Western Plain Zone Research Articles

Molecular diversity, haplotype distribution and genetic variation flow of Bipolaris sorokiniana fungus causing spot blotch disease in different wheat-growing zones.

Bipolaris sorokiniana (BS) is an economically important fungal pathogen causing spot blotch of wheat (Trtiticum aestivum) and found in all wheat-growing zones of India. Very scanty and fragmentary information is available on its genetic diversity. The current research is the first detailed report on the geographic distribution and evolution of BS population in five geographically distinct wheat-growing zones (North Western Plain Zone (NWPZ), North Eastern Plain zone (NEPZ), North Hill Zone (NHZ), Southern Hill Zone (SHZ) and Peninsular Zone (PZ)) of India, studied by performing nucleotide sequence comparison of internal transcribed spacer region of 528 isolates. A moderate to low levels of haplotypic diversity was noticed in different wheat-growing zones. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that B. sorokiniana exist in two distinct lineages as all isolates under study were grouped in two different clades and found analogous to the findings of haplotypic and TCS network analysis. The genetic parameters revealed the existence of 40 haplotypes with three major haplotypes (H-1, H-2 and H-3) which showed star-like structure network surrounded by several single haplotypes, revealing high frequency of the mutations (Eta = 2 - 158) in total analyzed population. H-1 was observed as a predominant haplotype and prevalent in all the five zones. Moderate level of genetic differentiation was found between NHZ and other zones like NWPZ (Fst = 0.332) and SHZ (Fst = 0.382) and PZ (Fst = 0.299), whereas it was low between NEPZ and PZ (Fst = 0.034). Higher transfer rate of genetic variation was noticed between NEPZ and PZ (Nm = 7.06), while it was found minimum between NHZ and SHZ (Nm = 0.40). Moreover, negative score of neutrality statistics (Tajima's D and Fu's FS test) for NWPZ population suggested recent population expansion. However, positive score for both the neutrality tests observed in NEPZ indicated the dominance of balancing selection in structuring their population. Recombination events were observed in the NWPZ and NHZ population, while it was absent in SHZ, NEPZ and PZ population. Thus, the lack of any specific genetic population structure in all the zones indicates for the expansion history only from one common source population, i.e. NWPZ, a mega zone of wheat production in India. Overall, it seems that the predominance of individual haplotypes with a moderate level of genetic variation and human-mediated movement of contaminated seed and dispersal of inoculum, mutations and recombination as prime evolutionary processes play essential role in defining the genetic structure of BS population.

Integrated Pest Management Technology as a Means to Cost Efficiency for Cotton Crop in Rajasthan, India

Aim: This research is an attempt to uncover the production opportunities of cotton grown with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology in Rajasthan, India.
 Study Design: The study is based on both descriptive and exploratory type of research design.
 Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted at Institute of Agri Business Management, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan. Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan were selected under cotton cultivation for the study. The time duration of the project was for the crop year 2017–18.
 Methodology: The respondents for the study were cotton farmers following different pest control measures in the study area. Multistage stratified random sampling method was followed for the research. Two major districts of Irrigated North Western Plain Zone (Zone Ib) were purposely selected. Based on experts’ opinion, villages were selected under three technologies viz. IPM, conventional and mix of both technologies. The list of farmers following IPM and mix of both technologies was collected from Central Integrated Pest Management Centre (CIPMC), Sri Ganganagar and lists of farmers following conventional technology were collected from respective gram panchayats. The sample size for the study was limited to 90 in numbers. The selection of farmers was based on probability proportional to size (PPS) method on the basis of their land holdings from each village. The analysis was done by calculating returns over variable cost, benefit-cost ratio and resource use efficiency of data collected from the field.
 Results: The variable costs for the cultivation of cotton per hectare are ₹ 48001.78, ₹ 49105.66 and ₹ 48441.93 for the farmers following IPM, conventional and the mix of both technologies, respectively. The benefit to cost ratio in IPM was found to be the highest i.e. 2.23, followed by 2.04 for mix of both technology, and 1.85 for conventional technology. The estimation of resource use efficiency in cotton indicated the under-utilization of human labour in case of IPM and mix of both technologies and over-utilization of machine labour in case of conventional and IPM technology.
 Conclusion: The IPM technology was found to be economical for the farmers growing cotton in the study area. The resources like human labour, machine labour, fertilizers and manure as well as plant protection measures were suggested to be effectively utilized for better cost effectiveness among the farmers in the study area.

Molecular epidemiology, phylogenetic analysis and risk assessment of Anaplasma marginale from naturally infected bovines of Punjab (India)

Anaplasmosis, an infectious vector borne rickettsial disease caused by different species of Anaplasma transmitted through mechanical and biological (tick) processes has a great concern to livestock industry due to its associated economic losses. The current cross sectional comprehensive epidemiological study was conducted from August 2020 to November 2021 on 391 (277 cattle and 114 buffaloes) bovines from different districts of five agro climatic zones of Punjab state. Classical microscopic examination of Romanowsky stained blood smears showed an occurrence of 13.00%, while DNA amplification targeting major surface protein (msp5) of Anaplasma marginale revealed the 382 bp amplicon in 32.48% samples. Zone based molecular prevalence of A. marginale was highest in the Undulating zone (41.93%) and least in the Sub-Mountain zone (18.84%). The prevalence in Central plain zone, Western plain zone, and Western zone were 40.15, 30.95 and 29.91%, respectively. An overall molecular prevalence of A. marginale was 34.52, 32.75 and 20.0% in young, adults and calves, respectively, the difference being non-significant. Anaplsma marginale was more prevalent in unorganized farms (38.22%; 60/157) than organized farms (28.63%; 66/234). Risk factors analysis revealed young, female cattle at unorganized farms were more prone to anaplasmosis. Out of 127 positive samples, four samples were customed to sequencing revealed 98–99% homology with published sequences for other available global isolates. Multi-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were observed in the sequence of two samples when aligned with the reference sequence from the NCBI database (CP023731).

Agronomic Biofortification of Zinc and Iron on Yield Potential and Zinc Fortification in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Varieties under Arid Western Plains Zone of Rajasthan

Background: According to the World Health Organization on worldwide prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, zinc deficiency ranked 11th amongst twenty most important factors in the world, whereas zinc and iron deficiency ranks 5th and 6th respectively, amongst ten most important factors in developing countries. Among micronutrients, zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) deficiency in human nutrition are wide spread in Asian developing countries including India. Therefore, agronomic biofortification is easiest and immediate effective method for enriching seed with zinc and iron, which could relieve malnutrition issues in developing countries, particularly in India. Methods: A field trial was carried out to study the agronomic biofortification of zinc and iron in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties under Arid Western Plains Zone of Rajasthan. Growing of two varieties namely GNG-1581 and RSG-974 and seven fortification treatments included various doses of zinc and iron were assigned under FRBD and trial was carried out at Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Jodhpur (Rajasthan) during rabi season of 2019-20. Result: The results revealed that significantly higher yield attributes and yield viz. pods plant-1 and 100-grain weight were produced under the RSG-974, while higher number of seeds pod-1 as well as seed, stover and biomass yield along with higher zinc contents and their uptakes were noticed in chickpea variety GNG-1581 under application of ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 (SA) + 0.5% FeSO4 (FA).

Magnitude and Pattern of Non-Farm Employment among Scheduled Caste in Western Plain Zone of Punjab

The present study examines the magnitude and pattern of non-farm employment among schedule caste respondents in western plain zone of Punjab. The study was based on multi stage random sampling technique. Both primary and secondary sources of data was used for the study. For analysis of the data simple percentages, averages and regression analysis was used. The study found that 63 percent of scheduled caste respondents adopted both farm and non-farm activities for their livelihood. The average operated area came out to be one acre among selected scheduled caste respondents. Among non-farm activities in the study area, 41 percent scheduled casted respondents were engaged as casual labourers. .Due to lack of skill they are left with no other option but to work for daily wages in unskilled jobs. Pattern of income from farm and non-farm activities shows that the income of respondents engaged in both farm and non-farm activities was double than the income of respondents engaged in farm activities only. The average per monthly income of SC respondents engaged in farm activities only was Rs. 7764 whereas average income of SC respondents engaged in both farm and non-farm activities was Rs. 13382. The study suggested that skill development centres specific for the need of the SC respondents should be opened in their areas.The average operated area was marginally low in the study area so the only hope to increase the income of SC respondents is non-farm activities in the rural areas. The priority should be attached to the removal of barriers of any kind for the people to enter into the non-farm activities besides improving infrastructure facilities like banking, roads, market and communication facilities in the rural areas, facilitating more poor agricultural labourers and jobless people to take up some kind of non-farm activities for their livelihood.

Understanding Farm Diversity through Typology for Technological Interventions in Western Plain Zone of Uttar Pradesh, India

The farming systems having diverse characteristics need to be understand for tailoredtechnological interventions. Farm typology designates the heterogeneous farmers’characteristics in to homogenous groups to understand the factual situation in the region.The multivariate analysis viz. PCA and Cluster analysis performed to minimize data andgroup them into homogenous characteristics by various farm variables. A cross sectionsurvey of 120 farmers in WPZ of Uttar Pradesh was carried out and identified 9 significantvariables and generated 4 PCs from PCA. Hierarchical clustering of PCs leads to groupingfarms into homogenous class. The predominant farm types based are type-1 (22.5%)livestock based intensive farms, type-2 (23.3%) are resource endowed large farms, type-3(10.8%) are crop based marginal farms and type-4 (43.3%) are small farmers with highprofit margin. Large farms are integrated with crop and animal components earning higherincome. The results show that the diversified farms with both livestock and crop sectorsare reaping better income and technology adoption capacities.

On-farm Agro-meteorological evaluation of late sown wheat (Triticum aestivum) under irrigated agro-ecosystem of Upper Indo-Gangetic Plains

In Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP, ~18 mha geographical area), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a predominant cropgrown in rabi. Improving the productivity of wheat in a rice-based farming system through a suitable cultivar inIGP is necessary to evaluate under the agro-ecological condition of IGP of India. A farmer’s participatory fieldexperiment was studied at three villages Saunta, Sathedi and Bhangela situated in Khatauli block of Muzaffarnagar(Uttar Pradesh) under two crop environments (low rainfall and high temperature, LRHT and heavy rainfall and lowtemperature, HRLT) with four wheat varieties during rabi of 2017–18 and 2018–19. In this study we have evaluatedthe productivity in isolation as well as in combination of prevailing weather scenario (2017–18 and 2018–19) underirrigated agro-ecosystems of Western Plain Zone of Uttar Pradesh. Interaction studied between crop environmentsand varieties indicated that PBW-550 and PBW 658 registered higher grain yield of 5514 and 5475 kg/ha, respectivelythan farmers practice (PBW-226, 4659 kg/ha) and DBW-90 (4647 kg/ha) in LRHT. However, under HRLT, PBW-658performed better (5326 kg/ha) over other cultivars. Mean grain yield of all four cultivars were recorded significantlyhigher under LRHT with 5074 kg/ha compared to HRLT where mean grain yield was 4710 kg/ha. A highly significant(P=0.01) negative association was found between grain yield and monthly rainfall (except December month) andcumulative rainfall of the crop season (-0.322**). Prevailing mean monthly air temperature during grain filling tomaturity phenophase was found to be positively associated with grain yield (r = -0.322*).

DYNAMICS OF CROPPING PATTERN IN ARID WESTERN PLAIN ZONE OF RAJASTHAN

DYNAMICS OF CROPPING PATTERN IN ARID WESTERN PLAIN ZONE OF RAJASTHAN

Screening and Evaluation of Wheat Varieties against Powdery Mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici) under field Conditions

The powdery mildew fungi ( Blumeria graminis) continue to rank among the most harmful pathogens on wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) in the world . It is becoming a disease of concern in the North Western Plains Zone, Northern Hills Zone and Southern Hills Zone of the country. Twenty six varieties of wheat were tested against powdery mildew pathogen for screening of resistant or moderately susceptible or susceptible ones. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block with three replications. The plants were inoculated in evening with spore suspension of the pathogen. The wheat seedlings were inoculated at 25-30 days after planting which is the most vulnerable period of susceptibility. Normal agricultural practices including recommended fertilizer dose and irrigation schedule were followed. Infection types and powdery mildew severity were recorded for each of the tested variety. A wide range of reactions from resistant to highly susceptible were shown by wheat varieties whereas no any variety showed immune response. Wheat varieties K1105, K1114, K1204, K1213, K1215, K1217, K1315 and K1601 were found resistant to powdery mildew showing low infection and low level of disease severity (4.5% - 24.6%).

Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in Excreta of Baya Weaver Bird (Ploceus Philippinus) from Three Districts of Different Zones of Punjab.

The objective of the study was to assess the heavy metal contamination in excreta of the Baya Weaver Bird (Ploceus philippinus). Samples were collected from nesting colony sites present in three districts viz. Ludhiana (location I), Ropar (location II) and Ferozepur (location III) falling in Central plain zone, Undulating plain zone and Western plain zone of Punjab respectively. In dry excreta samples fifteen elements were detected through ICAP-AES; As, Pb, Cd, Cr were toxic heavy metals and B, Fe, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, Mg, Ca, P, S, Na were essential elements. Toxic heavy metals viz. As (1.88-2.10ppm), Pb (2.70- 5.25ppm) and Cr (13.30-23.78ppm) were found above normal range in excreta collected from studied locations. Statistical analysis showed significant difference among heavy metals and locations which signifies the bioaccumulation of different metals at different locations in excreta of Baya Weaver Bird due to different type of contaminations at studied locations.

Resurrection of Wheat Cultivar PBW343 Using Marker-Assisted Gene Pyramiding for Rust Resistance.

Wheat variety PBW343, released in India in 1995, became the most widely grown cultivar in the country by the year 2000 owing to its wide adaptability and yield potential. It initially succumbed to leaf rust, and resistance genes Lr24 and Lr28 were transferred to PBW343. After an unbroken reign of about 10 years, the virulence against gene Yr27 made PBW343 susceptible to stripe rust. Owing to its wide adaptability and yield potential, PBW343 became the prime target for marker-assisted introgression of stripe rust resistance genes. The leaf rust-resistant versions formed the base for pyramiding stripe rust resistance genes Yr5, Yr10, Yr15, Yr17, and Yr70, in different introgression programs. Advanced breeding lines with different gene combinations, PBW665, PBW683, PBW698, and PBW703 were tested in national trials but could not be released as varieties. The genes from alien segments, Aegilops ventricosa (Lr37/Yr17/Sr38) and Aegilops umbellulata (Lr76/Yr70), were later pyramided in PBW343. Modified marker-assisted backcross breeding was performed, and 81.57% of the genetic background was recovered in one of the selected derivative lines, PBW723. This line was evaluated in coordinated national trials and was released for cultivation under timely sown irrigated conditions in the North Western Plain Zone of India. PBW723 yields an average of 58.0 qtl/ha in Punjab with high potential yields. The genes incorporated are susceptible to stripe rust individually, but PBW723 with both genes showed enhanced resistance. Three years post-release, PBW723 occupies approximately 8–9% of the cultivated area in the Punjab state. A regular inflow of diverse resistant genes, their rapid mobilization to most productive backgrounds, and keeping a close eye on pathogen evolution is essential to protect the overall progress for productivity and resistance in wheat breeding, thus helping breeders to keep pace with pathogen evolution.

Superiority index based on AMMI and yield of wheat genotypes evaluated in North Western Plains Zone under restricted irrigated timely sown conditions

Highly significant effects of environment (E), GxE interaction and genotypes (G) were observed by AMMI analysis during 2018-19 and 2019-20 study years for wheat genotypes evaluated at major locations of mega zone of the country. WAASB measure observed suitability of HD3237, WH1080 and PBW644 genotypes. Superiority index while weighting 0.65 and 0.35 for yield and stability found HI1620, HD3237 and HI1628 as of stable performance with high yield. PRVG measure observed suitability of HI1620, HI1628 and BRW3806 while MHPRVG measure identified HI1620, HI1628 and HD3237 wheat genotypes. More over the average yield of genotypes ranked HI1620, HI1628 and NIAW3170 as of order of choice. SI had expressed all direct relations of moderate to high degree of correlations except with WAASB and weak relations with yield, PRVG and MHPRVG values. Only negative correlations had expressed by WAASB measure while positively correlated with yield, PRVG and MHPRVG. Second year of study observed suitability of NIAW3170, DBW296 and PBW644 genotypes as far as WAASB values were concerned. Superiority index found DBW296, HUW838 and NIAW3170 as of stable performance with high yield. More over the average yield of genotypes ranked DBW296, HUW838 and JAUW672 as of order of choice. Mean yield showed a highly significant positive correlation with SI, MHPRVG, PRVG and negative values of correlation with AMMI based measures. SI had expressed all inverse relations with measures WAASB, EV, ASV, MASV as only negative values were seen. Positive correlations were maintained by WAASB measure with Za, SIPC, ASTAB, ASV1.

Analysis of Constraints Faced by Dairy Farmers of Western Plain Zone of Punjab

Analysis of Constraints Faced by Dairy Farmers of Western Plain Zone of Punjab

Quantification of microclimate and its effect on yield of field crops under Agri-horti system in Western plain zone of Uttar Pradesh

Result revealed that diurnal dynamics of temperature was continuously increasing from morning to noon hrs (07:30 hrs to 13:30 hrs) and highest temperature was recorded at 13:30 hrs (afternoon) due to highest light intensity. Thereafter, temperature was decreased and reaching to the lowest at 17:30 hrs irrespective of crops and height from the earth surface. Highest relative humidity was observed at 07.30 hrs morning and lowest relative humidity was recorded in 13:30 hrs to 15:30 hrs. Thereafter, it again increased from evening 17:30 hrs to morning 07:30 hrs. As per study maximum CO2 concentration was found at 07:30 hrs morning and decreased at 15:30 hrs. This decreasing trend of CO2 concentration after afternoon may be due to enhancement in consumption of CO2 for the process of carbohydrate assimilation through photosynthesis which reached to maximum at 15:30 hrs.

Growth and Productivity of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Varieties as Influenced by Seed Rate and Nipping in the Irrigated Arid Western Plain Zone

Background: Chickpea plays a greater role in national food and nutritional security and sustaining the economy of the farming community in a variety of ways. As a result of stagnated production and continuous increasing in population, the per capita availability of pulses has decreased considerably. Since very little scope exists for horizontal expansion of area, the alternative seems to be by adopting innovative agronomic practices like nipping, selection of proper seed rate and variety for a set of agro-climatic conditions to overcome from decreasing production potential. In view of above consideration, the present investigation entitled “Response of seed rate and nipping on different chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties in arid irrigated western plain zone” was carried out. Methods: The field experiment was conducted at SKRAU, Bikaner during two consecutive Rabi seasons of 2016-17 and 2017-18. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design with three replications, assigning 36 treatments consisting of three varieties (GNG-1581, GNG-1958 and GNG-2171) and three seed rates (48, 64 and 80 kg/ha) as main plot treatments and four levels of nipping practice (control, nipping at 30, 45 and 60 DAS) as subplot treatments. Result: Variety GNG-1581 had significantly shorter plant stature with higher number of branches/plant (13.94), pods/plant (40.14), seeds/pod (1.78), seed yield (2142 kg/ha), whereas, variety GNG-1958 showed significantly higher plant height (52.53 cm) and straw yield (3720 kg/ha). Number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant and seed index were found significantly higher in the seed rate of 48 kg/ ha. Maximum plant population, plant height, seed yield (2111 kg/ha.), straw yield (3657 kg/ha) were recorded with the seed rate of 80 kg/ ha but on par with the seed rate of 64 kg/ha. Nipping had a significant effect on growth, yield attributes and yield of chickpea. The highest number of branches/plant (13.32), pods/plant (39.61), seed/pod (1.78), seed index (19.16 g), seed yield (2121 kg/ha) and straw yield (3695 kg/ha) were obtained when nipping was practiced at 45 DAS.

Root architectural traits and yield stability in popular wheat (Triticum aestivum) varieties of India

The root system architecture has bearing on realizing the yield potential of genotypes. The 24 popular wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties released during the last 50 years for North Western Plain Zone (NWPZ) of India were used to study root traits and yield contributing traits two years and three locations. Association between the deeper root angles and yield were significant and the number of tillers is also associated with the number and angular distribution of crown roots. There is a relative adjustment in yield attributing and root architectural traits of varieties. The varieties HD3086, PBW502, WH1124, DPW621-50, PBW550 and WH1105 have largely modulated the yield through root traits while, the varieties DBW17, WH1142, HD2967, HD2009 and HD2687 have modulated yield through TGW and tillers along with roots. The other old varieties were modulating yield through aboveground traits only. There were significant genotypic effects for deeper crown root angles, days to heading, and tillers per meter square and thousand-grain weight. WH1080 has the best combination of all the traits. The genotype × environment and environmental effects were significant for other traits. Inclusion of crown root angles, mesocotyl length along with other above-ground traits in selection can help in designing better genotypes for future.

Precision nutrient management for enhanced yield and profitability of maize (Zea mays)

A three-year study was carried out at six locations in three agro-ecologies representing the areas of irrigation water availability at critical stages during kharif maize (Zea mays L.) in North Western Plain Zone (NWPZ), North Eastern Plain Zone (NEPZ) and Peninsular Zone (PZ) for optimizing the nutrient requirement and realizing potential yield of the popular genotypes. The study included five popular genotypes/hybrids with three nutrient management practices of RDF, 50% RDF/Farmer Fertilizer Practices (FFP) and nutrient expert based site-specific nutrient management (NE-SSNM) in the split-plot design and replicated thrice. The grain yield of maize was significantly higher at four locations with NE-SSNM however; it was at par with RDF at two locations. The gross returns followed the same trend as of grain yield but the returns over fertilizer cost (ROFC) were significantly higher with NE-SSNM which indicates that the use of these nutrient management practices has the potential to rationalize the nutrient management practices in maize. Hence, it was concluded that the NE-SSNM could be an effective strategy for realizing the potential yield and enhancing net returns of maize production in NWPZ, NEPZ and PZ.

Study the effect of boron levels on yield attributes of rice crop

The present study entitled “Response of Boron Levels and Application Methods on Growth and Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)” in north- western plain zone of India was carried out at School of Agricultural Science and Engineering, IFTM University, Moradabad in 2018-19. The ten treatments T1 = 100% RDF (150 :60 :40 kg ha-1); T2 = 100% RDF + 0.5 kg B ha-1 (SA); T3 = 100% RDF + 0.5 kg B ha-1(SA) + 0.2% B spray at 25 & 50 DAT; T4 = 100% RDF + 0.5 kg B ha-1 (SA) + 0.3% B spray at 25 & 50 DAT; T5 = 100% RDF + 1.0 kg B ha-1(SA); T6 = 100% RDF + 1.0 kg B ha-1 (SA) + 0.2% B spray at 25 & 50 DAT; T7 = 100% RDF + 1.0 kg B ha-1 (SA) + 0.3% B spray at 25 & 50 DAT; T8 = 100% RDF + 2.0 kg B ha-1; T9 = 100% RDF + 2.0 kg B ha-1 (SA) + 0.2% B spray at 25 & 50 DAT; T10 = 100% RDF + 2.0 kg B ha-1 (SA) + 0.3% B spray at 25 & 50 DAT combination were tested in randomized block design (RBD) with three replication. T10 observed significant increase in all yield attributes viz., no. of tillers per m2 area, panicle length (cm), number of filled grain panicle-1, number of unfilled grain panicle-1, 1000- seed weight (g), grain yield (q ha-1), biological yield (q ha-1) and harvest index respectively, over rest of the treatments. In T10 treatments significantly increased the no. of tillers m2 area (199.65, 210.70, 212.50 and 213.15) 30, 60, 90 and harvest stage, fresh weight (66.79 g, 147.50 g, 163.00 g and 163.05 g plant-1) at 30, 60, 90 and harvest stage, panicle length (31.55 cm), number of filled grain panicle-1 (191.20), number of unfilled grain panicle-1 (20.80), biological yield (7.7 t, 10.5 t and 18.1 t ha-1) and harvest index (42.26 %) respectively.

Comparative studies of uptake of N, P and K influenced by different treatment

The experiment was conducted during 2016-17 at Crop Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut (U.P.) to evaluate the Comparative production potential of forage based cropping sequences and their economic feasibility in western plain zone of U.P. The field experiment was consisted of 6 treatments as cropping sequences and they were tested in randomized block design with 4 replications viz. Sorghum(F) – Berseem - Maize(F) + Cowpea(F), Sorghum(F) + Guar(F) - Oat(F) - Maize(F) - Cowpea(F), Sorghum(F) + Cowpea(F) - Barley(F) - Maize(F) + Cowpea(F), Rice-Wheat - Maize(F) + Cowpea(F), Rice – Berseem - Sorghum(F), Sorghum(F) + Cowpea(F) – Wheat - Sorghum(F) + Cowpea(F). Among six crop sequences Sorghum(F) – Berseem - Maize(F) + Cowpea(F) was observed highest total nitrogen uptake (620.55 kg ha-1year-1) among all cropping sequence. The second highest total nitrogen uptake (520.98 kg ha-1year-1) was recorded in the crop sequence Rice – Berseem - Sorghum(F). Rice – Berseem - Sorghum(F) was recorded total phosphorus uptake (144.24 kg ha-1year-1) among all the cropping sequence. Sorghum(F) – Berseem - Maize(F) + Cowpea(F) recorded highest total potassium uptake (608.68 kg ha-1year-1) in all the cropping sequence while the second highest total potassium uptake was recorded in the sequence Rice – Berseem - Sorghum(F) (549.15 kg ha-1year-1). Among all the cropping sequences the highest total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake (1368.94 kg ha-1year-1) was recorded in the crop sequence Sorghum(F) – Berseem - Maize(F) + Cowpea(F). However, the minimum total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake (594.41 kg ha-1year-1) was recorded in the crop sequence Sorghum(F) + Cowpea(F) – Wheat - Sorghum(F) + Cowpea(F).

Development and evaluation of high yielding, multiple disease resistant bread wheat variety - Karan Vandana (DBW187)

Wheat cultivation in India has been primarily dominated by the high productive environments of Indo-Gangetic plains. The North Western and North Eastern Plains are two mega environments for wheat production in the country in terms of area and production. For sustaining the high productivity levels in these areas, a constant demand of improved wheat varieties from the wheat breeding programs is desired. A high yielding bread wheat cultivar DBW187 (Karan Vandana) has been developed and released for cultivation in these areas after testing in trials under AICRP on Wheat and Barley. DBW187 is a high input responsive wheat genotype which has shown a significant yield superiority under early sown irrigated conditions of North Western Plains Zone over the checks HD2967 and HD3086 during 2018-19. Average yield of DBW187 during two years of testing was recorded to be 61.28q/ha. Earlier under evaluation in the North Eastern Plains Zone, this variety has shown an average yield of 48.8 q/ha with a potential yield of 64.7q/ha. The variety was released by Central Sub-committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of variety, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India vide notification No. S.O. 1498(E) dated 01.04.2019 for cultivation in the NEPZ of India and subsequently it was extended to NWPZ vide notification S.O. 98(E) dated 06.01.2020. DBW187 is having a high yield potential along with disease resistance and superior grain quality. The ability to adopt across variable growing conditions in two different zones is a huge advantage for this genotype and will also go a long way in sustaining its cultivation in the region. DOI.10.25174/2582-2675/2020/99622