Plot Yield Research Articles

RESPONSE OF LIQUID MANURES AS ALTERNATIVE NUTRIENT ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF TOMATO

An experiment was conducted on response of Liquid Manures as alternate nutrient on growth and yield of tomato at the Horticulture Farm, Department of Horticulture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from November 2023 to March 2024. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments were used in the study were T1; Control, T2; Vermi Tea, T3; SAU-MLM, T4; SAU-NLM, T5; SAU-PLM and T6; RFD (Recommended Fertilizer Dose). In this study, the treatments showed significant variation on growth and yield of tomato production. The tallest plant (109.63cm), highest number of leaves per plant (25.0), maximum fruit weight (127.2g), maximum fruit weight per plant (3.48kg), maximum yield per plot (20.8kg) and maximum yield per hector (56.5t/h) were recorded with treatment T6 (RFD) and it was statistically identical with treatment T5 (SAU-PLM). Whereas the minimum plant height (92.03 cm) and number of leaves per plant (17.0), lowest fruit weight (62.8g), lowest fruit weight per plant (1.53kg), lowest yield per plot (9.1kg) and lowest yield (22.9t/h) were recorded in T1 (Control). Furthermore, treatment 5 (SAU-PLM) produced highest brix (5.7), that is highest sweetness tomato were produced with T5 treatment. That’s why it can be said that different liquid manure has good impact on growth and yield of tomato with environment friendly impact.

Productivity Variables for Adaptability of Cowpea Varieties under Strip Intercropping in Three Locations in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background: The performance of five improved cowpea varieties under strip intercropping has been conducted in specific locations to assess their yield but their adaptability has not been determined. This paper presents results that assessed the adaptability of the improved cowpea varieties under strip intercropping in three locations in Limpopo province. Methods: Five cowpea varieties (TVu 13464, IT86D-1010, Glenda, IT82E-16 and IT87K-499-35) and maize were planted under strip intercropping in three locations (UL-Farm, Bela-Bela and Ga-Thaba) and two seasons. Data were collected on maturity, grain yield, land equivalent ratio, pods plant-1, plant height and seed size and were analysed using Genstat 20.1. Result: The ranking plot of grain yield indicates that the principal components (PC1 and PC2) explained 96.33% of the total sum of square variation. The results indicate that IT86D-1010 and IT82E-16 matured early and were best yielders. The LER from IT82E-16, IT86D-1010, TVu 13464 and IT87K-499-35 exceedingly performed better that from Glenda (Control) thus indicating that they are superior in adaptation and in resource utilization. The performance and adaptation of the varieties varied across locations: IT82E-16 is adapted to UL-Farm and Bela-Bela while IT86D-1010 and IT87K-499-35 are adapted to Ga-Thaba and their production should be based on their best location(s).

A recent shift in the Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici population in Serbia coincides with changes in yield losses of commercial winter wheat varieties

Wheat yellow (stripe) rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (Pst), is a devastating disease of wheat worldwide. The success of Pst is largely due to the pathogens ability to rapidly overcome host resistance, generating new races that are easily dispersed between territories through wind-borne transmission of Pst urediniospores. Thus, first signs of entry of new Pst races into a region is usually captured by changes in disease severity. To examine any alterations of winter wheat variety response to Pst infection in Serbia, we analyzed yield and Pst disease severity in field trials conducted in 2014, 2021, and 2023. We specifically focused on analyzing Pst disease severity at growth stages related to yield. Associations between qualitative variables (variety, year) and quantitative variables (yield in untreated plots, yield loss, and disease index (DI) of Pst infection) were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis with mixed data. A General Linear Model was used to investigate the most influential factors on yield, yield loss, and Pst infection. The results indicated that yellow rust disease severity increased over the past decade, suggesting a potential recent change in the Pst population in Serbia. Comparative population genetic analysis of Pst samples from the 2023 wheat season and those collected in Serbia in 2014 confirmed a potential change in the Pst population. In addition, we found that yield losses across wheat varieties varied independently of Pst infection levels, indicating that wheat varieties differ in their ability to overcome damage caused by high levels of Pst infection. Given that the level of pathogen pressure triggering susceptibility reactions is cultivar-specific, our study highlights the need for a deeper focus on the mechanisms underlying these differences. Expanding our understanding of the interactions between pathogens, plant defense responses, and the ability of cultivars to mitigate yield losses will better equip us to predict and prevent potential yield losses in commercial wheat varieties due to yellow rust in the future.

Influence of Organic Manures and Micronutrients on Yield and Quality of Brinjal (Solanun melongena L. var. Pusa uttam)

A field study was conducted at farm of S.K.N., Agriculture University, Jobner, (Jaipur), Rajasthan, India during kharif season 2018 to investigate effect of organic manures and micronutrients on yield and quality of brinjal (Solanum melongena L. var. Pusa Uttam). The treatments included organic manures (control, FYM (40 t /ha), vermicompost (6.6 t /ha) and poultry manure @ 6.6 t /ha,) and micronutrients (control, Zn (0.5%), Fe (0.5%) and B (0.3%). The application of vermicompost (6.6 t/ha) non significantly affected TSS content and significantly increased the ascorbic acid content, protein content, fruit yield per plot and fruit yield per hectare which was statistically at par with poultry manure (6.6 t /ha) and micronutrients also non significantly affected TSS content and significantly increased the ascorbic acid content, protein content, fruit yield per plot and fruit yield per hectare as compared to control.

Estimation of genetic components and assessing heterosis association with molecular markers in half diallel derived rice hybrids developed with landraces of NE India

Combining ability and heterosis were estimated in 45 rice hybrids generated by mating 10 parents, comprising both land races and advance breeding lines, in half diallel fashion. Hayman’s graphical analysis showed that all the twelve morphological traits studied had significant positive dominance variance. Narrow sense heritability was high for Days to fifty percentage flowering, Plant height, Panicle length and Test weight (> 30 %), and low for Grain yield per plant. According to the VrWr graph, traits like GYPP, PL, PH, TN and plot yield showed partial dominance, whereas traits like Blast disease index showed overdominance. A significant improvement over check was observed for heterosis and the crosses Mynri x CAUS103, Joha x CAUS107, CAUS 126 x CAUS107 and CAUS103 x CP, exhibited significantly positive standard heterosis for GYPP (>80 %) and PY (>100 %). Genetic distance based on fourteen markers revealed significant positive association with mid parent and better parent heterosis for Spikelet’s per plant, Filled grains per plant, Harvest index, Grain yield per plant, Panicle number and Plot yield. Therefore, it is evident that crosses with larger genetic distance between the parents gave hybrids with higher heterosis. Keywords: Landraces, Hayman’s graphical analysis, Heterosis, Genetic distance

Accelerating genetic gain through strategic speed breeding in spring wheat

AbstractSpring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a popular bread wheat with high milling and baking requirements. Vernalization is not required for spring wheat, which allows for fast growth under manipulated conditions. This experiment's objective was rapid development of inbred lines of hard red spring wheat throughout the off‐season and preserve enough genetic variability to perform selection. A total of 1575 F2 heads from three distinct populations were randomly harvested in the field‐season 2021. To break seed dormancy, seeds were held for 2 days at 0°C. Three breeding cycles were performed through single seed descent under manipulated growth condition during the off‐season 2021–2022. We were able to harvest plant materials as quickly as 54 days after planting in comparison to 110 days average field season. We lost a total of 36.4% during the three off‐season fast advancement generations and 711 genotypes reached the F5:6 generation with enough seed to perform a partially replicated small plot yield trial at two locations during the 2022 field‐season. Response traits collected included grain yield, grain protein, plant height, days to heading, and bacterial leaf streak (Xanthomonas transluens) disease severity. Heritability of collected traits varied between 0.61 and 0.92. Although we had considerable loss during the speed breeding, we were able to identify superior genotypes compared to the parents.

Effects of Different Levels of Irrigations on Yield and Yield Contributing Characters of Wheat at Bangladesh Condition

A field experiment was conducted at the Bangladesh Agricultural University's Department of Soil Science research site to investigate the impact of varying irrigation regimes on the growth, yield, and yield-related attributes of the wheat cultivar BARI Gom 21 (Shatabdi). The study employed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The experiments consisted of 6 treatments designated as T0 = control or no irrigation, T1 = 1/ crown root initiation (CRI), T2 = 2/CRI+ tillering, T3 = 3/ CRI+ tillering + booting, T4 = 4/ CRI+ tillering + booting + earing, T5 = 5/ CRI+ tillering + booting + earing + milking number of irrigations at different growth stages. All irrigation treatments were shallow, with a depth of 2 cm. We applied irrigation treatments five times during the crown root initiation (CRI), tillering, booting, earing, and milking. We applied all irrigation treatments in chronological order based on the numbers. Treatment T5 (5 number of irrigations) exhibited superior performance across all measured agronomic traits. It significantly outperformed other treatments in terms of the highest plant height (90.80 cm), effective tillers number hill-1 (5.20), spike length (12.40 cm), grains number spike-1 (41.03), grain yield (4.067 t ha-1), 1000-grain weight (55.11 g), straw yield (5.067 t ha-1), and yield plot-1(9.133 t ha-1). In all cases, the non-irrigated or control treatment gave the lowest result. Ultimately, the experiment suggests that five times application of irrigation showed superior results compared to other treatments for successful wheat production.

Effects of decomposed and undecomposed straw of three crops on clubroot disease of Chinese cabbage and soil nutrients

Aims: Straw turnover plays an important role in reducing soil diseases, improving the ecological environment of plowland and realizing the effective ecological utilization of straw. Methods: Pot and field experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of maize, rice and wheat straws on the growth, clubroot disease of Chinese cabbage and soil nutrients. Undecomposed and decomposed maize, rice and wheat straws were quantitatively added to the monocultural soil of Chinese cabbage, and the crops without straw were taken as the control. Results: The results showed that the addition of maize, wheat and rice straws could promote the growth of monocultural Chinese cabbage, inhibit the occurrence of clubroot disease, increase soil pH value, the content of soil organic matter, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium in pot experiment. Exogenous straw application could reduce the incidence rate by 22.54 ~ 47.85%, increase the plot yield of field 95.15 ~ 365.81%. Conclusions: In terms of inhibiting clubroot disease and improving soil properties, undecomposed rice straw is superior to maize and wheat straw, while decomposed maize straw is superior to rice and wheat straw.

Efficacy and Economic Viability of Organic Control Methods for Spotted-wing Drosophila in Day-neutral Strawberry Production in the Upper Midwest

Day-neutral strawberry (DNS) production is increasing in the Upper Midwest because of its extended harvest season and greater yield over June-bearing cultivars. However, the longer season increases fruit exposure to the invasive spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii; SWD), which threatens the production of small fruits and berries, particularly in organic systems. Numerous pest management tactics have been developed for SWD in recent years; however, relatively few studies have investigated the impact of SWD on DNS. Organic DNS growers need information regarding which management strategy is most effective when compared directly. To address this knowledge gap, we established a 2-year controlled field experiment with organic DNS. We applied treatments that correspond with techniques that local growers reported using or that have shown promise for organic raspberries, including increased harvest frequency, botanical-based repellents, and weekly rotations of organic insecticides, which we compared with an untreated control. We hypothesized that noninsecticidal SWD management strategies would result in fewer SWD eggs per berry and a lower proportion of infested berries compared with those associated with an untreated control. We also hypothesized that noninsecticidal management strategies would be as effective and cost less than organic insecticide applications. We collected data regarding labor hours, direct costs, strawberry yield, and SWD infestation in experimental plots on certified organic land in Minnesota in 2022 and 2023. An average of 33% of strawberries contained SWD eggs. The experimental treatments showed inconsistent effectiveness for reducing infestation compared with that of the untreated control plots and had no effect on marketable plant yield over the 2-year period. Thus, the added labor expense of these pest control treatments yielded net returns that were 17% to 21% below the control. Labor-saving alternatives like exclusion netting or postharvest cold treatments, which reduce fruit pest exposure and egg viability without harming nontarget insects, may offer more cost-effective solutions for managing SWD in organic DNS.

Nutrient Uptake and Economics of Summer Greengram as Influenced by Residual Effect of Paddy Residues and Fertility Levels

Background: One of the main reasons for India’s decreased food production is the depletion of soil fertility. The primary causes of soil deterioration are lack of awareness among farmers and lack of land use regulations. By limiting the erosion and enhancing the nutrients available to the crops, conservation agriculture increases the organic matter content of the soil and contributes to the improvement of field conditions. But compared to conventional agriculture, the practise of conservation agriculture is less advanced. And also there is a dearth of research on the use of crop residues for the management of soil fertility. So this study was undertaken in order to examine the impacts of crop residue, inorganic fertilizers and cropping system as a component of an integrated crop residues and fertility management system on nutrient uptake and net returns of greengram. Methods: The experiment consists of strip plot design and was carried out during 2020-21 and 2021-22 under zero till conditions at college farm, Rajendranagar, PJTSAU to study the effect of previous crop residues and fertility levels on succeeding greengram. Result: According to the data, greengram absorbed more nutrients at various growing stages. The residual effect of incorporation of residues treated with microbial consortia composed of Trichoderma viridae, Aspergillus awamori and Phanerocheate spp. along with 300:100:100 kg ha-1 of N, P2O5 and K2O (125% RDF) and phosphorous supplied in the form of single super phosphate (SSP) resulted in significantly higher financial returns. In greengram, residue incorporated plots outperformed residue burning, removal and retention plots with 125% RDF in terms of nutrient uptake, as well as monetary returns like gross returns, net returns and B:C ratio. In a similar vein, yield in residue-incorporated plots was higher than it was in residue-removal and in-situ burning plots during summer, 2021 and 2022.

Soil solarisation delivers near zero levels of Fusarium pseudograminearum in cereal crown rot reference sites

The development of commercial varieties that are resistant or tolerant to crown rot caused by Fusarium species is an important goal for cereal breeding programs internationally. Ideally, this research requires experimental sites that are initially free from Fusarium in order to establish treatment plots that compare growth in the presence and absence of these soil- and stubble-borne pathogens. Specifically, the assessment of tolerance requires control plots free of disease to determine the reduction in crop yield in plots where the disease is present. The ability of soil solarisation to reduce the background Fusarium pseudograminearum level occurring at experimental sites in comparison to current stubble management techniques was investigated across three field trials at Wellcamp in Queensland. Stubble from a susceptible durum (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) cultivar inoculated with F. pseudograminearum was incorporated by cultivation into the trial sites to establish a significant background level of inoculum prior to the application of all subsequent treatment plots. In these trials, solarisation over a period of twelve weeks reduced the presence of F. pseudograminearum to low detection levels when compared to the traditional crown rot management techniques of cultivation or growth of the non-host cover crops mungbean (Vigna radiata) and soybean (Glycine max). No negative effects of solarisation were observed on a subsequent crop of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), with significantly higher yields observed in the solarised treatments. Solarisation has the potential to deliver near zero level crown rot reference sites for experimental purposes in one short application between cropping seasons.

Phenological stages of wheat modulate effects of phosphorus fertilization in plant-soil microbial interactions

Abstract Aims Future phosphorus (P) fertilizer availability faces challenges due to limited phosphate rock mines and strict quality regulations regarding Cd contents in phosphate rock. In this study, conventional fertilization was partially substituted with meat bone meal (MBM), sludge (S), and the organo-mineral combination of S plus MBM (SMBM), in a wheat agroecosystem. Methods We investigated the impact of fertilization treatments and crop phenological stages on P availability, crop yield, and soil microbial responses. Analysis included enzyme activities, microbial biomass, and the composition of bacterial and fungal communities using metabarcoding. Additionally, we estimated functional genes related to the P cycle through qPCR. Crop yield and nutrient content in plants and soil were also determined. Results Replacing traditional fertilization with MBM and SMBM maintained crop yield at levels equivalent to conventional fertilization. S and SMBM produced 70% and 40% (respectively) more bioavailable P compared to conventional treatment (Trad). Significant differences between treatments in soil microbial biomass were observed in the flag leaf stage. S increased in 20% total soil microbial biomass compared to Trad. Crop phenology had a stronger impact on bacterial and fungal communities than fertilization treatments. The use of S enhanced microbial biomass and activity. Yield in both MBM and SMBM plots exhibited no statistically significant differences compared to traditional fertilization. Conclusion Organo-mineral fertilization emerges as a sustainable strategy for maintaining crop production while improving soil functionality. Our findings emphasize the primary influence of crop phenology on shaping soil microbial communities and influencing microbial biomass and functionality.

A QTL GN1.1, encoding FT-L1, regulates grain number and yield by modulating polar auxin transport in rice.

Rice grain number is a crucial agronomic trait impacting yield. In this study, we characterized a quantitative trait locus (QTL), GRAIN NUMBER 1.1 (GN1.1), which encodes a Flowering Locus T-like1 (FT-L1) protein and acts as a negative regulator of grain number in rice. The elite allele GN1.1B, derived from the Oryza indica variety, BF3-104, exhibits a 14.6% increase in grain yield compared with the O. japonica variety, Nipponbare, based on plot yield tests. We demonstrated that GN1.1 interacted with and enhanced the stability of ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf)-GTPase-activating protein (Gap), OsZAC. Loss of function of OsZAC results in increased grain number. Based on our data, we propose that GN1.1B facilitates the elevation of auxin content in young rice panicles by affecting polar auxin transport (PAT) through interaction with OsZAC. Our study unveils the pivotal role of the GN1.1 locus in rice panicle development and presents a novel, promising allele for enhancing rice grain yield through genetic improvement.

Impact of pulses on technological gap and socio-economic status of farmers in North Eastern India

The study was carried out to assess the performance of cluster frontline demonstrations (CFLDs) in terms of the Technological gap and Socioeconomic status of farmers in fieldpea crop in three states of North East i.e. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim. Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim conducted 1285 demonstrations in 465 ha area, 465 demonstrations in 270 ha area, and 126 demonstrations in 50 ha area, respectively in four years using improved production technology. The results revealed that the average yield of demonstration plots was highest in Arunachal Pradesh i.e 1,543 kg/ha during 2019-2020 as compared to farmers’ practices 1008 kg/ha with 53.07 percent increase in yield followed by Assam 1297 kg/ha during 2018-2019 compared to farmers’ practices (921 kg/ha). Results showed that net return in demonstration plots was Rs. 28,539/- per ha in Assam, Rs. 46,726/- per ha in Arunachal Pradesh, and Rs. 45,393/- per ha in Sikkim over farmer practices (Rs. 13,890, Rs. 24,108 and Rs. 24,056, respectively). The majority of farmers (62.66 percent) belong to medium level of knowledge in Assam and also it has adopted most of the improved technologies (53.02%), followed by Sikkim (48.99%) and Arunachal Pradesh (47.00%) which is highly encouraging and it is suggested to adopt these technologies for sustainable production of fieldpea in North East India.

Influence of Growth Regulators on Growth, Seed Yield and Qualty of Radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

The present investigation was carried out during 2021 at the experimental farm of Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, DAV University, Jalandhar. Radish is an important crop of Punjab region. Use of Plant Growth Regulators is one of the most recent trends in the field of agriculture science. Plant growth regulators are signal molecules, which occurs in plants naturally in very low concentration. In an attempt to find out the influence of growth regulators on growth, seed yield and quality of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) the experiment was planned and executed. It consisted of nine treatments viz., T1 (Control), T2 (GA3 @ 5 ppm), T3 (GA3 @ 10 ppm), T4 (GA3 @ 15 ppm), T5 (GA3 @ 20 ppm), T6 (NAA @ 5 ppm), T7 (NAA @ 10 ppm), T8 (NAA @ 15 ppm), T9 (NAA @ 20 ppm) and was laid in Randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. Punjab Safed Mooli variety was used for the experiment. Observations were recorded on number of leaves per plant, leaf area per plant (cm2), root length (cm), root diameter (cm), root weight (g), fresh weight of plant (g), dry weight of plant (g), plant height (cm), 100 seed weight (g), seed yield plant-1 (g), seed yield plot-1 (g), seed yield ha-1 (q ha-1), TSS (°Brix), ascorbic acid (mg 100 g-1), chlorophyll content (mg 100 g-1) and germination percentage (%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significantly differences among treatments for all the characters under study. It was concluded that the application of GA3 @ 20 ppm showed superior performance in all growth, seed yield and quality parameters of radish.

Testing the efficacy of a newly released fungicide, Sphaerex, for control of Fusarium Head Blight in wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a destructive disease of wheat and other small-grain cereals. FHB causes reduction in crop yield due to pre-mature bleaching of spikes. Additionally, it deteriorates the crop quality due to the production of mycotoxins. An integrated management strategy is needed to effectively manage this disease. One of the most important strategies in the FHB management toolbox is chemical control. Fungicides start losing their efficacy over time due to the development of fungicide resistance in the pathogens. This necessitates the development and testing of new fungicides with multiple active ingredients or modes of action. In this 3-year study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a new fungicide with multiple active ingredients, Sphaerex (a proprietary mix of metconazole and prothioconazole) in an FHB-susceptible soft red winter wheat cultivar, Shirley in the eastern United States. Sphaerex provided significantly better control over untreated plots for FHB Incidence, FHB Severity, and DON content across all three years. The level of control of FHB and DON by Sphaerex was found to be similar to that provided by other standard FHB fungicides. The yield of the fungicide-treated plots was statistically similar to that of the untreated plots.

The Forage Yield and Silage Quality of Maize-Sorghum-Sainfoin Mixtures

The aim of the study was to determine forage yield and silage quality in maize/sorghum (M/S) with sainfoin (SA). The field trial was conducted in 2022 to study the effects of different binary sowing ratios (80%M-20%SA, 60%M-40%SA, 30%M-70%SA; 80%S-20%SA, 60%S-40%SA, 30%S-70%SA, 100%M, 100%SA, 100%S) in 3 replications. Prior to ensiling, the hay yield and fresh yield in the intercropping plots were measured. Parameters of dry matter ratio, pH, crude protein, ADF, NDF, mineral matters, and organic acid were defined in silages opened after fermentation. Before ensiling the highest yield was obtained from maize and yield decreased with an increase in sainfoin sowing density. After ensiling, all of the silage parameters were affected by mixing ratios. When the sainfoin ratio was decreased, dry matter, crude protein, and pH of mixture silages were dramatically reduced, but mineral matters were increased. The highest dry matter was determined in sole sainfoin silage. The best results of lactic acid and acetic acid contents were defined in 80%S-20%SA and 60%S-40%SA silage (except for sole treatments). Besides, it was seen that the addition of sorghum to sainfoin silage increases lactic acid content compared to maize. As a result, intercropping of sainfoin with maize and sorghum provided profitable feed production and improved silage quality. As a result, intercropping of sainfoin with maize and sorghum provided profitable feed production and improved silage quality.

Morphological Characterization and Genetic Diversity Analyses of Yield and Yield Attributing Traits in Sweet Corn (Zea mays var. saccharata)

The genetic diversity among the genotypes were useful resources that enabled breeders to comprehend the performance of attributes or genotypes. This understanding is crucial in selecting appropriate genotypes or traits for hybridization programmes. A total of 15 sweet corn genotypes were utilized to assess the characteristics of genetic diversity, correlation, path coefficient and genetic divergence study. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) exceeded the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all the traits examined, suggesting certain degree of interaction with the environment. The heritability estimates for all variables examined in this study were found to be high. The genetic advance as per cent of mean (GAM) identified a significant difference between high and low values. The traits ear weight with husk, ear weight without husk, husk ratio, chlorophyll content, ear length, ear girth, number of rows per ear, number of kernels per row, 100 kernel weight, shelling percentage, cob yield per plot and fodder yield per plot exhibited high heritability and high GAM. Furthermore, the correlation analysis revealed a significant and positive association for the aforementioned attributes. Additionally, the path coefficient analysis for these traits indicated a favourable direct influence. A total of 15 genotypes were categorized into seven clusters based on their genetic distance. The features that made the biggest contribution to divergence were fodder yield per plot (21%) and shelling percentage (21%), followed by ear weight (14%) and cob yield per plot (10%). The results of this study would be valuable for identifying the desirable characteristics and genetic makeup that can be used in future breeding programmes aimed at enhancing the production of corn cobs in sweet corn.

The Miracle Bean: Tapping Unrealized Potential

"The study attempts to assess the extent of yield gap in soybean crop over time and changes in the same at district as well as at farm level in Maharashtra. The study uses two types of yield gaps. Yield gap I compares check plot yield and district average yield, whereas yield gap II compares demo plot with that of district average yield. It also assesses yield gap at farm level vis-à-vis demo plot yield for various varieties of soybean. Although the study shows significant yield gap of soybean with respect to check and demo plot yield, a reduction in this gap is also noticed over the last one decade, especially in major soybean cultivating districts of Maharashtra. The major soybean cultivating districts show 15-20 per cent decline in yield gap during this period. The efforts initiated by agricultural extension network in the form of scientific methods of farming with emphasis on adoption of HYVs of seeds and improved cultivation practices have significantly contributed towards the decline in yield gaps."

Effect of transplanting dates on growth, yield and quality of broad leaf mustard (Brassica juncea L. var. rugosa) varieties at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal

Broad Leaf Mustard, one of the most popular, highly commercialized, and widely grown green vegetables due to its richness in vitamin and minerals with peculiar taste. The precise knowledge of ideal planting time with right selection of variety provides suitable environmental conditions at all growth stages that increase the yield. The field experiment was carried at Horticulture Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan to evaluate the effect of transplanting dates on growth, yield and quality of Broad Leaf Mustard (Brassica juncea L. var. rugosa) varieties in Terai condition of Nepal during October 2021 to March 2022. The experiment was laid out in two factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. There were sixteen treatment combination comprising four varieties (Khumal Broad Leaf, Marpha Broad Leaf, Manakamana and Mike Giant) with four transplanting dates (October 25, November 9, November 24 and December 9). The results revealed that transplanting dates and varieties along with interaction significantly influenced the growth, yield and quality of Broad Leaf Mustard. Among the varieties, Khumal Broad Leaf was significantly superior on growth parameters like plant height, leaf length and breadth, plant canopy but on yield attributes the superior variety was Mike Giant based on number of leaves harvested per plot (226.08) and leaf yield (26.43 mt ha-1). However, the organoleptic test result revealed that the Mike Giant had excellent taste (74%) along with highest recovery percentage of Gundruk (27.62 %). Among the date of transplanting, mid transplanting on November 9 was better in terms of growth and leaf yield of 28.92 mt ha-1. While poorest performance was recorded on last transplanting on December 9 in all growth, yield and quality parameters with leaf yield of 17.36 mt ha-1. The interaction effect of different varieties and transplanting dates resulted better growth and quality in Khumal Broad Leaf and Manakamana varieties when transplanted on November 9. So based on the results of the experiment, Mike Giant transplanted on November 9 produced better growth and yield than others for the optimum yield production in Chitwan, Nepal.