant-1 (241.52), number of seed siliqua-1 (12.45) and 1000 seed weight (4.8 g) recorded under the treatment T9 [Absolute control].