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AAAAAgggggricultural Sciencesricultural Sciencesricultural Sciencesricultural Sciencesricultural Sciences

Volume 3 Number 3 July – September, 2017 CONTENTS

Productivity and Economics of Redgram As Influenced By Density, Pattern of Sowing and Mulching Under Irrigated Conditions Y.M. Swathi, M. Srinivasa Reddy, G. Prabhakara Reddy, P. Kavitha and A. Pratap Kumar Reddy

Efficacy of Different Organic Nutrient Management Practices on Growth and Yield of Fingermillet Sweta Shikta Mahapatra, N. Sunitha, Y. Reddi Ramu and A. Prasanthi

Influence of Tillage and In-situ Moisture Conservation Practices on Productivity of Rainfed Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) G. Rajitha, A. Muneendra Babu, G. Prabhakara Reddy and P. Sudhakar

A Study to Assess the Constraints Faced by the Agricultural Officers in Utilization of ICTs T. Sri Chandana, P.V. Sathya Gopal, V. Sailaja, A.V. Nagavani and S.V. Prasad

Effect of Secondary Nutrients and Zinc on Growth and Yield of Blackgram E. Jeevana Lakshmi, P.V. Ramesh Babu, G. Prabhakar Reddy, P. Umamaheswari and A. Pratap Kumar Reddy

Biology of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant on Papaya Mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara De Willink A. Maneesha, S.R. Koteswara Rao, T. Murali Krishna and P. Sudhakar

Productivity and Economics of Summer Greengram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] as Influenced by Different Organic Manure and Organic Sprays K. Bhargavi, V. Sumathi, G. Krishna Reddy and V. Umamahesh

Study of Correlation and Path Analysis in Groundnut under Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer Managements P. Aparna, M. Shanthi Priya, D. Mohan Reddy and P. Latha

Study of Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance for Yield Contributing Characters in Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) P. Syamala, N.V. Naidu, C.V. Sameer Kumar, D. Mohan Reddy and B. Ravindhra Reddy

Bio-Efficacy of Herbicide Mixtures for Weed Management in Rabi Groundnut B. Divyamani, Y. Reddi Ramu, D. Subramanyam and V. Umamahesh

Standardization of Sowing Window for Kharif Maize (Zea mays L.) in Scarce Rainfall Zone U. Ravi, P. Munirathnam, G. Prabhakara Reddy and P. Kavitha

Nutrient Mapping of Soils in Nagari Mandal of Chittoor District (Andhra Pradesh) - A GIS Approach J. Jagadish, P. Vekata Ram Muni Reddy, K.V. Naga Madhuri and Y. Reddi Ramu

Physico-Chemical Properties of Salt Affected Soils of Yerpedu Mandal of Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh M. Manimalika, A. Prasanthi, K.V. Naga Madhuri and N. Sunitha

163-165

165-170

171-173

174-177

178-181

182-185

186-189

190-196

197-200

201-203

204-206

207-212

213-216

163

INTRODUCTION

The importance of pulses is much more in countrylike India, where majority of the people are vegetarian.Redgram (Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.) is the fifthprominent pulses crop in the world and second mostimportant grain legume of India after chickpea. It ismainly known as subsistence crop in the tropics and sub-tropics of India, Africa and South-East Asia. In India,redgram is cultivated in 3.90 million hectares, out ofwhich around 4.4 percent under irrigation. Production ofredgram is 3.17 million tones with productivity of 813kg ha-1. Prakasham, Guntur and Kurnool are the majordistricts of Andhra Pradesh state in which redgram cropis grown on large area. However, there is large potentialof increasing area under redgram in late kharif, due tothe availability of improved high yielding varieties andhigher market price of pulses. The yield potential ofredgram can be realized only through efficient utilizationof solar radiation and mitigating terminal drought forwhich canopy size and shape claim a paramountimportance among the agronomic practices. Optimal plantpopulation is a non-monetary input that appears to be themost formidable barrier in realizing higher productivityunder even irrigated conditions. There is a need toevaluate the advanced practices of mulching, plantingpattern and micro irrigation practices to increase theproductivity and profitability of redgram.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted during latekharif 2016-17 at Agricultural College Farm, Mahanandi.The experimental soil was sandy loam in texture, neutralin reaction (pH 7.2), low in organic carbon (0.3 per cent),available nitrogen (156 kg ha-1), high in availablephosphorus (28 kg ha-1) and potassium (856 kg ha-1). Theexperiment was laid out in randomized block design withnine treatments and three replications. The treatmentscomprised of sowing with 120 cm × 20 cm spacing (T1),sowing with 90 cm × 20 cm spacing (T2), sowing with 60cm × 20 cm spacing (T3), sowing with spacing of 180/60cm × 20 cm as paired rows (T4), sowing with spacingof 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows (T5), sowing withspacing of 90/30 cm × 20 cm as paired rows (T6), sowingwith spacing of 180/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows withplastic mulch in pairs (T7), sowing with spacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs(T8) and sowing with spacing of 90/30 cm ×20 cm aspaired rows with plastic mulch in pairs (T9). Surface dripirrigation system with 16 mm integral dripper lines laidout on the ground surface and emitters spaced at 0.60 mapart delivering 41 hr-1 giving an application rate6.6 mm h-1 for all the plots. The black-sliver LDPE sheetof 25 µ was used in the study for the respective treatmentsand the sheet was spread within paired rows. To computethe total cost of cultivation of redgram under drip,

*Corresponding author, E-mail: yenugamandiswathi@gmail.com

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 163-165, 2017

PRODUCTIVITY AND ECONOMICS OF REDGRAM AS INFLUENCED BY DENSITY,PATTERN OF SOWING AND MULCHING UNDER IRRIGATED CONDITIONS

Y.M. SWATHI*, M. SRINIVASA REDDY, G. PRABHAKARA REDDY, P. KAVITHA ANDA. PRATAP KUMAR REDDY

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during late kharif, 2016-17 at Agricultural College Farm, Mahanandi to study the effectsof plant density, planting patterns and mulching techniques on, yield and economics of irrigated redgram. The results revealedthat spacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs recorded significantly higher seed yield (2,302 kg ha-1) ofirrigated redgram. The net returns ( 69,014 ha-1) and B : C (3.30) ratio were realized with paired row spacing of 90/30 cm × 20 cm.

KEYWORDS: Drip system, paired row, plastic mulching, redgram and seed yield.

Date of Receipt: 26-05-2017 Date of Acceptance: 25-08-2017

164

Tabl

e 1.

Gra

in y

ield

and

eco

nom

ics o

f red

gram

as i

nflu

ence

d by

pla

nt d

ensi

ties,

patt

ern

of so

win

g an

d m

ulch

ing

Swathi et al.,

Tre

atm

ents

Y

ield

(k

g ha

-1)

Pric

e

(` k

g-1)

Gro

ss

retu

rns

(` h

a-1)

Cos

t of

culti

vatio

n (`

ha-1

)

Tota

l cos

t of

culti

vatio

n (`

ha-1

)

Net

ret

urns

(`

ha-1

) B

: C

ra

tio

T 1 :

120

× 2

0 cm

1,

548

50.5

78

181.

5 17

626.

9 29

344

4883

7.6

2.66

T 2 :

90

× 20

cm

1,

770

50.5

89

399.

1 17

844.

1 29

561

5983

8.1

3.02

T 3 :

60

× 20

cm

1,

793

50.5

90

560.

1 18

273.

7 29

991

6056

9.1

3.02

T 4 :

180

/60

× 20

cm

1,

864

50.5

94

172.

9 18

056.

5 29

344

6482

8.9

3.21

T 5 :

120

/60

× 20

cm

1,

858

50.5

93

833.

5 17

844.

1 29

561

6427

2.5

3.17

T 6 :

90/

30 ×

20

cm

1,96

0 50

.5

9900

5.7

1827

3.7

2999

1 69

014.

8 3.

30

T 7 :

180

/60

× 20

cm

+ p

last

ic m

ulch

2,

210

50.5

11

1654

.5

4042

0.9

5213

8 59

516.

5 2.

14

T 8 :

120

/60

× 20

cm

+ p

last

ic m

ulch

2,

302

50.5

11

6258

.1

4063

8.1

5235

5 63

903.

1 2.

22

T 9 :

90/

30 ×

20

cm +

pla

stic

mul

ch

2,10

4 50

.5

1062

81.8

29

952.

7 41

670

6461

1.8

2.55

SEm

± 14

3.5

- -

- -

- -

CD

val

ue a

t 5%

43

0.3

- -

- -

- -

165

discounted cost of the irrigation system at ` 12,467 wasconsidered taking the average life span of the system as5 years with seasons (kharif and rabi). The cost of plasticmulch film and its laying charges was computed forrespective treatments.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The higher seed yield of irrigated redgram wasrecorded at spacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rowwith plastic mulch in pairs (2,302 kg ha-1) which wascomparable with a spacing of 180/60 cm × 20 cm as pairedrow with plastic mulch in pairs (2,210 kg ha-1), spacingof 90/30 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch inpairs (2,104 kg ha-1) and was superior over rest oftreatments. This might be due to higher yield attributingcharacters, maximum uptake of NPK, which wasbenefited because of mulch and drip irrigation that alteredthe microclimate. The increase in yield attributes underdifferent treatments of mulch might be due to favorableenvironment and these results are in accordance withthose reported by Gajera et al. (1998). Lowest seed yieldwas recorded with spacing of 120 cm × 20 cm (1,548 kgha-1) due to poor growth and yield components of redgram.

Gross and net returns as well as benefit cost ratiowere altered to a noticeable extent by drip system andplastic mulch film. An annualized cost of drip at ̀ 12,476,plastic mulch at ` 180 kg-1 and its laying charges wasincluded in the cost of production for irrigated redgramfor the respective treatments. The higher gross returns(` 1,16,258 ha-1) of irrigated redgram were obtained withspacing of 120/60 cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plasticmulch in pairs (T8) (Table 1). The lowest gross returns(` 78,181 ha-1) were recorded at 120 cm × 20 cm (T1). Itis obvious that realization of higher gross returns wasdue to higher seed yield and because of favorable soilmoisture and nutrients facilitating growth and bettertranslocation of photosynthates from source to sink i.e.,seed. The economics of plastic mulching revealed thatthough initial investment is higher owing to higher inputcost of plastic mulch, adoption of redgram under plasticmulch is economically feasible as the cost of plastic mulchis cheaper.

The highest net returns (` 69,014 ha-1) and B:C ratio(3.30) were recorded at a spacing of 90/30 cm × 20 cm aspaired rows (T6) (Table 1). The increase in net returnsmight be due to increased plant population, seed yieldand cost incurred on plastic mulch film which was low

compared to yield advantage. The lowest net returns andbenefit: cost ratio were recorded with spacing of 180/60cm × 20 cm as paired rows with plastic mulch in pairs(T7) (` 59,516 ha-1). The results are in agreement withthose reported by Gajera et al. (1998); Kulkarni et al.(2015) and Patel et al. (2015).

CONCLUSION

The results from present investigation revealed thatpaired row is advantageous for improving productivityand profitability of redgram under drip irrigation withless cost of production. However, higher initial cost ofthe plastic mulch material is the only hindrance inadvocating this technology to the small and marginalfarmers of our country. Appropriate government policiessuch as availability of subsidized polythene film as inthe case drip system will go a long way in future forimproving the productivity and profitability of farmersbesides saving the precious water and creating lesserpressure on ground water resources.

LITERATURE CITED

Gajera, M.S., Ahlawat, R.P.S and Ardeshna, R.B. 1998.Effect of irrigation schedule, tillage depth and mulchon growth and yield of winter pigeonpea (Cajanuscajan (L.) Millsp.). Indian Journal of Agronomy.43(4): 689-693.

Kulkarni, M.V., Sushil, L., Yogesh, P and Prajapati, D.R.2015. Influence of planting geometry and mulchingon growth and yield of watermelon under dripirrigation. Journal of Agricultural Engineering andFood Technology. 2(1): 22-24.

Patel, A.R., Gohel, T.J., Davara, D.K and Solanki, M.H.2015. Effect of drip irrigation and mulching ongrowth, yield and water use efficiency ofrabipigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.). Trends inBiosciences. 8(16): 4275-4279.

Effect of plant density and spacing on productivity and economics of redgram

166

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 165-170, 2017

EFFICACY OF DIFFERENT ORGANIC NUTRIENT MANAGEMENTPRACTICES ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF FINGERMILLET

SWETA SHIKTA MAHAPATRA*, N. SUNITHA, Y. REDDI RAMU AND A. PRASANTHI

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2016 to study the effect of various nutrient management practices ongrowth and yield of fingermillet. The experiment was laid down in a randomised block design, replicated thrice with eighttreatments of different combinations of organic sources viz., farm yard manure, biofertilizers (Azospirillum+ PSB), beejamrutha,jeevamrutha and panchagavya. The results revealed that the growth parameters, yield attributes, grain and straw yields werefound at their best with the application of 100 per cent recommended dose of nutrients through fertilizers i.e. 60-30-30 kg N, P2O5

and K2O ha-1. Among the various organic sources tried, application of 100 per cent N through FYM + seedling treatment withbeejamruta + soil application of jeevamrutha @ 500 l ha-1 just after transplanting and at every 10 days interval up to 15 daysbefore harvest (T7) was found to be the best organic nutrient management practice.

KEYWORDS: Fingermillet, jeevamrutha, panchagavya, farm yard manure, beejamrutha.

Date of Receipt: 30-05-2017 Date of Acceptance: 23-09-2017

*Corresponding author, E-mail: swetashikta23mahapatra@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Fingermillet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] is thethird most important millet crop in India, next to sorghumand pearl millet, grown over an area of 1.13 millionhectares with an annual production of 1.98 million tonnesand a productivity of 1661 kg ha-1. In Andhra Pradesh, itis cultivated in an area of 44,000 hectares with aproduction of 36,000 tonnes having productivity of 1045kg ha-1 (Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation,2016).Fingermillet being rich in calcium, iron, proteinwith a balanced amino acid profile and lower glycemicindex offers plausible health benefits and thus referredas a miracle grain. Recently it is re-emerging as a vitaldietary food crop owing to increased public awarenessabout its nutritional value and climate resilience crop withwider adaptability to adverse weather conditions. Thecurrent global scenario is firmly emphasizing the need toadopt eco-friendly agricultural practices in view of thegrowing demand for safe, healthy and nutritious food.Thepaucity of adequate qualitative cheaper organic manuresavailability is limiting the adoption of inclusive organicnutrient management. Due to the dearth of scientific dataon the validation of various liquid organic formulations,it has become a major thrust area of research. Thus, inorder to sustain the crop productivity and for better on-farm resource utilization, combined use of organic

manures along with liquid organic formulations deservespriority as a viable alternative. Hence, an experiment wascarried out for estimating the effect of combinedapplication of various organic sources on the performanceof fingermillet.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted during kharif,2016 at S.V. Agricultural college dryland farm, Tirupaticampus of ANGRAU, on sandy clay loam soil with pH7.1 having low organic carbon content (0.49%), lowavailable nitrogen (154 kg ha-1), low available P2O5

(10 kg ha-1) and medium available K2O (166 kg ha-1).The experiment was laid out in randomized block designwith eight treatments and replicated thrice. The treatmentswere T1: control, T2: 100 per cent RDF (60-30-30 kg N,P2O5 and K2O ha-1), T3: 100 per cent N through farm yardmanure (FYM), T4: 100 per cent N through FYM +seedling treatment with biofertilizers (Azospirillum +PSB), T5: seedling treatment with beejamruta + soilapplication of jeevamrutha @ 500 l ha-1 just aftertransplanting and at every 10 days interval up to 15 daysbefore harvest, T6: seedling treatment with beejamruta +foliar application of panchagavya @ 3 per cent foliar sprayjust after transplanting and at every 10 days interval upto 15 days before harvest, T7: T3+ T5, T8: T3+ T6.The test

167

variety of fingermillet was ‘Vakula’. Fingermilletseedlings of 21 days old were transplanted @ one seedlingper hill with a spacing of 22.5cm x 10cm. Seedlingtreatment was done by root dipping for 30 minutes inprepared beejamruta solution or biofertilizer slurry(prepared by mixing the microbial inoculants ofAzospirillum, PSB, FYM and water at 1:1:5:10 ratio) asper the treatment schedule.The entire dose of P2O5, K2Oand half of the N was applied as basal where as theremaining quantity of nitrogen was applied as top dressingat 30 days after transplanting. Application of panchagavyawas done by diluting 3 litres of filtrate from the stocksolution in 100 litres of water and sprayed with high poresize nozzle on fingermillet crop at ten days intervalstarting from the day of transplanting to till 15 days beforeharvest. The prepared solution of jeevamruta was dilutedin water (1:10) and applied to soil uniformly coveringthe total field area on the day of transplanting and at everyten days interval until 15 days before harvest. Similarlyjeevamruta was prepared for each application at ten daysinterval.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The growth parameters viz., plant height and drymatter production at harvest, yield attributes viz., numberof productive tillers m-2, ear weight, grain and straw yieldof fingermillet were found to be significantly influencedby various sources of nutrients (Table 1).

The highest plant height and dry matter productionof fingermillet was noticed with 100 per centrecommended dose of nutrients through fertilizers (T2),which was significantly superior to the different organicsources tested. This might be attributed to the quickrelease and availability of nutrients and especiallynitrogen, which is an important constituent of protoplasmplaying a positive role in cell division and elongationresulting in vigorous crop growth with effectiveinterception of light and higher rate of photosynthesis.Dry matter accumulation is the prerequisite for higheryields, which is an indication of the biosynthetic processesassociated with the crop growth and development.Thenext higher values of plant height and leaf area indexwere noticed with the application of 100 per cent Nthrough FYM +seedling treatment with beejamruta + soilapplication of jeevamrutha @ 500 l ha-1 just aftertransplanting and at every 10 days interval up to 15 daysbefore harvest(T7).The soil application of jeevamrutamight have accelerated the soil microbial activities, which

might have helped in the continuous mineralization ofapplied FYM leading to better availability of nutrients,particularly nitrogen as well as growth promotinghormones viz., IAA and GA3in jeevamruta which mighthave favored rapid cell division and multiplication leadingenhanced biological efficiency in terms of plant heightand dry matter accumulation. Further, seedling treatmentwith beejamruta with cow dung as an integral componentwhich is rich in several genera of bacteria and fungi thatmight have enhanced the availability of soil nativenutrients. The lowest values recorded with control mightbe due to non-availability of sufficient quantity ofnutrients to produce even a moderate stature offingermillet crop.Similar results were perceived byKesarwani (2007), Lakshmipathi (2012) and Kasbe et al.(2015).

The stature of yield attributes is a complex processgoverned by complementary interaction between sourceand sink. Thus the favorable effect of adequate quantityof readily available nutrients with 100 per centrecommended dose of nutrients through fertilizers (T2) isevident with higher dry matter accumulation and effectivetranslocation of photosynthates to the sink, which resultedin improved stature of yield attributes i.e. number ofproductive tillers m-2 and ear weight. Among the organicsources of nutrients tried, application of 100 per cent Nthrough FYM + seedling treatment with beejamruta +soil application of jeevamrutha @ 500 l ha-1 just aftertransplanting and at every ten days interval up to 15 daysbefore harvest(T7) exerted a synergistic effect of FYM,jeevamruta and beejamruta on the yield attributes offingermillet. Jeevamruta, a cow dung based formulationis a rich source of naturally occurring beneficialmicroorganisms, which put forth a direct influence onproduction of plant growth promoting hormones viz.,auxins, gibberlins and cytokinins in addition to the supplyof biologically fixed nitrogen, solubilization of theinsoluble phosphates and better release of potassium intoavailable pool (Girija et al., 2013). Hence, the regularsoil application of jeevamrutha might have enhanced theconversion of organically bound nutrients in the soil aswell as FYM to inorganic forms, thereby making themconcurrently available synchronizing with peak periodof crop requirement i.e. panicle initiation, flowering andgrain filling stages. This is in accordance with the resultsreported by Kesarwani (2007), Lakshmipathi (2012),Rathnayake et al. (2013), Nigade et al. (2014) and Kasbeet al. (2015). The deflated stature of yield attributes

Effect of organic nutrient management on growth and yield of fingermillet

168

Tabl

e 1.

Gro

wth

par

amet

ers,

yiel

d at

trib

utes

and

yie

ld o

f fin

germ

illet

as i

nflu

ence

d by

diff

eren

t org

anic

nut

rien

t man

agem

ent p

ract

ices

Tre

atm

ents

Pl

ant

heig

ht

(cm

)

Dry

mat

ter

prod

uctio

n (k

g ha

-1)

Num

ber

of

prod

uctiv

e til

lers

m-2

Ear

w

eigh

t (g

)

Gra

in

yiel

d (k

g ha

-1)

Stra

w

yiel

d (k

g ha

-1)

T 1 :

Con

trol

57.7

37

51

41.0

2.

00

722

2768

T 2 :

100

% R

DF

(60-

30-3

0 kg

N, P

2O5

and

K2O

ha-1

) 10

4.6

6865

67

.3

4.30

21

02

4702

T 3 :

100

% N

thro

ugh

farm

yar

d m

anur

e (F

YM

) 70

.4

4863

52

.0

2.62

11

35

3266

T 4 :

100

% N

thro

ugh

FYM

+ s

eedl

ing

treat

men

t with

bio

ferti

lizer

s (A

zosp

irillu

m +

PSB

) 82

.1

5769

57

.0

3.20

13

47

3704

T 5 :

See

dlin

g tre

atm

ent

with

bee

jam

ruta

+ s

oil

appl

icat

ion

of

jeev

amru

tha

@ 5

00 l

ha-1

just

afte

r tra

nspl

antin

g an

d at

eve

ry

10 d

ays i

nter

val u

p to

15

days

bef

ore

harv

est

69.6

47

07

51.3

2.

56

1076

32

15

T 6 :

See

dlin

g tre

atm

ent

with

bee

jam

ruta

+ f

olia

r ap

plic

atio

n of

pa

ncha

gavy

a @

3%

folia

r spr

ay ju

st af

ter t

rans

plan

ting

and

at

ever

y 10

day

s int

erva

l up

to 1

5 da

ys b

efor

e ha

rves

t

58.9

40

04

42.3

2.

09

734

2784

T 7 :

100

% N

thro

ugh

FYM

+ T

5 93

.0

6384

61

.0

3.76

16

48

4148

T 8 :

100

% N

thro

ugh

FYM

+ T

6 81

.6

5692

56

.0

3.13

13

33

3693

SEm

± 3.

39

157.

2 0.

95

0.15

0 61

.6

138.

9

CD

(P=0

.05)

10

.3

477

2.8

0.45

18

6 42

1

Sweta et al.,

169

noticed with control might be ascribed to the fact that theinherent soil fertility status (154-10-166 kg N, P2O5 andK2O ha-1) was insufficient to meet the crop requirementfor supporting normal growth and development.

The highest grain and straw yields of fingermilletwere recorded with 100 per cent recommended dose ofnutrients through fertilizers (T2). This might be due tothe cumulative effect of elevated growth stature as wellas yield attributes under the condition of adequate nutrientsupply, favoring the production of photosynthates coupledwith better partitioning to the sink. Application ofrecommended dose of fertilizers recorded 27.5 per centhigher grain yield over the next best treatment of 100 percent N through FYM +seedling treatment with beejamruta+ soil application of jeevamrutha @ 500 l ha-1 just aftertransplanting and at every ten days interval up to 15 daysbefore harvest(T7). Supplementation of FYM withbeejamruta and jeevamruta (T7) registered 45.1 per centhigher yield over 100 per cent N through FYM alone (T3)where as 53.1 per cent higher grain yield over onlybeejamruta and jeevamruta (T5). Further it was noticedthat application of either beejamruta and jeevamruta (1076kg ha-1) or FYM alone (1135 kg ha-1) has resulted incomparative yield. Provision of required carbon substratethrough FYM and microorganisms through fermentedliquid organic sources might have maintained a steadyrhizosphere enzymatic and biological activity for thefavorable biochemical reactions, thereby creatingcongenial environment for mineralization and continuoussupply of essential macro and micro nutrients. Further,application of FYM along with jeevamruta might haveenhanced the activity of dehydrogenase, phosphatase andurease in the soil as reported by Bhoomiraj andChristopher (2007), Gore (2010) and Lakshmipathi(2012). Hence, the positive effect of combined applicationof FYM, beejamruta and jeevamruta was reflected withhigher grain and straw yields. These results are inaccordance with the findings of Kesarwani (2007),Lakshmipathi (2012), Rathnayake et al. (2013), Nigadeet al. (2014), Kasbe et al. (2015) and Sahare (2015).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the present investigation revealed thathigher grain yield of fingermillet could be realized with100 per cent recommended dose of nutrients throughfertilizers i.e. 60-30-30 kg N, P2O5 and K2O ha-1. Amongthe various organic sources of nutrients tried, 100 percent N through FYM + seedling treatment with beejamruta

+ soil application of jeevamrutha @ 500 l ha-1 just aftertransplanting and at every ten days interval up to 15 daysbefore harvest (T7) was proved to be the most promising,feasible and economically viable organic nutrientmanagement practice for higher yield, economics offingermillet along with maintenance of soil biologicalactivity and fertility for the sustenance of soil ecology.

LITERATURE CITED

Bhoomiraj, K and Christopher L.A. 2007. Impact oforganic and inorganic sources of nutrients,panchagavya and botanicals spray on the soilmicrobial population and enzyme activity in bhendi(Abelmoschus esculentus L. Monech). In Kumar, A.(ed.) Agriculture and Environment. APH PublishingCorporation, New Delhi.pp: 257-261.

Girija, D., Deepa, K., Xavier, F., Antony, I and Sindhi,P.R. 2013.Analysis of cow dung microbiota- ametagenomic approach. Indian Journal ofBiotechnology. 12: 372- 378.

Gore, N.S. 2010. Influence of liquid organic manures onmicrobial activity, growth, lycopene content andyield of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum mill.) inthe sterilized soil. M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis, University ofAgricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka.

Kesarwani, A. 2007. Effect of organic nutrientmanagement practices on the stalk yield and juicequality of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.)Moench) for ethanol production. M.Sc.(Ag.) Thesis,University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru,Karnataka.

Kasbe, S.S., Joshi, M., Bhaskar, K.A., Gopinath, K.A andKumar, M.K. 2015. Impact of organic manures withor without mineral fertilizers on soil chemical andbiological properties under tropical conditions.International Journal of Bio-resource and Stressmanagement.6 (1): 155-160.

Lakshmipathi, R.N. 2012. Identification of beneficialmicroflora in liquid organic manures and biocontrolformulations and their influence on growth and yieldof finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertin) andfield bean (Dolichos lab lab L.). M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis,University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru,Karnataka.

Effect of organic nutrient management on growth and yield of fingermillet

170

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation 2016.Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, agricoop.nic.in.

Nigade, R.D., Gajbhiye, P.N and More, S.M. 2014.Integrated nutrient management studies in fingermillet (Eleusine coracana L.). Crop Research. 48(1, 2 & 3):27-31.

Rathnayake, R.M.S.J., Dissanayake, D.M.P.S andWeerakkody, W.J.S.K. 2013. Evaluation ofeffectiveness of some liquid organic fertilizers forRice (Oryza sativa) under organic farming condition.

Proceedings of the 12th Agricultural ResearchSymposium, Makandura, Gonawila, Sri Lanka, 30 -31 May 2013. 209-213.

Sahare, D. 2015. Impact of organic manures and liquidorganic manures on growth, yield and quality ofaerobic rice. The Ecoscan.9 (1 & 2): 563-567.

Sweta et al.,

171

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 171-173, 2017

INFLUENCE OF TILLAGE AND IN-SITU MOISTURE CONSERVATIONPRACTICES ON PRODUCTIVITY OF RAINFED GROUNDNUT (Arachis hypogaea)

G. RAJITHA*, A. MUNEENDRA BABU, G. PRABHAKARA REDDY AND P. SUDHAKAR

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2016-17 at S.V. Agricultural college farm, Tirupati to study the effects ofin-situ moisture conservation techniques on the productivity of rainfed groundnut (Arachis hypogaea). Broad bed and furrowsystem were effective in conserving the soil moisture leading to improvement in yield attributes and pod and haulm yields ofgroundnut. The highest pod yield of 2056 kg ha-1 was recorded with broad bed and furrow system.

KEYWORDS: Broad bed and furrow system, groundnut, morphological attributes, rainfed, yield.

Date of Receipt: 01-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 13-09-2017

Soil moisture is the limiting factor for groundnut(Arachis hypogaea) productivity under rainfedconditions. Much work has been done and is beingdirected towards more sustainable measures forconserving soil moisture. Promising and potentiallyappropriate methods such as contour and graded bunds,fallowing and mulching have been developed.Nevertheless, the rate of farmer adoption of thesepractices remains notably low and is still insufficient forconservation of moisture. This suggests the need for muchmore simpler methods of moisture conservation withminimum external input and investment. Prolongeddrought periods are common, especially during moisturesensitive stages of flowering, pegging and poddevelopment, leading to lower yields. Keeping in view,the importance of groundnut crop, which ispredominantly grown during kharif season in Chittoordistrict of Andhra Pradesh, the present experiment wascarried on yield attributes and yield of rainfed groundnut(Arachis hypogaea) as influenced by different moistureconservation measures.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted on sandy loamsoil (Alfisols) during rainy season at Tirupati. Theexperimental soil was neutral in reaction (7.5 pH),medium in organic carbon (0.58 %) and low in availablenitrogen (176 kg ha-1), medium in available phosphorous(70 kg ha-1) and high in available potassium (304 kg ha-1).Moisture content at field capacity and permanent wiltingpoint was 14 and 4 per cent respectively, with bulk density

*Corresponding author, E-mail: rajirajitha41@gmail.com

of 1.5 g cc-1. There were eight soil moisture conservationmethods. All these were tested in randomized block design,and replicated thrice. The treatments were conventionaltillage (T1), vertical tillage with subsoiler upto a depth of60 cm at an interval of 1.0 m followed by secondary tillage(T2), deep ploughing with mouldboard plough upto adepth of 40 cm followed by secondary tillage (T3),conservation furrow after every row (T4), conservationfurrow after every four rows (T5), broad bed and furrow(T6), straw mulch @ 5 tonnes ha-1 (T7) and soil mulch(frequent intercultivation) (T8).

Rainfall during the crop period was about 340 mmwhich was received in 20 rainy days. The crop wassubjected to about 30 days moisture stress from Augustfirst week to September second week compared torelatively uniform distribution except for about 20 daysfrom August first to third week. In general, rainfall wasideal for growth and development of groundnut. Heavyrainfall from September first week to October which wascoincided with reproductive stage of crop had favorableeffect on groundnut yield.

Soil moisture at 0 - 30 and 30 - 60 cm soil depthduring period of crop growth was measuredgravimetrically to assess the influence of these treatmentson the productivity of groundnut.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Soil moisture content during crop period ofgroundnut was relatively high (10.9%) with vertical tillage

172

Tabl

e 1.

Yie

ld a

ttri

bute

s and

yie

ld o

f gro

undn

ut a

s inf

luen

ced

by ti

llage

and

moi

stur

e co

nser

vatio

n pr

actic

es (p

oole

d da

ta)

Tre

atm

ents

N

umbe

r of

peg

s pl

ant-1

Tot

al

pods

pl

ant-1

Fille

d po

ds

plan

t-1

100

pod

wei

ght

(g)

100

kern

el

wei

ght

(g)

Shel

ling

(%)

Pod

yiel

d (k

g ha

-1)

Hau

lm

yiel

d (k

g ha

-1)

T 1 :

Con

vent

iona

l till

age

40

19

13.9

11

0 41

.0

68.5

14

36

2242

T 2 :

Ver

tical

tilla

ge w

ith su

bsoi

ler u

p to

a

dept

h of

60

cm a

t an

inte

rval

of 1

.0 m

fo

llow

ed b

y se

cond

ary

tilla

ge

53

35

24

123

47.6

75

.6

1872

30

32

T 3 :

Dee

p pl

ough

ing

with

mou

ldbo

ard

plou

gh

up to

a d

epth

of 4

0 cm

follo

wed

by

seco

ndar

y til

lage

48

32

22.5

12

1 46

.7

74.0

17

91

2865

T 4 :

Con

serv

atio

n fu

rrow

afte

r eve

ry ro

w

44

26

20.8

11

2 44

.7

71.9

16

91

2651

T 5 :

Con

serv

atio

n fu

rrow

afte

r eve

ry fo

ur ro

ws

44

26

18.9

11

2 43

.9

71.5

15

96

2457

T 6 :

Bro

ad b

ed a

nd fu

rrow

; 54

48

25

.1

124

48.2

76

.2

2056

33

92

T 7 :

Stra

w m

ulch

@ 5

tone

s ha-1

46

31

20

.8

116

46.0

72

.6

1712

27

04

T 8 :

Soil

mul

ch (f

requ

ent i

nter

cul

tivat

ion)

42

25

17

.9

110

43.8

71

.2

1524

23

31

CD

val

ue a

t 5%

Rajitha et al.,

173

with subsoiler which was comparable with deepploughing (10.1%) and least in conventional tillage(8.3%). With regard to moisture conservation practices,broad bed and furrow method of moisture conservationmaintained consistently higher soil moisture at every soilsampling and superior over rest of the treatments.

Conservation furrows may be effective on vertisolswith low infiltration rate and high moisture retentivecapacity. When rainfall exceeds infiltration rate of thesoil, excess water will be collected in furrows therebygiving more opportune time for the soil to soak the water.When once the water infiltrated into vertisol, it will beretained in the soil for long, as it has higher moistureretentive capacity. Therefore, this method was effectiveon vertisols. Unless the intensity of rainfall is too high,alfisol can take almost all the rainfall because of its highinfiltration rate. The shallow depth and hence its lowsaturation need does not permit storage of water in thesoil. Once the soil is saturated there will not be anybeneficial effect of water collected in the furrows as itleaves the soil as runoff. Hence, conservation furrowmethod was not effective on alfisols.

Soil mulch was also not effective in conserving soilmoisture. This was due to the fact that there was nodifference in moisture conservation treatment betweenconventional tillage and soil mulch except that soil mulchwas done during 20 days interval. Hence there was noappreciable difference in soil moisture content due tothese two treatments. In view of the above drawbacks withconservation furrows, soil mulch and conventional tillagemethods, subsoiling, deep tillage methods and broad bedfurrow method of moisture conservation resulted in highsoil moisture content all through the crop period.

Yield components and yield

Among moisture conservation practices, broad bedand furrows resulted in higher number of pegs (54), total(48) and filled pods (25.1). Relatively low moisturecontent with conservation furrows, straw mulch and soilmulch practices resulted in lower number of pegs, totaland filled pods plant-1.

The superiority of subsoiling, deep ploughing andbroad bed and furrows over other treatments could beexplained on the basis of increased moisture and nutrientavailability in altered moisture conservation techniques.This could also be supported by better physical conditionof soil, i.e., lower bulk density, enhanced permeability,better aeration and lower penetration resistance making

the soil to remain soft and moist due to the in-situ waterharvesting by reducing runoff losses. Venkateshwarlu andMalaviya (2004) also reported similar findings. The 100pod weight, 100 kernel weight and shelling percentagealso followed similar trend because of adequate availablesoil moisture with subsoiling, deep tillage practices andbroad bed and furrow method of moisture conservation.Similar increase in yield attributes with broad bed andfurrows were reported by Nimje (1992).

Pod and haulm yields were higher due to subsoilingwhich were on par with the yield in deep tillage. There wassignificant reduction in conventional tillage as comparedto above two methods. Among moisture conservationpractices, highest pod yield of 2056 kg ha-1 was obtainedfrom broad bed and furrow method of planting followedby straw mulch, while soil mulch recorded the lowestpod yield. The reduction in pod yields in soil mulch ascompared to BBF method was due to lesser number ofpegs, lesser total and filled pods or plant-1. The poorphysical condition of the soil mulch method probablymade it difficult for peg penetration and pod development.

Haulm yield also followed similar trend as that ofpod yield. Higher haulm yield was with those treatmentswhere the soil moisture was high due to broad bed andfurrows. Increase in haulm yield with adequate soilmoisture was observed by Venkateshwarlu (2006).

From the results, it is evident that subsoiling, deeptillage methods and broad bed and furrow system ofmoisture conservation practice are effective forconserving rain water leading to higher productivity ofrainfed groundnut on sandy-loam soil.

LITERATURE CITEDNimje, P.M. 1992. Effect of land treatment systems and

phosphorous fertilization on groundnut (Arachishypogaea) in Vertisols. Journal of oilseeds research.9(2): 227-233.

Venkateshwarlu, B and Malaviya, D.D. 2004.Performance of groundnut as influenced by landconfigurations and fertilizer management underrainfed conditions of South Saurastra. The AndhraAgricultural Journal. 51 (3 & 4): 292-295.

Venkateshwarlu, B. 2006. Nutrient uptake and quality ofgroundnut as influenced by moisture conservationpractices and fertilizer management. The AndhraAgricultural Journal. 56(3&4).

Influence of tillage and moisture conservation on productivity of groundnut

174

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 174-177, 2017

A STUDY TO ASSESS THE CONSTRAINTS FACED BY THEAGRICULTURAL OFFICERS IN UTILIZATION OF ICTs

T. SRI CHANDANA*, P.V. SATHYA GOPAL, V. SAILAJA, A.V. NAGAVANI AND S.V. PRASAD

Department of Agricultural Extension, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

The present investigation was carried out in Nellore, Srikakulam, Ananthapur districts of Andhra Pradesh during 2016-17.The main objective of the study was to analyze the constraints faced by the agricultural officers in ICT utilization. Ex-post- factoresearch design was followed for the study. A total 120 respondents covering the three districts equally were selected for thestudy. The most important constraints faced by the Agricultural Officers were ‘Lack of expertise and skills in using ICT’, ‘Poor/limited internet speed’, ‘High cost of ICT equipment’, ‘Limited budget for purchase of ICT equipment’, ‘Lack of ICT facility atoffice’, ‘Lack of personal ICT equipment / tools’ and ‘Lack of ICT technicians and professionals in the vicinity’, ‘Poor annualmaintenance of the ICT equipment’, ‘Overburdened allied activities’ and ‘Limited power supply’. The important suggestionsgiven by the majority of agricultural officers to overcome the constraints were ‘Periodical training programmes on application ofICTs’, ‘Creating awareness on importance of different ICT tools and programmes’, ‘Uninterrupted high speed internet with highquality broad band facility’, ‘Establishing WIFI in all the agricultural offices’, ‘Engaging an ICT professional / technician onpermanent basis’, ‘Proper mechanism for annual maintenance of ICTs’, ‘Uninterrupted power supply in the agricultural offices’,‘Hands -on training through coaching and counseling’, ‘Allocation of enough budget to buy latest ICT tools and programmes’,‘Regular updating of recent advances in ICT’ and ‘Special budget for capacity building for the Agricultural Officers’ were thesuggestions given by the Agricultural Officers.

KEYWORDS: Constraints, suggestions, agricultural officers, ICT utilization.

Date of Receipt: 03-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 20-09-2017

*Corresponding author, E-mail: talarisrichandana39@gmail.com

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)are key enablers of globalization. They allow for theefficient and cost-effective flow of information, products,people and capital across national and regionalboundaries. Information communication technologiesinclude technologies and methods for storing, managing,processing information (e.g., computers, softwares, digitaland non digital libraries) and for communicatinginformation such as mail and email, radio television,telephones, cell phones, pagers, instant messaging and“the web.” However, in everyday speech, ICTs commonlyrefer to electronic and digital devices and the softwareused for storing, retrieving, and communicatinginformation. Extension workers at the grassroots levelwho have direct links with farmers and other actors, arewell positioned to make use of ICTs to access modernknowledge or other types of information that couldfacilitate the accomplishment of their related activities.

But the ‘Agricultural Officers’ are facing manyconstraints in utilization of ICTs. Taking intoconsideration these limitations, the study was undertaken

to find out the constraints faced by the AgriculturalOfficers in utilization of ICT and suggestions to overcomethese constraints.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A study was conducted with ex-post-facto researchdesign to study the constraints faced by the AgriculturalOfficers in ICT utilization. The Andhra Pradesh state waschosen as the locale of the study, since the researcherbelongs to the state and was familiar with the localconditions as well as organizational set up in the StateDepartment of Agriculture. All the three regions in thenewly formed state of Andhra Pradesh viz., Rayalaseema,Coastal Andhra and North Coastal region were includedin the sutdy. One district from each region was selectedby simple random sampling procedure. The names of theselected districts were Ananthapur from Rayalaseemaregion, Nellore from Coastal region and Srikakulam fromNorth Coastal region. From each of the selected district,40 Agricultural Officers were selected as respondents byfollowing simple random sampling procedure. The sampleconstituted to a total of 120 respondents.

175

Table 1. Constraints faced by the ‘Agricultural Officers’ in utilization of ICTs

S. No. Constraints in ICT utilization Weighted sum Per cent Rank

1. Lack of expertise and skills in using ICT 203 84.58 I

2. Poor/ limited internet speed 196 81.67 II

3. High cost of ICT equipment 191 79.58 III

4. Limited budget for purchase of ICT equipment 183 76.25 IV

5. Lack of ICT facility at office 179 74.58 V

6. Lack of personal ICT equipment / tools 177 73.75 VI

7. Lack of ICT technicians and professionals in the vicinity 177 73.75 VI

8. Poor annual maintenance of the ICT equipment 176 73.33 VIII

9. Overburdened allied activities 164 68.33 IX

10. Limited power supply 140 58.33 X

‘Constraint’ was operationalized as theunsatisfactory situations with respect to extent ofInformation Communication Technology (ICT) utilizationas perceived by the ‘Agricultural Officers’. A set of tenimportant constraints were identified in consultation with‘Agricultural Officers’ and also experts in the field ofICT. They were measured on 3 point continuum i.e. ‘majorreason’, ‘minor reason’ and ‘not a reason’ by giving scores2, 1 and 0 respectively. ‘Suggestion’ was operationallydefined as the requirements expressed by the ‘AgriculturalOfficers’ in order to fulfill their extent of InformationCommunication Technology (ICT) utilization needs.Information from respondents was sought through an openended questionnaire.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

It is evident from the Table 1 that ‘Lack of expertiseand skills in using ICT’, ‘Poor/ limited internet speed’,‘High cost of ICT equipment’, ‘Limited budget forpurchase of ICT equipment’ and ‘Lack of ICT facility atoffice’ were the important constraints faced by theAgricultural Officers with 84.58, 81.67, 79.58, 76.25 and74.58 per cent and ranked from first to fifth respectively.Further analysis of table clearly reveals that both ‘Lackof personal ICT equipment / tools’ and ‘Lack of ICTtechnicians and professionals in the vicinity’, ‘Poorannual maintenance of the ICT equipment’,‘Overburdened allied activities’ and ‘Limited power

supply’ was regarded as the least important constraintsfaced by the Agricultural Officers with 73.75, 73.75,73.33, 68.33 and 58.33 per cent and ranked from sixth totenth rank respectively. These results are in line withfindings of Agwu et al. (2008), Amar et al. (2011),Aromolaran et al. (2016), Cynthia and Nwabugwu (2016),Omotesho et al. (2012), Shirke and Rahool (2013), Umaret al. (2015).

It is evident from the Table 2 that ‘Periodical trainingprogrammes on application of ICTs is one of the majorsuggestions given by the respondents and it was rankedfirst with 91.46 per cent. ‘Creating awareness onimportance of different ICT tools and programmes’,‘Uninterrupted high speed internet with high quality broadband facility’, ‘Establishing WIFI in all the agriculturaloffices’ and ‘engaging an ICT professional / technicianon permanent basis’ are the important suggestions givenby the Agricultural Officers with 88.23, 87.41, 80.52,80.16 per cent and ranked from second to fifthrespectively. ‘Proper mechanism for annual maintenanceof ICTs’, ‘Uninterrupted power supply in the agriculturaloffices’, ‘Hands -on training through coaching andcounseling’, ‘Allocation of enough budget to buy latestICT tools and programmes’, ‘Regular updating of recentadvances in ICT’ and ‘special budget for capacity buildingfor the Agricultural Officers’ with 74.28, 72.89, 69.05,64.21, 60.02 and 58.61 per cent and ranked from sixth to

Utilization of ICTs by Agricultural Officers

176

Table 2. Suggestions given by the ‘Agricultural Officers’

S. No Suggestions Percentage Rank

1. Periodical training programmes on application of ICTs 91.46 I

2. Creating awareness on importance of different ICT tools and programmes 88.23 II

3. Uninterrupted high speed internet with high quality broad band facility 87.41 III

4. Establishing WIFI in all the agricultural offices 80.52 IV

5. Engaging an ICT professional/ technician on permanent basis 80.16 V

6. Proper mechanism for annual maintenance of ICTs 74.28 VI

7. Uninterrupted power supply in the agricultural offices 72.89 VII

8. Hands- on training through coaching and counselling 69.05 VIII

9. Allocation of enough budget to buy latest ICT tools and programmes 64.21 IX

10. Regular updating of recent advances in ICT 60.02 X

11. Special budget for capacity building for the agricultural officers 58.61 XI

eleventh respectively. These results are in line withfindings of Aboh (2008), Salau and Saingbe (2008),Omotesho et al. (2012), Ezeh (2013), Khamoushi andGupta (2014).

CONCLUSION

Organizing need based training programmes andaccess to different ICT tools were the majorrecommendations derived out of the present researchstudy. Hence the policy makers have to design appropriatestrategies keeping in view of the results of the study.

LITERATURE CITED

Aboh, C.L. 2008. Assessment of the Frequency of ICTtools usage by Agricultural Extension Agents in IMOstate, Nigeria. Journal of Agriculture and SocialResearch. 8(2).

Agwu, A.E., Uche-Mba, U.C and Akinnagbe, O.M. 2008.Use of Information Communication Technologies(ICTs) among Researchers, Extension Workers andFarmers in Abia and Enugu States: Implications fora National Agricultural Extension Policy on ICTs.Journal of Agricultural Extension. 12(1): 37-49.

Amar Tayade, Chinchmalatpure, U.R and Supe, S.V. 2011.Information and Communication Technology usedby the Scientists in Krishi Vigyan Kendra andRegional Resaerch Centre. Journal of GlobalCommunication. 4(1): 16-26.

Aromolaran, A.K., Alarima, C.I., Akerele, D., Oyekunle, Oand Leramo, G.A. 2016. Use of Internet for InnovationManagement by Extension Agents in Oyo State.Journal of Agricultural Extension. 20(1): 96-106.

Cynthia, E.N and Nwabugwu, T.S. 2016. Challenges toAdoption of ICT Tools BY Agricultural ExtensionWorkers in Anambra State, Nigeria. Asian Journalof Agricultural Extension, Economics and Sociology.10(4): 1-6.

Ezeh, N.A. 2013. Extension agents access and utilizationof information and communication technology (ICT)in extension service delivery in South East Nigeria.Journal of Agricultural Extension and RuralDevelopment. 5(11): 266-276.

Khamoushi, S and Gupta, J. 2014. Factors encouragingICT usage by agricultural extension scientists inNorth India. Journal of Agricultural Extension andRural Development. 6(4):132-137.

Sri Chandana et al.,

177

Omotesho, K.F., Ogunlade, I.O and Muhammad Lawal.2012. Assessment of Access to Information andCommunication Technology among AgriculturalExtension Officers in Kwara State, Nigeria. AsianJournal of Agriculture and Rural Development. 2(2):220-225.

Salau, E.S and Saingbe, N.D. 2008. Access and Utilizationof Information and Communication Technologies(ICTs) Among Agricultural Researchers andExtension Workers in Selected Institutions inNasarawa State of Nigeria. 4(2): 1-11.

Shirke, V.S and Rahool, M.T. 2013. Use of ICTComponents by the Extension Personnel ofKarnataka State. International Journal of ExtensionEducation. 9:81-84.

Umar, S.I., Mohammed, U.S., Jibrin, S., Usman, R.K.,Sallawu, H and Usman, M.H. 2015. Utilization ofInformation and Communciation Technologies(ICTs) by Agricultural Extension Workers in NigerState, Nigeria. International Journal of AgriculturalScience, Research and Technology in Extension andEducation Systems. 5(1): 1-6.

Utilization of ICTs by Agricultural Officers

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Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 178-181, 2017

EFFECT OF SECONDARY NUTRIENTS AND ZINC ON GROWTH ANDYIELD OF BLACKGRAM

E. JEEVANA LAKSHMI*, P.V. RAMESH BABU, G. PRABHAKAR REDDY, P. UMAMAHESWARIAND A. PRATAP KUMAR REDDY

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during rabi, 2016-17 on sandy loam soils of college farm, Agricultural College, Mahanandito study the effect of foliar sprays of secondary nutrients and zinc nutrition on growth, yield attributes and yield of blackgram.The experiment comprised of eight treatments viz., control (T1), RDF (20-50-0 kg N-P2O5-K2O ha-1) (T2), RDF + foliar applica-tion of one per cent CaNO3 (T3), RDF + foliar application of one per cent MgNO3 (T4), RDF + foliar application of one per centSulphur (T5), RDF + foliar application of one per cent each of CaNO3, MgNO3 and Sulphur (T6), RDF + foliar application ofZnSO4 @ 0.2 per cent (T7), T6 + foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.2 per cent (T8). The results revealed that all the growthparameters, yield attributes and yield were significantly higher with the foliar spray of secondary nutrients (Ca, Mg and Sulphur)and zinc at 25 and 45 DAS along with recommended dose of fertilizers (T8).

KEYWORDS: Secondary nutrients, zinc, growth parameters, yield and blackgram.

Date of Receipt: 06-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 31-08-2017

INTRODUCTION

Pulses are integral part of human diet providing amajor source of dietary protein. Blackgram is one amongthese food legumes which is well suited under intensivecropping systems due to its short duration. In India,blackgram is cultivated in an area of 2.346 M ha with aproduction of 1.959 M t.

In Andhra Pradesh, it occupies an area of 0.315 Mha producing 0.298 M t. The average productivity ofblackgram in Andhra Pradesh (946 kg ha-1) is high ascompared to India’s productivity (604 kg ha-1) (Indiastat,2015), Being leguminous crops pulses were ignored inthe aspect of nutrient management which is of greatconcern.

Blackgram as a pulse specially need more amountsof Ca, Mg and S. The supplementation of these essentialnutrients through soil application is a common practice.But soil applied nutrients may or may not be available toplants due to several soil physico-chemical reactions andthe entire fertilizer is not utilized by the crop within theseason especially relating to their short duration. Theexcess fertilizers not only increase the cost of cultivationbut also pollute the dynamic soil system. Hence, supplyingthese small amounts through foliage improves the quality

of produce by reaching the site of food synthesis directlyand preserving the crop yields with low environmentalimpact.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A field experiment was conducted during rabi, 2016-17 on sandy loam soils of college farm, AgriculturalCollege, Mahanandi, Andhra Pradesh. The soil wasneutral in reaction, high in phosphorus, potassium andsulphur, medium in calcium, low in magnesium and nearlymedium in zinc. The experiment comprised of eighttreatments viz., control (T1), RDF (20-50-0 kg N-P2O5-K2O ha-1) (T2), RDF + foliar application of one per centCaNO3 (T3), RDF + foliar application of one per centMgNO3 (T4), RDF + foliar application of one per centsulphur (T5), RDF + foliar application of one per centeach of CaNO3, MgNO3 and sulphur (T6), RDF + foliarapplication of ZnSO4 @ 0.2 per cent (T7), T6 + foliarapplication of ZnSO4 @ 0.2 per cent (T8).The test varietywas TBG-104. The trail was laid out in RBD replicatedthrice. The foliar spray of nutrients was carried out at 25and 45 DAS @ 500 l ha-1. Five plants in each plot weremarked separately for non destructive sampling anddestructive samples were drawn from the gross plotleaving the extreme border row. Statistical significancewas tested by ‘F’ value at 5 per cent level of probability

*Corresponding author, E-mail: ejeevanalakshmi@gmail.com

179

Table 1. Growth parameters of blackgram as influenced by secondary nutrients and zinc nutrition

Table 2. Yield attributes of blackgram as influenced by secondary nutrients and zinc nutrition

Treatments Plant height (cm)

Leaf area index

Dry matter production

(kg ha-1)

T1 : Control 25.19 0.38 1646

T2 : Recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) 27.55 0.41 1919

T3 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % CaNO3 29.45 0.66 2735

T4 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % MgNO3 30.45 0.70 2788

T5 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % Sulphur 28.19 0.53 2307

T6 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % each of CaNO3, MgNO3 and Sulphur

31.71 0.85 2948

T7 : RDF + Foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.2% 27.88 0.46 2085

T8 : T6 + Foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.2% 32.21 0.93 3104

SEm± 0.50 0.03 78

CD (P=0.05) 1.51 0.09 236

Treatments Number of pods plant-1

Number of seeds pod-1

1000 – seed weight (g)

T1 : Control 8.1 4.7 41.30

T2 : Recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) 9.7 5.0 41.62

T3 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % CaNO3 12.4 5.8 42.73

T4 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % MgNO3 13.9 5.9 42.69

T5 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % Sulphur 11.8 5.4 43.39

T6 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % each of CaNO3, MgNO3 and Sulphur

14.2 6.2 44.14

T7 : RDF + Foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.2% 10.1 5.2 42.12

T8 : T6 + Foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.2% 14.7 6.4 44.82

SEm± 0.51 0.13 0.39

CD (P=0.05) 1.56 0.39 1.19

Effect of secondary nutrients and zinc on growth and yield of blackgram

180

Table 3. Seed yield (kg ha-1), haulm yield (kg ha-1) and harvest index (%) of blackgram as influenced bysecondary nutrients and zinc nutrition

Treatments Seed yield (kg ha-1)

Haulm yield (kg ha-1)

Harvest index (%)

T1 : Control 508 1210 28.70

T2 : Recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) 639 1336 32.22

T3 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % CaNO3 1019 1776 36.45

T4 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % MgNO3 1089 1798 37.70

T5 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % Sulphur 894 1492 37.44

T6 : RDF + Foliar application of 1 % each of CaNO3, MgNO3 and Sulphur

1187 1906 38.36

T7 : RDF + Foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.2% 782 1377 36.01

T8 : T6 + Foliar application of ZnSO4 @ 0.2% 1284 2025 38.76

SEm± 48 52 1.76

CD (P=0.05) 146 159 5.34

and wherever the ‘F’ value was found significant, criticaldifference was worked out and the values were furnished.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Growth parameters

The results of the investigation revealed that, thegrowth parameters (plant height, leaf area and dry matterproduction) of blackgram were significantly influencedby foliar application of secondary nutrients and zinc(Table 1.). The highest values of growth parameters wererecorded with T6 + foliar application ZnSO4 @ 0.2 percent (T8) treatment, however it was comparable with RDF+ foliar application of one per cent each of CaNO3,MgNO3 and sulphur (T6) treatment.The treatment control(T1) recorded significantly lowest values of plant heightand dry matter production over the rest of the treatmentstried during the experimentation.

With regard to individual foliar sprays of secondarynutrients and zinc, RDF + foliar application of one percent MgNO3 (T4) treatment recorded higher growthparameters and was at par with RDF + foliar applicationof one per cent CaNO3 (T3) treatment. While, RDF + foliarapplication of one per cent sulphur (T5) was comparablewith RDF + foliar application ZnSO4 @ 0.2 per cent (T7)

treatment which in turn was on par with RDF (T2) for allthe growth parameters recorded.

The combined spray of nutrients i.e. T6 + foliarapplication of ZnSO4 @ 0.2 per cent (T8) treatmentrecorded highest growth parameters and this might bedue to the balanced supply of the nutrients whichpromoted the plant growth processes. In addition tosecondary nutrients zinc might have played an importantrole in the production of IAA and there by increased thegrowth characters. The increments in the growth traitsthrough magnesium foliar application might be due to itsrole in the synthesis of metabolic products and activationof many enzymes which in turn affect the plant growth.Similar results of increase in the growth parameters withfoliar application of magnesium and calcium were reportedby Rady and Osman (2010) and Deotale et al. (2015).

Yield attributes and yield

Yield attributes (number of pods plant-1, seeds pod-1

and 1000 seed weight) and yield were highest with theapplication of T6 + foliar application ZnSO4 @ 0.2 percent (T8) treatment which was at par with RDF + foliarapplication of one per cent each of CaNO3, MgNO3 andsulphur (T6) (Table 2 and 3). Regarding harvest index all

Jeevana et al.,

181

the foliar spray treatments except control (T1) and RDF(T2) were on par with each other.

Among the individual foliar sprays of secondarynutrients and zinc, RDF + foliar application of one percent MgNO3 (T4) treatment achieved higher values ofyield attributes and yield which was comparable with +foliar application of one per cent CaNO3 (T3) treatmentHowever, 1000-seed weight was higher with RDF + foliarapplication of one per cent sulphur (T5) treatment. RDF+ foliar application ZnSO4 @ 0.2 per cent (T7) treatmentrecorded non significant increase over RDF (T2) withregard to all the yield attributes and yield.

Higher yield attributes and yield were noticed withthe combined foliar spray of secondary nutrients and zincwhich might be attributed due to added advantage of zincto secondary nutrients leading to optimum availability ofnutrients for luxurious crop growth and efficientpartitioning of assimilates from source to sink (Prasannaet al., 2013). Choudhary et al. (2014) found higher seedyield with foliar spray of S and Zn, while Veerabhadrappaand Yeledhalli (2005) with Ca and S. Among theindividual secondary nutrient foliar sprays, MgNO3 foliarspray found to be promising in obtaining the highernumber of pods plant-1 which correlates strongest to theyield and this might be due to enhanced chlorophyllconcentration and photosynthetic rate supplyingassimilates to developing pods (Neuhaus et al., 2014).Foliar application of sulphur had profound influence onthe 1000 seed weight as sulphur being a part of aminoacids it might have activated the enzymes and seedformation. These results were also supported by Sarkarand Pal (2006) and Gokila et al. (2015).

LITERATURE CITED

Choudhary, P., Jhajharia, A and Kumar, R. 2014. Influenceof sulphur and zinc fertilization on yield, yieldcomponents and quality traits of soybean (Glycinemax L.). The Bioscan. 9 (1): 137-142.

Deotale, R. D., Mahale, S. A., Patil, S. R., Sahane, A. Nand Sawant, P. P. 2015. Effect of foliar sprays ofnitrate salts on morpho-physiological traits and yieldof greengram. Journal of Soils and Crops. 25 (2):392-392.

Gokila, B., Baskar, K and Saravanapandian, P. 2015.Effect of sulphur supplementation on growth andyield of blackgram in typic Rhodustalf. InternationalJournal of Farm Sciences. 5 (4): 56-62.

Indiastat, 2015. https://www.indiastat.com/

Neuhaus, C., Geilfus, C. M and Mühling, K. H. 2014.Increasing root and leaf growth and yield in Mg-deficient faba beans (Vicia faba) by MgSO4 foliarfertilization. Journal of Plant Nutrition and SoilScience. 177 (5): 741-747.

Prasanna, K. L., Naidu, S. M. M., Sumathi, V andNagamani, C. 2013. Effect of nitrogen and zinc ongrowth, yield and economics of clusterbean[Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub]. The AndhraAgricultural Journal. 60 (2): 260-263.

Rady, M. M and Osman, A. Sh. 2010. Possibility ofovercoming the adverse conditions for growth ofbean plants in sandy calcareous soil by using bio-phosphorus fertilizer and magnesium foliarapplications. Egyptian Journal of Horticulture. 37(1): 85-101.

Sarkar, R. K and Pal, P. K. 2006. Effect of pre-sowingseed treatment and foliar spray of nitrate salts ongrowth and yield of greengram. Indian Journal ofAgricultural Sciences. 76 (1): 62-65.

Veerabhadrappa, B. H and Yeledhalli, N. A. 2005. Effectof soil and foliar application of nutrients on growthand yield of groundnut. Karnataka Journal ofAgricultural Sciences. 18 (3):814-816.

Effect of secondary nutrients and zinc on growth and yield of blackgram

182

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 182-185, 2017

BIOLOGY OF Cryptolaemus montrouzieri MULSANT ON PAPAYA MEALYBUG,Paracoccus marginatus WILLIAMS AND GRANARA DE WILLINK

A. MANEESHA*, S.R. KOTESWARA RAO, T. MURALI KRISHNA AND P. SUDHAKAR

Department of Entomology, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A lab experiment was conducted during 2017 at Insectary, Department of Entomology, S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupatito study the biology of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri on different life stages of papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus. Theresults revealed that the developmental period of C. montrouzieri was significantly maximum (40.80 days) when reared onovisacs of papaya mealybug followed by on 1st instar nymph (36.20 days), 2nd instar nymph (33.80) and was minimum when fedon 3rd instar nymphs (28.20 days) of papaya mealybug.

KEYWORDS: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, Paracoccus marginatus, total developmental period.

Date of Receipt: 06-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 09-08-2017

*Corresponding author, E-mail: addankimaneesha@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Papaya is infested by several insect pests of whichmealybug cause major losses to the yield. The papayamealybug Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granarade Willink 1992 (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is anotorious pest of papaya. It is a highly polyphagous pestof 133 plant species belonging to 48 families (Sakthivelet al., 2012).

In India, occurrence of the pest had been reportedfirst from Coimbatore area of Tamil Nadu in 2008 onpapaya (Muniappan et al., 2008) and later in Kerala(Krishnakumar and Rajan, 2009; Lyla and Philip,2010),Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,Tripura andOdisha. Papaya mealybug infestation causes clusters ofcotton – like masses of the insect on the abovegroundportion of plants. The mealybug sucks plant sap byinserting its stylets into the epidermis of the leaf, stemand fruit. While, feeding on the plant fluid, it injects itstoxic saliva into the host which ultimately leads to thedeath of the plant.

The mealybug is called as “hard to kill pest of fruitcrops” (Lower, 1968). However, there are several reasonswhich may account for this fact. So far, various pesticideshave been attempted for the management of mealybugeither singly or in combinations but did not give desiredcontrol of the pest. The reason is that only those shelteringin the crevices of the bark escape and re-establish theirpopulation quickly (Manjunath, 1985). The most

important factors are their habitat and the waxy coatingpresent on the body. The waxy coating present on theirbody limits the efficiency of insecticides. This conditionlimits the use of insecticides for management ofmealybug. The effective and safer method to manage thispest is said to be the biological control (Rao and David,1958).

Among the predators of mealybugs, the Australianlady beetle, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant(Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has been reported to be ageneral predator of mealybugs at all stages of itsdevelopment. Both the stages of the predator i.e., gruband adult are voracious feeder on all the stages ofmealybug. It is commonly referred as mealybug destroyer.It has been employed as the possible solution forcombating the menace of the pest around the world.

The biological suppression of mealybugs throughthis potent predator in India was well documented (Raoet al., 1971; Babu and Azam, 1989). In other countries,C. montrouzieri had proved effective as it is evident fromthe study of Smith and Armitage (1920) who wassucceeded in keeping the destructive mealybugs inCalifornia by large scale multiplication of beetles. Thepredator has played a major role in the control of differentsucking pests especially mealybugs (Mani andKrishnamoorthy, 2008; Shylaja et al. 2011). Keeping thisin view, biology of C. montrouzieri on different life stagesof P. marginatus was studied under laboratory.

183

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Multiplication of prey

The papaya mealybug (PMB), Paracoccusmarginatus was used as prey throughout the study period.Mass multiplication of papaya mealybug, Paracoccusmarginatus was done on potato sprouts under laboratoryconditions at 25 ± 2 0C and 75 ± 2 per cent RH.

Potatoes were used as an alternate food source forrearing of mealybugs (Serrano and Laponite, 2002). Seedpotatoes with eyes were brought from local market, washedand disinfected in 5 per cent sodium hypochlorite solution.After cleaning, the potatoes were treated with gibberellicacid 100 ppm solution for half an hour and placed underdark condition in wet gunny bags for four to five days toinduce sprouting. Later, these sprouted potatoes weretransferred to rearing cages for inoculation of mealybug.P. marginatus colonies were collected from the infestedpapaya plants from surroundings of Tirupati. The colonieswere transferred on to the sprouted potatoes using camelhair brush or entire infested leaves were placed over thesprouted potatoes for two to three days. The sproutedpotatoes became fully infested within 20-30 days.

Multiplication of predator

Initial culture of C. montrouzieri was obtained fromNational Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM),Hyderabad and reared in laboratory on mealybug, P.marginatus. Freshly emerged adults of C. montrouzieriwere released and maintained on the sprouted potatoesinfested with P. marginatus in the same rearing cages.Freshly laid eggs and grubs were gently removed withthe help of camel hair brush and used for further studiesand multiplication.

Biology including egg period, duration of differentinstars, total grub period, pre- pupal and pupal period,total developmental period was studied in CompletelyRandomized Design with four treatments and replicatedfive times.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In the present findings, it was observed that the meanincubation period, duration of I, II, III and IV instars,total grub period, pre-pupal period, pupal period and totaldevelopmental period of C. montrouzieri when fed onovisacs of P. marginatus was 6.20 ± 0.20, 4.40 ± 0.51,5.40 ± 0.24, 6.60 ± 0.40, 7.60 ± 0.24, 24.00 ± 0.70, 2.20

± 0.20, 8.40 ± 0.24 and 40.80 ± 0.86 days, respectively.The mean incubation period, duration of I, II, III and IVinstars, total grub period, pre-pupal period, pupal periodand total developmental period of C. montrouzieri whenfed on I instar nymphs of P. marginatus was 5.20 ± 0.20,3.60 ± 0.24, 4.80 ± 0.20, 5.40 ± 0.24, 6.40 ± 0.40, 20.20± 0.73, 2.60 ± 0.24, 8.20 ± 0.37 and 36.20 ± 1.24 days(Table 1), respectively. The mean incubation period,duration of I, II, III and IV instars, total grub period, pre-pupal period, pupal period and total developmental periodof C. montrouzieri when fed on II instar nymphs ofP. marginatus was 4.80 ± 0.37, 3.20 ± 0.20, 3.80 ± 0.20,5.60 ± 0.24, 5.80 ± 0.20, 18.40 ± 0.51, 2.80 ± 0.20, 7.80± 0.37 and 33.80 ± 0.51 days (Table 1), respectively. Themean incubation period, duration of I, II, III and IV instars,total grub period, pre-pupal period, pupal period and totaldevelopmental period of C. montrouzieri when fed on IIIinstar nymphs of P. marginatus was 2.80 ± 0.37, 3.60 ± 0.24,3.40 ± 0.24, 4.40 ± 0.24, 4.20 ± 0.20, 14.80 ± 0.86, 2.40 ±0.24, 7.40 ± 0.24 and 28.20 ± 0.86 days (Table 1), respectively.

In the present investigation, minimum totaldevelopmental period of C. montrouzieri was observedwhen fed on III instar nymphs of P. marginatus while,the maximum total developmental period was on ovisacsof papaya mealybug (Table .1).

The results of the present study are in closeagreement with Gore et al. (2013) who reported that asignificantly minimum duration to the extent of 17.82days was required by Cryptolaemus montrouzieri tocomplete the entire grub period when fed on second instarnymphs of Phenacoccus solenopsis, while, maximum wason when fed with eggs of P. solenopsis. Also, Deokar etal. (2013) reported that the maximum total developmentalperiod of C. montrouzieri was 51.6 days on eggs ofMaconellicoccus hirsustus. While, it was found to be41.18 and 38.92 days when reared on I and II instarnymphs of M. hirsutus, respectively.

REFERNCES

Babu, T.R and Azam, K.M. 1989. Biological control ofgrape mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green).Indian Journal of Plant Protection. 17:123-126.

Deokar, M.D., Shetgar, S.S., Sonkamble, M.M and Gade,R.S. 2013. Biology and consumption capacity ofCryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant onMaconellicoccus hirsutus (Green). Journal ofEntomological Research. 37 (1): 61-66.

Biology of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri on papaya mealybug

184

Tabl

e 1.

Bio

logy

of C

. mon

trou

zier

i on

diff

eren

t life

-sta

ges

of P

. mar

gina

tus

Life

stag

es o

f P.

mar

gina

tus

Life

stag

es o

f C. M

ontr

ouzie

ri (M

ean

± S.

E.)

Incu

batio

n pe

riod

I i

nsta

r II

inst

ar

III i

nsta

r IV

inst

ar

Tot

al g

rub

peri

od

Pre-

pupa

Pu

pa

Tot

al

deve

lopm

enta

l pe

riod

Ovi

sac

6.20

± 0

.20

4.40

± 0

.51

5.40

± 0

.24

6.60

± 0

.40

7.60

± 0

.24

24.0

0 ±

0.70

2.

20 ±

0.2

0 8.

40 ±

0.2

4 40

.80

± 0.

86

I ins

tar n

ymph

s 5.

20 ±

0.2

0 3.

60 ±

0.2

4 4.

80 ±

0.2

05.

40 ±

0.2

46.

40 ±

0.4

0 20

.20

± 0.

73

2.60

± 0

.24

8.20

± 0

.37

36.2

0 ±

1.24

II in

star

Nym

phs

4.80

± 0

.37

3.20

± 0

.20

3.80

± 0

.20

5.60

± 0

.24

5.80

± 0

.20

18.4

0 ±

0.51

2.

80 ±

0.2

0 7.

80 ±

0.3

7 33

.80

± 0.

51

III i

nsta

r nym

ps

3.60

± 0

.40

2.80

± 0

.37

3.40

± 0

.24

4.40

± 0

.24

4.20

± 0

.20

14.8

0 ±

0.86

2.

40 ±

0.2

4 7.

40 ±

0.2

4 28

.20

± 0.

86

Maneesha et al.,

185

Gore, A.B., Shetgar, S.S and Deokar, M.D. 2013.Predatory potential of Cryptolaemus montrouzieriMulsant on Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley. IndianJournal of Entomology. 75(4): 282-284.

Krishnakumar, R and Rajan, V.P. 2009. Record of papayamealybug, Paracoccus marginatus infestingmulberry in Kerala. Insect Environment. 15(3): 142.

Lower, H.F. 1968. Hard to kill pests of fruit trees. Journalof Agriculture South Australia. 72: 75-77.

Lyla, K.R and Philip, B.M. 2010. Incidence of papayamealybug, Paracoccus marginatus Williams andGranara de Willink (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) inKerala. Insect Environment. 15(4): 156.

Mani, M and Krishnamoorthy, A. 2008. Biologicalsuppression of the mealybugs Planococcus citri(Risso), Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell) andNipaecoccus viridis (Newstead) on pummelo withCryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant in India.Journal of Biological Control. 22: 169-172.

Manjunath, T.M. 1985. India- Maconellicoccus hirsutuson grapevine. FAO-Plant-Protection Bulletin. 33(2):74.

Muniappan, R., Shepard, B.M., Watson, G.W., Carner,G.R., Sartiami, D., Rauf, A and Hammig, M.D. 2008.First report of the papaya mealybug, Paracoccusmarginatus, in Indonesia and India. Journal ofAgricultural and Urban Entomology. 25(1): 37–40.

Rao, T.V and David, L.A. 1958. The biological controlof coccid pest in South India by the use of the beetleCryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant. Indian Journalof Agricultural Sciences. 28: 545-552.

Rao, T.V., Gahani, M.A., Sankaran, T and Mathur, K.C.1971. A review of biological control of insects andother pests in South East Asia and Pacific Region.Technical Communication, Commonwealth Instituteof Biological Control. 6: 142.

Sakthivel, P., Karuppuchamy, P., Kalyanasundaram, Mand Srinivasan, T. 2012. Host plants of invasivepapaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus (Williamsand Granara de Willink) in Tamil Nadu. MadrasAgricultural Journal. 99(7-9): 615-619.

Serrano, M.S and Laponite, S.L. 2002. Evaluation of hostplants and a meridic diet for rearing Maconellicoccushirsutus (Hemiptera: Psuedococcidae) and itsparasitoid Anagyrus kamali (Hymenoptera:Encyrtidae). Florida Entomologist. 85: 417-425.

Shylaja, A.N., Rabindra R.J and Bhumannavar, B.S. 2011.The papaya mealybug Paracoccus marginatus(Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Proceedings of theNational consultation meeting on strategies fordeployment and impact of the imported parasitoidsof papaya mealybug classical biological control ofpapaya mealybug Paracoccus marginatus in India.NBAII, Bangalore. pp: 1- 8.

Smith, H.S and Armitage, H.M. 1920. Biological controlof mealybugs in California. California StateDepartment of Agriculture Monthly Bulletin. 9: 104-158.

Biology of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri on papaya mealybug

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Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 186-189, 2017

PRODUCTIVITY AND ECONOMICS OF SUMMER GREENGRAM [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]AS INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT ORGANIC MANURE AND ORGANIC SPRAYS

K. BHARGAVI*, V. SUMATHI, G. KRISHNA REDDY AND V. UMAMAHESH

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during summer, 2017 at agricultural college farm, Tirupati to study the effect of organicmanures and organic sprays on the productivity and economics of summer greengram. The results revealed that poultry manurerecorded highest seed and haulm yield of summer greengram. compared to remaining treatments. Among the organic sprayspanchagavya spray resulted higher seed and haulm yield of greengram. Higher gross and net returns and B:C ratio were realizedwith poultry manure and panchagavya spray compared to control.

KEYWORDS: Organic manure, economics, panchagavya, seed yield.

Date of Receipt: 06-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 06-09-2017

India grows nearly 23.55 m hectares of pulses withan annual production of 17.15 m tones and an averageproductivity of 728 kg ha-1. In Andhra Pradesh, it iscultivated in 1.04 m hectares with a production of 0.95 mtonnes and with a productivity of 911 kg ha-1 (Indiastat,2015). Every 100 g of edible portion of greengram seedcontains 75 mg calcium, 4.5 mg phosphorus, 24.5 gprotein and 348 kilo calories of energy. Thus, increase inproduction of this crop can meet the expectations of thefood policy makers and nutrition planners (Kramany etal., 2001).

In general both under rainfed and irrigatedconditions, crops are grown during kharif to utilize therainfall and in rabi to use residual moisture, leavingsummer fallow, where the fields would remain fallow for3 to 4 months from February to April. Looking into thelurking opportunity, summer greengram can be introducedinto the cropping system to meet the demand of pulses.

Summer greengram can be introduced into thecropping system as it takes only 60 to 65 days to maturity,so the extra short duration varieties fit in very well withinthe available sowing window. It is grown solely on theavailable residual moisture and with the involvement ofleast farm inputs. Summer greengram has fast growinghabit without much agronomic care and management,weed problems are also well taken care of, mainly onaccount of its smothering growth habit and groundcovering ability well within two to three weeks from thetime of sowing.

Heavy use of chemicals in agriculture has weakenedthe ecological base in addition to degrading the soil, waterresources and quality of the food. At this juncture, a keenawareness has sprung on the adoption of ‘OrganicFarming’ as a remedy to cure the ills of modern chemicalagriculture. Organic farming is gaining importance inrecent years as it sustains crop production as well asenvironment.

Greengram is highly responsive to nutrients. Nutrientapplication is essentially required to improve growth andyield of greengram. FYM, vermicompost and poultrymanure not only increase organic carbon status of thesoils but also increase the soil water holding capacity,flocculation of soil and availability of all micro and macronutrients, thus improve the soil and crop production. Italso enhances the activity of microorganism in soils whichfurther enhance solubility of nutrients and theirconsequent availability (Chhonkar, 2002). Panchayagavyaand jeevamrutha which are organic, has a potential toplay the role in promoting growth and providing immunityin plant system. The use of panchagavya and jeevamruthanot only provides the nutrients but also hydrates the leafcells, improves the chlorophyll content thus increase thephotosynthetic activity. As they contain nutrients, growthpromoting hormones and naturally occuring, beneficial,effective micro-organisms predominantly, lactic acidbacteria, yeast, actinomycetes, photosynthetic bacteriaand certain fungi besides beneficial and proven fertilizerssuch as Azotobacter, Azospirillum and phospho bacterium

*Corresponding author, E-mail: bhargavireddykoturi@gmail.com

187

Table 1. Seed yield and haulm yield (kg ha-1) of greengram as influenced by different organic manures andorganic sprays

Treatments Seed yield Haulm yield

Organic manures

M1 444 1023

M2 642 1635

M3 670 1816

M4 726 1852

SEm± 8.9 27.5

CD (P=0.05) 31 95

Organic sprays

S1 529 1482

S2 672 1642

S3 660 1620

SEm± 5.6 17.4

CD (P=0.05) 17 52

Interaction

S at M

SEm± 15.5 47.6

CD (P=0.05) N.S N.S

M at S

SEm± 12.9 39.6

CD (P=0.05) N.S N.S

which have the beneficial effect especially in improvingsoil health, growth and yield of crops.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted during summerseason of 2017 at S.V.Agricultural College Farm, Tirupati.The experimental soil was sandy loam in texture, neutralin reaction (pH 6.8), low in organic carbon (0.38 per cent)and available nitrogen (150 kg ha-1), medium in availablephosphorus (12 kg ha-1) and high in available potassium(161 kg ha-1).

The experiment was laid out in split plot design withthree replications. The main plot consisted of fourtreatments of organic manures viz., Control (M1), Farmyard manure (M2), Vermicompost (M3) and Poultrymanure (M4) and sub plots consisted three treatments oforganic sprays viz., Control (S1), Panchagavya (S2) andJeevamrutha (S3).

The scheduled organic manures were thoroughlyincorporated in to the soil 15 days prior to sowing of crop.Panchagavya is prepared one month before applicationand jeevamrutha is prepared 2-5 days before application

Effect of organic manures and sprays on summer greengram producivity

188

Table 2. Gross returns, net returns (ha-1) and B:C ratio of greengram as influenced by different organicmanures and organic sprays

Treatments Gross returns Net returns B : C ratio

Organic manures

M1 27,683 12,440 1.79

M2 40,343 19,989 1.99

M3 42,016 10,824 1.30

M4 45,429 27,936 2.56

SEm± 577.7 411.4 0.044

CD (P=0.05) 1,994 1420 0.15

Organic sprays

S1 33,235 14,173 1.80

S2 41,962 19,831 1.99

S3 41,406 19,389 1.94

SEm± 353.7 302.7 0.031

CD (P=0.05) 1,060 907 0.09

Interaction

S at M

SEm± 1000.7 712.7 0.077

CD (P=0.05) 2,281 1,927 0.20

M at S

SEm± 817.0 643.2 0.068

CD (P=0.05) 2,634 2,047 0.21

and sprayed 10 days after sowing to 10 days beforeharvest.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The higher seed yield (726 kg ha-1) was recordedwith the poultry manure, which was higher than remainingtreatments (Table 1) The next best treatment wasvermicompost which was however comparable with farmyard manure but significantly higher than the controland regarding the haulm yield highest was produced withpoultry manure which was however, comparable withvermicompost. The next best treatment was farm yard

manure. The lowest haulm yield was recorded withcontrol. Higher seed yield and haulm yield might beaccounted to the increased supply of almost all plantessential nutrients by translocation of photosynthatesaccumulated under the influence of the source of organicnutrients. Further, the translocation and accumulation ofphotosynthates in the economic sinks thus increased yieldattributes, chlorophyll content and nitrate reductaseactivity resulted in increased grain yield. The same wasobvious through the findings of Yadav et al. (2007), Raoet al. (2013) and Singh et al. (2015)

Bhargavi et al.,

189

As regards the organic sprays, highest seed andhaulm yield was recorded with panchagavya, which wasat par with jeevamrutha with no significant differencebetween them, lowest seed and haulm yield was recordedwith control. Higher seed yield and haulm yield might bedue to IAA and GA present in panchagavya when foliarsprays were done could have created stimuli in the plantsystem which in turn increased the production of growthregulators in cell system and the action of growthregulators in plant system stimulated the necessary growthand development coupled with better translocation andaccumulation of photosynthates from source to sinkincreased the grain yield. Similar results were obtainedby Somasundaram et al. (2007), Swaminathan et al.(2007), Chaudhari et al. (2013) and Yadav and Tripathi(2013).

The higher gross returns were obtained with thepoultry manure tried, which was superior to all othertreatments. The next best treatment was vermicompost,which was however comparable with farm yard manure.Control resulted in the lowest gross returns. Poultrymanure produced the highest net returns and B : C ratiowhich was significantly superior to all other treatments.This was followed by farm yard manure and the next besttreatment was control. The lowest net returns and B : Cratio was observed with vermicompost. Highest grossreturns might be because of better nutrition to the cropdue to steady application of organic sprays resulting inhigher grain and haulm yield. Similar findings werereported by Yadav and Tripathi (2013) and Rao et al.(2013).

With regard to the organic sprays, the higher grossreturns, net returns and B:C ratio were recorded withpanchagavya, which was at par with jeevamruta. Lowestgross returns were obtained with control. Higher grossreturns might be because of better nutrition to the cropdue to steady application of organic (Table .2) spraysresulting in higher grain and haulm yield. Similar findingswere reported by Yadav and Tripathi (2013) and Rao etal. (2013).

Hence it can be concluded the higher productivityand economics of summer greengram can be realized withthe application of poultry manure and panchagavya ismore suitable for southern Agro-climatic zone of A.P.

LITERATURE CITED

Chaudhari, I.A., Patel, D.M., Patel, G.N and Patel, S.M.2013. Effect of various organic sources of nutrientson growth and yield of summer greengram [Vignaradiata (L.) Wilczek]. Crop Research. 46 (1- 3): 70-73.

Chhonkar, P.K. 2002. Soil research in India – someoversights and failures. Journal of Indian Society ofSoil Science. 50(4): 382-432.

Indiastat, 2015.http:// www.indiastat.com

Kramany, E.L.M.F., Bahr, A.A and Gomaa, A.M. 2001.Response of a local and some exotic mungbeanvarieties. Acta Agronomica Hungrica. 49(3): 257-259.

Singh, R.V., Tripathi, S.K and Singh, R.P. 2015. Effectof integrated nutrient management on productivity,nutrient uptake and economics of greengram (Vignaradiata L.) in custard apple-based agri-horti systemunder rainfed condition. Current Advances inAgricultural Sciences. 7(1): 76-78.

Somasundaram, E., Sankaran, N., Meena, S.,Thiyagarajan, T.M., Chandaragiri, K andPanneerselvam, S. 2007. Response of greengram tovaried levels of Panchagavya (organic nutrition)foliar spray. Madras Agricultural Journal. 90(1-30):169-172.

Swaminathan, C., Swaminathan, V and Vijayalakshmi,V. 2007. Panchagavya Boon to Organic Farming.International Book Distributing Co., India.

Rao, K.T., Rao, A.U and Reddy, D.S. 2013. Residualeffect of organic manures on growth, yield andeconomics of greengram in maize-sunflower-greengram system. International Journal ofAgricultural Sciences. 9(1): 275-279.

Yadav, A.K., Varghese, K and Abraham, T. 2007.Response of biofertilizer, poultry manure anddifferent levels of phosphorus on nodulation andyield of greengram (Vigna radiata L.) CV. K-851.Agricultural Science Digest. 27 (3): 213-215.

Yadav, P and Tripathi, A.K. 2013. Growth and yield ofgreengram (Vigna radiata) under foliar applicationof panchgavya and leaf extracts of endemic plants.Indian Journal of Agronomy. 58 (4): 618-621.

Effect of organic manures and sprays on summer greengram producivity

190

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 190-196, 2017

STUDY OF CORRELATION AND PATH ANALYSIS IN GROUNDNUTUNDER ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZER MANAGEMENTS

P. APARNA*, M. SHANTHI PRIYA, D. MOHAN REDDY AND P. LATHA

S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

Correlation and path co-efficient analysis were carried out for pod yield and its contributing characters in 168 germplasmlines and five checks of groundnut. Correlation studies indicated that pod yield per plant was significantly and positively associ-ated with harvest index, 100 seed weight, kernel yield per plant, number of mature pods per plant, total number of pods per plant,shelling percentage and number of pegs per plant. Path analysis revealed that kernel yield per plant under organic managementand kernel yield per plant and total number of pods per plant under inorganic fertilizer management recorded high positive directeffect on pod yield per plant. Hence, it would be rewarding to give due importance on the selection of these traits for rapidimprovement in pod yield of groundnut.

KEYWORDS: Correlation, path analysis, groundnut.

Date of Receipt: 07-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 29-09-2017

*Corresponding author, E-mail: aparna910papana@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) (2n = 40), highlyself-pollinated legume crop grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, is a good source of oil andprotein. It is a segmental allotetraploid, belongs to familyFabaceae and is the major oilseed crop in India and inAndhra Pradesh. Green revolution is one of the reasonfor increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticidesresulting in several harmful effects which affected theenvironment. Of late, organic farming is being advocated toovercome these harmful effects of inorganic management.But the major constraint for organic farming is the lackof suitable varieties specifically bred to get higherproductivity and better quality (Dawson et al., 2011).

In several cases varieties that perform well in organicsystems have different yield ranking under inorganicfertilizer management. Hence it would be a challenge forthe breeding sector to develop cultivars especially fororganic condition. In organic agriculture, the immediateneed is to make available greater quantity of organicallyproduced seed. Hence there is essential need to encouragebreeding programmes, designed in concert with organicmanagement.

Correlation in combination with path analysisprovides an opportunity to study the degree and directionof association of yield with its component characters.

Thus, it helps in establishing suitable selection criteriafor improving the yield in the target environments. Hencethe present study was carried out to obtain informationon the magnitude of relationship of individual yieldcomponents on yield, interrelationships amongthemselves and to measure their relative importance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The material for the present study comprised of 168germplasm lines and five checks of groundnut evaluatedin two separate field experiments (organic and inorganic)using Augumented design II, during kharif, 2016 atdryland farm of S.V. Agricultural college, Tirupathi.Under each management practice whole plot is dividedinto six blocks. In each block 28 germplasm lines alongwith five checks were sown. In each management practiceevery germplasm line was sown in single row of 2 mlength with a spacing of 30 cm between the rows and 10cm between the plants within the row. In organicmanagement practice, FYM @ 5 t ha-1 at the time of fieldpreparation was applied. Seed treatment was done withbeejamrutha before one day of sowing. Jeevamrutha wasapplied at 15 days interval and panchagavya was appliedon 25th and 35th day after sowing and also wheneverpest incidence occurred.

In inorganic fertilizer management practice,recommended dose of chemical fertilizers @ 20 kg N,

191

40 kg P2O5 and 40 kg K2O per hectare in the form ofurea, single super phosphate and murate of potash werebroadcasted before sowing. Seed treatment was done withbavistin @ 3 g kg-1of seed For the control of insect pestschlorofenopyr @ 2 ml l-1 was used. Except disease andsuch as pest control measures, cultural practices such asweeding, gypsum (@ 500 kg ha-1) application andirrigation were followed in common for both managementpractices to maintain good crop growth.

Observations were recorded on five randomlyselected plants in each germplasm line for 14 traits viz.,days to 50 per cent flowering, days to maturity, plantheight (cm), number of primary branches per plant,number of pegs per plant, number of mature pods perplant, number of immature pods per plant, total numberof pods per plant, 100 seed weight (g), shelling percent(%), sound mature kernel percentage (%), harvest index(%), kernel yield per plant (g) and pod yield per plant(g). The simple correlation coefficients were calculatedusing the method given by Panse and Sukhatme (1985)and path coefficient analysis as suggested by Dewey andLu, (1959).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The analysis of variance in respect of 14 charactersrecorded significant differences among the entries for allthe characters under both organic and inorganic fertilizermanagements except for number of primary branches perplant, shelling percentage and harvest index which werenon-significant under organic fertilizer management andsignificant under inorganic fertilizer managementindicating the presence of considerable amounts of geneticvariation for different traits in the experimental material.The data on all the fourteen characters was subjected tostatistical analysis. Simple correlation coefficientsbetween pod yield and its components under both organicand inorganic fertilizer managements were presented inTable 1 and 2.

Under organic fertilizer management practice podyield per plant showed highly significant and positivecorrelation with kernel yield per plant (r = 0.963**)followed by number of mature pods per plant (r =0.832**), total number of pods per plant (r = 0.828**),harvest index (r = 0.604**), 100 seed weight (r =0.485**), days to maturity (r = 0.447**), number of pegsper plant (r = 0.464**), days to 50% flowering (r =0.276**) and shelling percentage (r = 0.340**). Theseresults indicate that increase in these traits leads toincrease in pod yield.

Under inorganic fertilizer management pod yield perplant exhibited highly significant and positive relationshipwith kernel yield per plant (r = 0.955**), total number ofpods per plant (r = 0.796**), number of mature pods perplant (r = 0.794**), harvest index (r = 0.692**), 100 seedweight (r = 0.545**), number of pegs per plant (r = 0.446**),shelling percentage (r = 0.277**), number of immaturepods per plant (r = 0.265**), plant height (r = 0.244**)and number of primary branches per plant (r= 0.162*)indicating that increase in these traits would result inincrease in the pod yield.

Results of significant and positive association of podyield per plant with harvest index, total number of podsper plant and 100 seed weight was reported by Maundeet al. (2015). Significant and positive correlation of podyield per plant with kernel yield per plant and number ofmature pods per plant was registered by Kumar et al.(2012) and Jain et al. (2016) and for number of primarybranches per plant by Vasanthi et al. (2015). The resultsof significant and positive association for number of pegsper plant, days to 50 per cent flowering and shellingpercentage were in accordance with the reports ofMahalakshmi et al. (2005), Satish (2014) and Shukla andRai (2014) respectively.

Path coefficient analysis of pod yield per plant asdependent variable and characters with significantassociation with pod yield as independent variables wasconducted for organic and inorganic fertilizermanagements and the results were furnished in Table 3and 4.

Under organic fertilizer management the trait kernelyield per plant (1.09086) exhibited very high positivedirect effect and shelling percentage recorded highnegative direct effect (-0.29621) on pod yield per plant.Similar high negative direct effect of shelling percentageon pod yield per plant was registered by Kumar et al.(2012) and Rao et al. (2014).

On the other hand 100 seed weight (0.02057),number of pegs per plant (0.00426), number of maturepods per plant (0.09194) exhibited negligible positivedirect effects on pod yield per plant. Days to 50 per centflowering (-0.00112), days to maturity (-0.02554), totalnumber of pods per plant (-0.03970) and harvest index(-0.00817) showed negligible negative direct effects onpod yield per plant. Negligible negative direct effect ofdays to 50 per cent flowering on pod yield per plant was

Correlation path analysis of organic and inorganic fertilizer manage in groundnut

192

Tabl

e 1.

Sim

ple

corr

elat

ion

coef

ficie

nts (

r) a

mon

g po

d yi

eld

per p

lant

and

its c

ompo

nent

s in

grou

ndnu

t und

er o

rgan

ic fe

rtili

zer m

anag

emen

t

Cha

ract

er

DF

DM

PH

N

PB

NPE

GP

NM

P N

IMP

NPP

10

0SW

SP

SM

K%

H

I K

YP

PYP

DF

1.00

0 0.

445*

* -0

.228

**

0.12

0 -0

.034

0.

205*

*0.

006

0.20

0**

0.33

0**

-0.0

39

-0.0

35

0.12

4 0.

239*

*0.

276*

*

DM

1.00

0 -0

.192

* 0.

068

0.02

3 0.

416*

*-0

.042

0.

392*

* 0.

377*

*0.

135

0.03

2 0.

342*

* 0.

445*

*0.

447*

*

PH

1.00

0 -0

.176

* 0.

244*

* -0

.027

0.

133

0.01

2 -0

.199

**0.

088

0.04

1 -0

.264

**0.

011

-0.0

03

NPB

1.00

0 0.

238*

* 0.

167*

0.

100

0.19

1*

0.04

8 0.

120

-0.0

20

-0.0

67

0.16

0*

0.14

0

NPE

GP

1.00

0 0.

572*

*0.

208*

*0.

614*

* -0

.019

0.

230*

* -0

.086

-0

.037

0.

459*

*0.

464*

*

NM

P

1.00

0 -0

.042

0.

960*

* 0.

262*

*0.

341*

* 0.

101

0.44

9**

0.81

2**

0.83

2**

NIM

P

1.

000

0.24

1**

-0.0

06

-0.1

15

-0.0

48

-0.0

20

0.04

4 0.

071

NPP

1.00

0 0.

252*

*0.

299*

* 0.

085

0.43

0**

0.80

1**

0.82

8**

100S

W

1.00

0 0.

331*

* 0.

365*

*0.

424*

* 0.

515*

*0.

485*

*

SP

1.

000

0.34

6**

0.23

7**

0.56

3**

0.34

0**

SMK

%

1.00

0 0.

230*

* 0.

180*

0.

108

HI

1.

000

0.60

4**

0.60

4**

KY

P

1.

000

0.96

3**

PYP

1.

000

* Si

gnifi

cant

at 5

% le

vel;

** S

igni

fican

t at 1

% le

vel;

NS

= N

on-s

igni

fican

t

DF:

Day

s to

50%

flow

erin

g; D

M: d

ays t

o m

atur

ity; P

H: P

lant

hei

ght (

cm);

NPB

: Num

ber o

f prim

ary

bran

ches

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PEG

P: N

umbe

r of p

egs p

er p

lant

(No)

;N

MP:

Num

ber o

f mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

IMP:

Num

ber o

f im

mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PP: T

otal

num

ber o

f pod

s per

pla

nt (N

o); 1

00SW

: 100

seed

wei

ght(g

); SP

: She

lling

per

cent

age(

%);

SMK

%: S

ound

mat

ure

kern

el p

erce

ntag

e(%

); H

I: H

arve

st in

dex

(%);

KY

P: K

erne

l yie

ld p

er p

lant

(g);

PYP:

Pod

yie

ldpe

r pla

nt (g

).

Aparna et al.,

193

Tabl

e 2. S

impl

e cor

rela

tion

coef

ficie

nts (

r) a

mon

g po

d yi

eld

per p

lant

and

its c

ompo

nent

s in

grou

ndnu

t und

er in

orga

nic f

ertil

izer

man

agem

ent

Cha

ract

er

DF

DM

PH

N

PB

NPE

GP

NM

P N

IMP

NPP

10

0SW

SP

SM

K%

H

I K

YP

PYP

DF

1.00

0 0.

445*

* -0

.228

**

0.12

0 -0

.034

0.

205*

*0.

006

0.20

0**

0.33

0**

-0.0

39

-0.0

35

0.12

4 0.

239*

*0.

276*

*

DM

1.00

0 -0

.192

* 0.

068

0.02

3 0.

416*

*-0

.042

0.

392*

* 0.

377*

*0.

135

0.03

2 0.

342*

* 0.

445*

*0.

447*

*

PH

1.00

0 -0

.176

* 0.

244*

* -0

.027

0.

133

0.01

2 -0

.199

**0.

088

0.04

1 -0

.264

**0.

011

-0.0

03

NPB

1.00

0 0.

238*

* 0.

167*

0.

100

0.19

1*

0.04

8 0.

120

-0.0

20

-0.0

67

0.16

0*

0.14

0

NPE

GP

1.00

0 0.

572*

*0.

208*

*0.

614*

* -0

.019

0.

230*

* -0

.086

-0

.037

0.

459*

*0.

464*

*

NM

P

1.00

0 -0

.042

0.

960*

* 0.

262*

*0.

341*

* 0.

101

0.44

9**

0.81

2**

0.83

2**

NIM

P

1.

000

0.24

1**

-0.0

06

-0.1

15

-0.0

48

-0.0

20

0.04

4 0.

071

NPP

1.00

0 0.

252*

*0.

299*

* 0.

085

0.43

0**

0.80

1**

0.82

8**

100S

W

1.00

0 0.

331*

* 0.

365*

*0.

424*

* 0.

515*

*0.

485*

*

SP

1.

000

0.34

6**

0.23

7**

0.56

3**

0.34

0**

SMK

%

1.00

0 0.

230*

* 0.

180*

0.

108

HI

1.

000

0.60

4**

0.60

4**

KY

P

1.

000

0.96

3**

PYP

1.

000

* Si

gnifi

cant

at 5

% le

vel;

** S

igni

fican

t at 1

% le

vel;

NS

= N

on-s

igni

fican

t

DF:

Day

s to

50%

flow

erin

g; D

M: d

ays t

o m

atur

ity; P

H: P

lant

hei

ght (

cm);

NPB

: Num

ber o

f prim

ary

bran

ches

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PEG

P: N

umbe

r of p

egs p

er p

lant

(No)

;N

MP:

Num

ber o

f mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

IMP:

Num

ber o

f im

mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PP: T

otal

num

ber o

f pod

s per

pla

nt (N

o); 1

00SW

: 100

seed

wei

ght(g

); SP

: She

lling

per

cent

age(

%);

SMK

%: S

ound

mat

ure

kern

el p

erce

ntag

e(%

); H

I: H

arve

st in

dex

(%);

KY

P: K

erne

l yie

ld p

er p

lant

(g);

PYP:

Pod

yie

ldpe

r pla

nt (g

).

Correlation path analysis of organic and inorganic fertilizer manage in groundnut

194

Tabl

e 3.

Pat

h co

effic

ient

ana

lysi

s for

pod

yie

ld p

er p

lant

and

its c

ompo

nent

s in

grou

ndnu

t und

er o

rgan

ic fe

rtili

zer

man

agem

ent

DF:

Day

s to

50%

flow

erin

g; D

M: d

ays t

o m

atur

ity; P

H: P

lant

hei

ght (

cm);

NPB

: Num

ber o

f prim

ary

bran

ches

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PEG

P: N

umbe

r of p

egs p

er p

lant

(No)

;N

MP:

Num

ber o

f mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

IMP:

Num

ber o

f im

mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PP: T

otal

num

ber o

f pod

s per

pla

nt (N

o); 1

00SW

: 100

seed

wei

ght(g

); SP

: She

lling

per

cent

age(

%);

SMK

%: S

ound

mat

ure

kern

el p

erce

ntag

e(%

); H

I: H

arve

st in

dex

(%);

KY

P: K

erne

l yie

ld p

er p

lant

(g);

PYP:

Pod

yie

ldpe

r pla

nt (g

).

Cha

ract

er

DF

DM

N

PEG

P N

MP

NPP

10

0SW

SP

H

I K

YP

r PY

P

DF

-0.0

0112

-0

.011

37

-0.0

0014

0.

0188

1 -0

.007

96

0.00

679

0.01

147

-0.0

0102

0.

2602

4 0.

276*

*

DM

-0

.000

50

-0.0

2554

0.

0001

0 0.

0382

3 -0

.015

56

0.00

776

-0.0

4008

-0

.002

80

0.48

508

0.44

7**

NPE

GP

0.00

004

-0.0

0060

0.

0042

6 0.

0526

1 -0

.024

39

-0.0

0039

-0

.068

00

0.00

030

0.50

022

0.46

4**

NM

P -0

.000

23

-0.0

1062

0.

0024

4 0.

0919

4 -0

.038

10

0.00

539

-0.1

0113

-0

.003

67

0.88

593

0.83

2**

NPP

-0

.000

22

-0.0

1001

0.

0026

2 0.

0882

2 -0

.039

70

0.00

519

-0.0

8867

-0

.003

52

0.87

408

0.82

8**

100S

W

-0.0

0037

-0

.009

64

-0.0

0008

0.

0240

7 -0

.010

02

0.02

057

-0.0

9802

-0

.003

47

0.56

224

0.48

5**

SP

0.00

004

-0.0

0346

0.

0009

8 0.

0313

9 -0

.011

88

0.00

681

-0.2

9621

-0

.001

94

0.61

418

0.34

0**

HI

-0.0

0014

-0

.008

75

-0.0

0016

0.

0412

5 -0

.017

08

0.00

872

-0.0

7017

-0

.008

17

0.65

892

0.60

4**

KY

P -0

.000

27

-0.0

1136

0.

0019

5 0.

0746

7 -0

.031

81

0.01

060

-0.1

6677

-0

.004

94

1.09

086

0.96

3**

Res

idua

l Eff

ect :

0.0

113

Bol

d: D

irect

eff

ects

; Nor

mal

: Ind

irect

effe

cts.

* Si

gnifi

cant

at 5

% le

vel;

** S

igni

fican

t at 1

% le

vel;

NS

= N

on-s

igni

fican

t

Aparna et al.,

195

DF:

Day

s to

50%

flow

erin

g; D

M: d

ays t

o m

atur

ity; P

H: P

lant

hei

ght (

cm);

NPB

: Num

ber o

f prim

ary

bran

ches

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PEG

P: N

umbe

r of p

egs p

er p

lant

(No)

;N

MP:

Num

ber o

f mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

IMP:

Num

ber o

f im

mat

ure

pods

per

pla

nt (N

o); N

PP: T

otal

num

ber o

f pod

s per

pla

nt (N

o); 1

00SW

: 100

seed

wei

ght(g

); SP

: She

lling

per

cent

age(

%);

SMK

%: S

ound

mat

ure

kern

el p

erce

ntag

e(%

); H

I: H

arve

st in

dex

(%);

KY

P: K

erne

l yie

ld p

er p

lant

(g);

PYP:

Pod

yie

ldpe

r pla

nt (g

).

Res

idua

l Eff

ect :

0.0

128

Bol

d: D

irect

eff

ects

; Nor

mal

: Ind

irect

effe

cts.

* Si

gnifi

cant

at 5

% le

vel;

** S

igni

fican

t at 1

% le

vel;

NS

= N

on-s

igni

fican

t

Tabl

e 4.

Pat

h co

effic

ient

ana

lysi

s for

pod

yie

ld p

er p

lant

and

its c

ompo

nent

s in

grou

ndnu

t und

er in

orga

nic

man

agem

ent

Cha

ract

er

DF

DM

PH

N

PB

NPE

GP

NM

P N

IMP

NPP

10

0SW

SP

H

I K

YP

r PY

P

DF

-0.0

0233

0.

0082

3 -0

.005

97

0.00

310

0.00

000

0.40

774

-0.0

7546

-0

.328

07

0.00

013

0.11

968

-0.0

1419

-0

.282

44

-0.1

70*

DM

-0

.000

98

0.01

960

-0.0

0668

0.

0027

3 0.

0000

0 0.

4020

0 -0

.068

85

-0.3

2945

0.

0002

4 0.

1109

2 -0

.014

05

-0.3

0048

-0

.185

*

PH

0.00

058

-0.0

0547

0.

0239

2 -0

.003

10

0.00

000

-0.2

7219

0.

0939

7 0.

1720

5 -0

.000

37

-0.0

0667

0.00

398

0.23

743

0.24

4**

NPB

-0

.000

72

0.00

530

-0.0

0735

0.

0101

0 -0

.000

01

-0.1

5920

-0

.140

80

0.31

142

-0.0

0010

0.

0389

9 -0

.009

63

0.11

418

0.16

2*

NPE

GP

0.00

023

-0.0

0204

0.

0016

1 0.

0031

9 -0

.000

04

-0.9

1565

-0

.137

53

1.06

727

-0.0

0007

-0

.059

520.

0027

2 0.

4855

3 0.

446**

NM

P 0.

0006

8 -0

.005

59

0.00

462

0.00

114

-0.0

0003

-1

.408

93

-0.0

7630

1.

4965

2 -0

.000

46

-0.1

3076

0.02

908

0.88

395

0.79

4**

NIM

P -0

.000

42

0.00

325

-0.0

0542

0.

0034

3 -0

.000

01

-0.2

5920

-0

.414

73

0.70

678

-0.0

0012

0.

0197

9 0.

0070

0 0.

2042

1 0.

265**

NPP

0.

0004

9 -0

.004

14

0.00

264

0.00

202

-0.0

0003

-1

.351

97

-0.1

8795

1.

5595

7 -0

.000

45

-0.1

1292

0.02

838

0.86

013

0.79

6**

100S

W

0.00

016

-0.0

0237

0.

0044

0 0.

0005

0 0.

0000

0 -0

.322

76

-0.0

2561

0.

3516

0 -0

.001

99

-0.1

0219

0.01

791

0.62

541

0.54

5**

SP

0.00

093

-0.0

0722

0.

0005

3 -0

.001

31

-0.0

0001

-0

.611

88

0.02

726

0.58

491

-0.0

0068

-0

.301

080.

0187

3 0.

5664

8 0.

277**

HI

0.00

068

-0.0

0566

0.

0019

6 -0

.002

00

0.00

000

-0.8

4227

-0

.059

70

0.90

982

-0.0

0073

-0

.115

930.

0486

4 0.

7569

0 0.

692**

KY

P 0.

0006

2 -0

.005

51

0.00

531

0.00

108

-0.0

0002

-1

.164

92

-0.0

7922

1.

2547

3 -0

.001

17

-0.1

5953

0.03

444

1.06

911

0.95

5**

Correlation path analysis of organic and inorganic fertilizer manage in groundnut

196

reported by Korat et al. (2010) and similar trend forharvest index by Venkateswarlu et al. (2007) and for daysto maturity by Pavankumar et al. (2014) was reported.

Under inorganic fertilizer management the traits,total number of pods per plant (1.55957) and kernel yieldper plant (1.06911) showed very high positive directeffects whereas number of mature pods per plant (-1.40893)recorded very high negative direct effect on pod yieldper plant. Similar results were also found by Kumar etal. (2012), Rao et al. (2014) and Jain et al. (2016), whoreported a very high positive direct effect of kernel yieldper plant with pod yield per plant and Patil et al. (2006)have reported a positive direct effect of total number ofpods per plant with pod yield.

From the result of present investigation, it could beconcluded that kernel yield per plant under organicmanagement and kernel yield per plant and total numberof pods per plant under inorganic fertilizer managementwere major contributing characters for pod yield.Therefore, these traits should be given due considerationfor indirect selection to improve pod yield to obtainsuperior genotypes under target environment.

REFERENCES

Dawson, J.C., Murphy, K.M., Huggins, D.R and Jones,S.S. 2011. Evaluation of winter wheat breeding linesfor traits related to nitrogen use under organicmanagement. Organic Agriculture. 1: 65-80.

Dewey, J.R and Lu, K.H. 1959. Correlation and pathcoefficient analysis of components of crested wheatgrass seed production. Agronomy Journal. 51: 515-518.

Jain, S., Singh, P.B and Sharma, P.P. 2016. Correlationand path analysis in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.).International Journal of Current Research. 8 (8):35811-35813.

Korat, V.P., Pithia, M.S., Savaliya, J.J., Pansuriya, A.Gand Sodavadiya, P.R. 2010. Studies on charactersassociation and path analysis for seed yield and itscomponents in groundnut (Arachis hupogaea L.).Legume Research. 33 (3): 211-216.

Kumar, D.R., Reddi Sekhar, M., Raja Reddy, K andIsmail, S. 2012. Character association and pathanalysis in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.).International Journal of Applied Biology andPharmaceutical Technology. 3 (1): 385-387.

Mahalakshmi, P., Manivannan, N and Muralidharan, V.2005. Variability and correlation studies in groundnut(Arachis hypogaea L.). Legume Research. 28 (3):194- 197.

Maunde, M.S., Tanimu, B and Mahmud, M. 2015.Correlation and path coefficient analysis of yieldcharacters of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterraneanL. verdc.). African Journal of Environmental Scienceand Technology. 9 (1): 12-15.

Panse, V.G and Sukhatme, P.V. 1985. Statistical Methodsfor Agricultural Workers. Published by ICAR, NewDelhi.

Patil, K.G., Kenchanagoudar, P.V., Parameshwarappa,K.G and Salimath, P.M. 2006. A study of correlationand path analysis in groundnut. Karnataka Journalof Agricultural Science. 19 (2): 272-277.

Pavankumar, C., Rekha, R., Venkateswarulu, O andVasanthi, R. 2014. Correlation and path coefficientanalysis in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.).International Journal of Applied Biology andPharmaceutical Technology. 5 (1): 8-11.

Rao, V.T., Venkanna, V., Bhadru, D and Bharathi, D.2014.Studies on variability, character association andpath analysis on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.).International Journal of Pure and AppliedBioscience. 2 (2): 194-197.

Satish, Y. 2014. Genetic variability and character associationstudies in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.).International Journal of Plant, Animal andEnvironmental Sciences. 4 (4): 298-300.

Shukla, A.S and Rai, P.K. 2014. Evaluation of groundnutgenotypes for yield and quality traits. Annals of Plantand Soil Research. 16 (1): 41-44.

Vasanthi, R.P., Suneetha, N and Sudhakar, P. 2015.Genetic variability and correlation studies formorphological, yield and yield attributes in groundnut(Arachis hypogaea L.). Legume Research. 38 (1):9-15.

Venkateswarlu, O., Raja Reddy, K., Reddy, P.V., Vasanthi,R.P., Reddy, K.H.P and Eswara Reddy, N.P. 2007.Character association and path analysis for morpho-physiological traits in groundnut (Arachis hypogaeaL.). Journal of Oilseeds Research. 24 (1): 20-22.

Aparna et al.,

197

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 197-200, 2017

STUDY OF VARIABILITY, HERITABILITY AND GENETIC ADVANCE FOR YIELDCONTRIBUTING CHARACTERS IN PIGEONPEA (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.)

P. SYAMALA*, N.V. NAIDU, C.V. SAMEER KUMAR, D. MOHAN REDDY ANDB. RAVINDHRA REDDY

Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

The present investigation comprising of nine parents and 20 cross combinations of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.)developed through Line X Tester (5 × 4) crossing programme were evaluated for genetic parameters. High GCV and PCV,heritability and genetic advance as per cent mean were observed for the characters viz., secondary branches per plant, pods perplant, harvest index and seed yield per plant both in parents and crosses, indicating these characters are under the control ofadditive genetic variance.

KEYWORDS: Pigeonpea, variability, genetic advance and heritability.

Date of Receipt: 14-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 09-09-2017

INTRODUCTION

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is animportant leguminous short lived perennial cultivated asannual crop in semi-arid tropical and subtropical regionsof the world. It is generally cultivated as a sole crop or asa inter crop with short duration cereals or legumes aswell as with other crops such as cotton and groundnut.Across the globe, pigeon pea is cultivated in 6.22 m ha-1,with an annual production of 4.74 m tons and productivityof 762 kg ha-1.

India is the leading producer of pigeonpea in theworld accounting for 3.89 m ha-1 area, 2.78 m tons ofproduction and productivity of 727 kg ha-1 (FAO, 2016).Fallen leaves from the plant provide vital nutrient to thesuccedding crop and also enriches soil through symbioticnitrogen fixation (Varsheny et al., 2010). India is the worldlargest pigeonpea producer accounting for 90 per cent ofthe world production. New hybrids varieties have to bedeveloped to attain high yield potential. For this, basicinformation on genetic variability and inheritance of yieldand its component traits are essential to determine themost efficient breeding approaches.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The experiment was carried out in RandomizedBlock Design with three replications during kharif, 2016with five lines viz., ICPB-2078, ICPB-2043, ICPB-2047,

ICPB-2048 and ICPB-2092, four testers viz., ICPL-87119,ICPL-20108, ICPL-20116 and ICPL-20123 and their 20F1s of pigeonpea obtained by L x T mating design alongwith a standard check (Maruthi) at ICRISAT, Hyderabad,Telangana. Five plants in each plot in each replicationswere randomly selected to record the observations forquantitative traits viz., days to 50 per cent flowering, daysto 75 per cent maturity, plant height, primary branchesper plant, secondary branches per plant, pods per plant,seeds per pod, hundred seed weight, harvest index, seedprotein and seed yield per plant. Two characters viz., daysto 50 per cent flowering and days to 75 per cent maturitywere computed on plot basis. The mean over replicationof each character was subjected to statistical analysis.The phenotypic, genotypic coefficient of variation (PCV,GCV), heritability in broad sense and expected geneticadvance at 5 per cent selection intensity were computedby using formulae suggested by Siva Subramanian andMenon (1973) and Johnson et al. (1955).RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

PCV and GCV values were high for secondarybranches per plant, pods per plant, harvest index and seedyield per plant both in parents and crosses. Moderate valueof PCV and GCV was observed for secondary branchesper plant both in parents and crosses. The proportion ofgenotypic variance was high indicating the variationobserved is less influenced by environment and more dueto genetic variation. Similar results were observed by

*Corresponding author, E-mail: syamalapulindalamsc@gmail.com

198

Table 1. Analysis of variance for yield and yield components in pigeonpea

Vange and Moses (2009); Kalaimagal et al. (2008) andGohil (2006).

The estimates of genotypic coefficient of variationreflect the total amount of genotypic variation present inthe material studied. However, the proportion of thegenotypic variation, which is transmitted from parents tothe progeny, reflected by heritability. Burton (1952)suggested that the genetic variation along with heritabilityestimates would give a better idea about the expectedefficiency of selection. Thus characters possessing highGCV along with the high heritability are valuable inselection programme. In the present study highestheritability in broad sense with high GCV was recordedfor number of secondary branches per plant, pods perplant, harvest index and seed yield per plant both inparents and crosses.

High heritability (more than 60%) was observed forall the characters except hundred seed weight and seedprotein both in parents and crosses (Table 2). Similarresults have been reported by Patel et al. (1998); Bhadru(2008) and Pansuriya et al. (1998) for pods per plant,seed yield per plant, primary branches per plant, plantheight and days to 50 per cent flowering. Genetic advanceis the improvement in the mean of selected families over

the base population (Lush (1949) and Johnson et al.,1955). It is also expressed as the shift in gene frequencytowards the superior side on exercising selection pressure.Genetic advance when expressed as percentage over meanis called genetic gain. Johnson et al. (1955) suggestedthat heritability and genetic advance when calculatedtogether would prove more useful result predicting theresultant effect of selection an phenotypic expression.Without genetic advance, the estimates of heritabilityalone will not be of practical value and emphasized theconcurrent use of genetic advance along with heritability.

High heritability in conjunction with high geneticadvance as per cent of mean was observed for seed yieldper plant, pods per plant, secondary branches per plant,primary branches per plant and harvest index both inparents and crosses (Table 2) which indicates thepreponderance of additive gene action governing theinheritance of this character and offers the best possibilityof improvement through simple selection procedures.These results are in accordance with the findings of SatishKumar et al. (2005) and Vange and Moses (2009).

* Significant at 0.05; ** Significant at 0.01

S. No. Characters Mean sum of squares

Replication (df = 2)

Treatments (df = 28)

Error (df = 56)

1 Days to 50 per cent flowering 10.25** 84.06** 1.63

2 Days to 75 per cent maturity 0.65 83.92** 2.02

3 Plant height (cm) 4.00 696.25** 2.59

4 Primary branches per plant 1.70 11.66** 1.51

5 Secondary branches per plant 12.86* 201.34** 3.15

6 Number of pods per plant 5.58 55906.25** 14.30

7 Number of seeds per pod 0.07** 0.18** 0.01

8 100-seed weight (g) 0.03 2.06** 0.36

9 Harvest index (%) 0.35 312.72** 1.38

10 Seed protein (%) 0.91 1.58** 0.61

11 Seed yield per plant (g) 0.80 4890.24** 1.37

Syamala et al.,

199

Tabl

e 2.

Coe

ffic

ient

of v

aria

bilit

y, h

erita

bilit

y an

d ge

netic

adv

ance

for

yiel

d an

d yi

eld

com

pone

nts i

n pa

rent

s and

F1 c

ross

es in

pig

eonp

ea

Cha

ract

ers

GC

V

PCV

H

erita

bilit

y (%

) G

enet

ic a

dvan

ce

Gen

etic

adv

ance

as

per

cent

of m

ean

Pare

nts

F 1’s

Pa

rent

s F 1

’s

Pare

nts

F 1’s

Pa

rent

s F 1

’s

Pare

nts

F 1’s

Day

s to

50 p

er c

ent f

low

erin

g 6.

59

3.25

6.

69

3.42

97

.07

90.6

1 15

.75

7.40

13

.38

6.38

Day

s to

75 p

er c

ent m

atur

ity

4.29

2.

26

4.36

2.

40

96.5

4 88

.18

15.2

2 7.

57

8.68

4.

36

Plan

t hei

ght (

cm)

17.0

9 7.

94

17.1

2 8.

04

99.6

9 97

.45

46.9

7 22

.08

35.1

6 16

.14

Prim

ary

bran

ches

per

pla

nt

14.8

1 13

.84

17.4

4 16

.65

72.1

3 69

.07

3.38

3.

16

25.9

1 23

.70

Seco

ndar

y br

anch

es p

er p

lant

31

.29

27.6

5 31

.75

28.4

7 97

.08

94.3

5 15

.24

16.1

3 63

.50

55.3

3

Num

ber

of p

ods p

er p

lant

45

.55

42.4

4 45

.55

42.4

6 99

.99

99.8

9 29

9.07

28

0.64

93

.83

87.3

7

Num

ber

of se

eds p

er p

od

7.44

6.

29

7.97

6.

79

87.1

1 86

.00

0.52

0.

44

14.3

0 12

.03

100-

seed

wei

ght (

g)

6.31

6.

82

8.05

9.

13

61.4

0 55

.85

1.03

1.

13

10.1

9 10

.50

Har

vest

inde

x (%

) 22

.14

28.3

3 22

.25

28.5

4 99

.05

98.5

9 16

.73

22.7

0 45

.40

57.9

5

Seed

pro

tein

(%)

4.07

2.

81

5.88

5.

29

47.8

9 28

.31

1.03

0.

53

5.80

3.

08

Seed

yie

ld p

er p

lant

(g)

47.5

6 40

.87

47.5

8 40

.89

99.9

3 99

.91

91.8

5 81

.36

97.9

3 84

.15

Genetic study of yield attributing characters of pigeonpea

200

REFERENCES

Bhadru, D. 2008. Genetic variability, heritability andgenetic advance in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.)Millsp.]. Research on Crops. 9(3): 661-662.

Burton, F.W. 1952. Quantitative inheritance in grasses.Proceedings of the Sixth International GrasslandCongress. 1: 277-283

FAO, 2016. http://www.FAO.org

Gohil, R.H. 2006. Genetic variability in pigeonpea[Cajanus cajan (L.)Millsp.] for grain yield and itscontributing traits. Crop Research (Hissar). 31(3):478-480.

Johnson, H.W., Robinson, H.F and Comstock, R.E. 1955.Estimates of genetic and environmental variabilityin soybean. Agronomy Journal. 47(7): 314-318.

Lush, J.L. 1949. Intra-sire correlation on regression ofspring on dams as a method of estimating heritabilityof characters. Proceedings of American Society ofAnimal Production. 33: 292-301.

Pansuriya, A.G., Pandya, H.M and Kathiria, K.B. 1998.Genetic variability and correlation in early maturinggenotypes of pigeonpea. Gujarath AgriculturalUniversity Research Journal. 23: 23-27.

Patel, K.N and Patel, D.R. 1998. Studies on geneticvariability in pigeon pea. International Chickpea andPigeonpea Newsletter. 5: 28-30.

Satish Kumar, D., Koteswara Rao, Y., Rama Kumar P.V.and Srinivasa Rao, V. 2005. Genetic diversity in Redgram. The Andhra Agricultural Journal. 52 (1&2):443-450.

Siva Subramanian, P and Menon, P.M. 1973. Genotypicand phenotypic variability in rice. MadrasAgricultural Journal. 60: 1093-1096.

Vange, T and Moses, O.E. 2009. Studies on geneticcharacteristics of pigeonpea germplasm at Otobi,Benue State of Nigeria. World Journal ofAgricultural Science. 5(6): 714-719.

Varshney R.K. 2010. Pigeonpea genomic initiative (PGI):an international effort to improve crop productivityof pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.). MolecularBreeding. 26(3): 393-408.

Syamala et al.,

201

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 201-203, 2017

BIO-EFFICACY OF HERBICIDE MIXTURES FOR WEED MANAGEMENTIN RABI GROUNDNUT

B. DIVYAMANI, Y. REDDI RAMU*, D. SUBRAMANYAM AND V. UMAMAHESH

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted at the wetland farm of S.V. Agricultural college, Tirupati during rabi, 2016 to study theefficacy of herbicide mixtures for weed control and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogeae L.). Two hand weedings at 20 and 40DAS was found to be effective to control the weeds in groundnut and recorded the lowest weed density and higher weed controlefficiency and pod yield, which was at par with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @ 1000 g a.i ha-1 follolwed by onehand weeding at 20 DAS and post-emergence application of imazethapyr @ 37.5 g a.i ha-1 + quizalofop-p-ehtyl @ 25 g a.i ha-1.Among the herbicide mixtures imazethapyr @ 37.5 g a.i ha-1 and quizalofop-p-ethyl 25 g a.i ha-1 applied as post-emergence at 2-4 leaf stage of the weeds is the effective herbicide mixture for broad spectrum weed control as well as to enhance the productivityof rabi groundnut.

KEYWORDS: Groundnut, herbicide mixtures, pod yield, weed management.

Date of Receipt: 16-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 06-09-2017

INTRODUCTION

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is considered tobe one of the most important food legume and oilseedcrop in India, which is cultivated over an area of 4.7 Mha, with a production of 7.4 M T and average productivityof 1552 kg ha-1. Weed infestation is one of the majorconstraints that limit the productivity of groundnut.Critical period of crop weed competition ranges between40 to 60 days after sowing. Though, groundnut is a hardycrop, but it is highly susceptible to weed preponderancedue to small canopy and slow initial growth. In groundnut,weeds compete with crop plants for nutrients and remove30-40 per cent of applied nutrients resulting in significantyield reduction (Dryden and Krishnamurthy, 1997). InIndia, yield losses of groundnut due to weeds range from24-70 per cent (Jhala et al., 2005). Generally weeds arecontrolled by hand weeding, which is very expensive,laborious in the context of shortage of labours. It istherefore important to find out suitable herbicides thatwill control the weeds economically and safely. Use ofpre- and post-emergence herbicide mixtures offers analternative viable option for effective and timely controlof all categories of weeds in groundnut. At present,farmers are using pendimethalin @ 1000 g ha-1 as pre-emergence and imazethapyr as post-emergence 75 g ha-1

for the control of weeds in groundnut, but the choice of

succeeding crops is limited because imazethapyr persistsin soil and plant for longer time with a half life period of33 months and is not effective against grasses (Sondhiaet al., 2015) Hence, there is a need to evaluate the pre-and post-emergence herbicide mixtures for obtainingbroad spectrum weed control in rabi groundnut and toreduce the imazethapyr residue in soil and plant.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A field experiment was carried out during rabi, 2016at the wetland farm of S.V. Agricultural college, Tirupati.The experimental soil was sandy loam in texture, neutralin reaction (pH 7.7), low in organic carbon (0.38 per cent)and available nitrogen (158.0 kg ha-1), medium inavailable phosphorus (23.4 kg ha-1) and availablepotassium (211.3 kg ha-1). The experiment was laid outin a randomized block design with three replications. Thetreatments consisted of ten weed management practicesviz., pre-emergence application of pendimethalin 1000 ga.i ha-1 (W1), pre-emergence application of pendimethalin1000 g a.i ha-1 + one hand weeding at 20 DAS (W2), pre-emergence application of pendimethalin + imazethapyr(pre-mix) 1000 g a.i ha-1 (W3), post-emergence applicationof imazethapyr 75 g a.i ha-1 (W4), post-emergenceapplication of imazethapyr + imazamox (pre-mix) 70 ga.i ha-1 (W5), post-emergence application of sodium saltof aciflurofen + cladinofop propargyl (pre-mix) 75 g a.i

*Corresponding author, E-mail: ramuagro@rediffmail.com

202

Tabl

e 1.

Eff

ect o

f diff

eren

t wee

d m

anag

emen

t pra

ctic

es o

n w

eed

dens

ity (g

m-2),

wee

d co

ntro

l eff

icie

ncy

(%) a

nd p

od y

ield

(kg

ha-1) i

ngr

ound

nut a

t har

vest

Valu

es in

par

anth

esis

are

arc

sine

val

ues

Tre

atm

ents

W

eed

dens

ity (g

m-2

) W

eed

cont

rol

effic

ienc

y (%

) Po

d yi

eld

(kg

ha-1

) G

rass

es

Sedg

es

BLW

s

W1

: Pr

e-em

erge

nce

appl

icat

ion

of P

endi

met

halin

100

0 g

a.i h

a-1

29.0

0d (5

.41)

24

6.67

d (1

5.70

) 31

.33

(5.5

5)

40.9

4 (3

9.35

) 14

51.6

0

W2

: Pr

e-em

erge

nce

appl

icat

ion

of P

endi

met

halin

100

0 g

a.i h

a-1 +

one

han

d w

eedi

ng a

t 20

DA

S 18

.00b

(4.3

0)

181.

33b

(13.

47)

16.0

0 (4

.05)

61

.13

(51.

33)

1632

.67

W3

: Pr

e-em

erge

nce

appl

icat

ion

of P

endi

met

halin

+ im

azet

hapy

r pre

-mix

) 10

00 g

a.i

ha-1

34.6

7g (5

.89)

25

8.00

g (1

6.09

) 36

.00

(6.0

0)

37.4

5 (3

7.01

) 13

72.8

7

W4

: Po

st-e

mer

genc

e ap

plic

atio

n of

imaz

etha

pyr 7

5 g

a.i h

a-1

45.3

3i (6

.72)

25

5.00

f (1

5.98

) 27

.5

(5.4

8)

31.0

7 (3

3.86

) 13

59.0

0

W5

: Po

st-e

mer

genc

e ap

plic

atio

n of

imaz

etha

pyr +

imaz

amox

(pre

- mix

) 70

g a

.i ha

-1

31.6

7e (5

.65)

25

4.00

e (1

5.96

) 34

.33

(5.8

8)

40.2

2 (3

8.86

) 14

38.6

6

W6

: Po

st-e

mer

genc

e ap

plic

atio

n of

sodi

um sa

lt of

aci

fluor

fen

+ cl

odin

ofop

pr

opar

gyl (

pre

- mix

) 75

g a.

i ha-1

44

.33h

(6.6

6)

299.

33h

(17.

26)

44.0

0 (6

.56)

16

.45

(23.

91)

1248

.00

W7

: Po

st-e

mer

genc

e ap

plic

atio

n of

imaz

etha

pyr 3

7.5

g a.

i ha-1

+ q

uiza

lofo

p-

p-et

hyl 2

5 g

a.i h

a-1 (t

ank-

mix

) 19

.00c

(4.4

6)

183.

33c

(13.

57)

18.3

3 (4

.33)

60

.20

(50.

96)

1623

.15

W8

: Po

st-e

mer

genc

e ap

plic

atio

n of

imaz

etha

pyr 3

7.5

g a.

i ha-1

+ pr

opaq

uiza

fop

32g

a.i h

a-1 (ta

nk-m

ix)

33.3

3f (5

.77)

25

6.00

f (1

6.03

) 34

.67

(5.9

1)

38.5

7 (3

7.84

) 14

04.1

1

W9

: Tw

o ha

nd w

eedi

ngs a

t 20

and

40 D

AS

16.6

7a (4

.13)

17

2.67

a (1

3.70

) 17

.33

(4.2

3)

62.5

0 (5

2.33

) 16

54.3

8

W10

:

Un

wee

ded

chec

k (c

ontro

l) 58

.67j

(7.7

1)

452.

67i

(21.

98)

59.6

7 (7

.69)

-

1132

.91

S.E

m±

0.20

4 0.

340

0.18

2 2.

87

31.0

2

CD

(P =

0.0

5)

0.61

1.

01

0.55

8.

61

94.0

8

Divyamani et al.,

203

ha-1 (W6), post-emergence application of imazethapyr 37.5g a.i ha-1 + quizalofop-p-ethyl 25 g ha-1 (tank-mix) (W7),post-emergence application of imazethapyr 37.5 g a.i ha-

1 + propaquizafop 25 g ha-1 (tank-mix) (W8), two handweedings at 20 and 40 DAS (W9) and unweeded check(W10). The recommended basal dose of nitrogen,phosphorous and potassium @ 30, 40 and 50 kg ha-1 andgypsum @ 500 kg ha-1 at time of flowering stage wasapplied. The test variety of groundnut ‘Dharani’ was usedin the study by adopting spacing of 22.5cm x 10 cm.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The predominant weed species associated withgroundnut are Cyperus rotundus, Digitaria sanguinalis,Commelina benghalensis, Phyllanthus niruri, Cleomeviscosa, Boerhavia diffusa and Dactyloctenium aegyptium.

Weed density

Among the pre-emergence application of herbicides,the lowest density of grasses, sedges and broad leavedweeds as well as total weeds were recorded with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin + imazethapyr(premix) @ 1000 g ha-1 (W3), which was however,comparable with pre-emergence application ofpendimethalin @ 1000 g ha-1 one hand weeding at 20DAS (W2) or pendimethalin alone as pre-emergence @1000 g a.i ha-1 (W1), which maintained parity with eachother. At 40 & 60 DAS and at harvest, hand weeding twiceat 20 and 40 DAS (W9) recorded lower density and dryweight of grasses, sedges and broad leaved weeds as wellas total weeds, which was however, comparable with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin fb hand weedingat 20 DAS (W2) and post-emergence application ofimazethapyr @ 37.5 g a.i ha-1 and quizalofop-p-ethyl 25g a.i ha-1 (W7) and these three treatments were distinctlymore effective than the rest of the weed managementpractices tried. These results are in accordance with thefindings Sharma et al. (2015), pre-emergence applicationof pendimethalin fb by hand weeding helps in effectivecontrol of wide spectrum of weeds during the early stagesof crop growth there by limited competition for growthresources during the critical stages of crop growth.

Weed control efficiency

Highest weed control efficiency at harvest wasobtained with hand weeding twice at 20 and 40 DAS (W9),which was at par with pre-emergence application ofpendimethalin fb hand weeding at 20 DAS (W2) and post-emergence application of imazethapyr @ 37.5 g a.i ha-1

and quizalofop-p-ethyl 25 g a.i ha-1(W7). This might be

due to effective control of sedges and broad leaved weedswith imazethapyr and control of broad leaved withquizalofop-p-ethyl. The better performance ofcombination of herbicides might be due to synergisticeffect between the two herbicides in reducing thepopulation of weeds. These results are in accordance withthose of Sharma et al. (2015).

Pod yield

Among the different weed management practicestested, the highest hundred pod weight was recorded withhand weeding twice at 20 and 40 DAS (W9), which wason par with pre-emergence application of pendimethalinfb one hand weeding at 20 DAS (W2), or post-emergenceapplication of imazethapyr + quizalofop-p-ethyl (W7).This might be due to increased dry matter production andefficient translocation of photosynthates to pods as a resultof efficient utilization of growth resources because ofweed free environment during critical stages of cropgrowth, thereby higher 100 pod weight. These results arein conformity with those of Sharma et al. (2015).

CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, the lowest weed density and highest

weed control efficiency and pod yield was recorded withhand weeding twice at 20 and 40 DAS (W9), which wason par with pre-emergence application of pendimethalinfb one hand weeding at 20 DAS (W2), or post-emergenceapplication of imazethapyr @ 37.5 g a.i ha-1+ quizalofop-p-ethyl @ 225 g a.i ha-1 (W7).

LITERATURE CITED

Dryden, R.D and Krishnamurthy C.H. 1997. Year roundtillage. Indian Journal of Weed Science. 9: 14-18.

Jhala, A., Rathod, P.H., Patel, K.C. and Van Damme, P.2005. Growth and yield of groundnut (Arachishypogaea L.) as influenced by weed managementpractices and rhizobium inoculation. Communicationin Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences70(3): 493-500.

Sharma S., Ram, A., Jat and Sagarka, B.K. 2015. Effectof weed management practices on weed dynamics,yield, and economics of groundnut (Arachishypogaea) in black calcareous soil. Indian Journalof Agronomy. 60(2): 312-317.

Sondhia,S., Khankhane, P.J., Singh, P.K and Sharma, A.R.2015. Determination of imazethapyr residues in soiland grains after its application to soybean, Journalof Pesticide Sciences. 40(3): 106-110.

Bio-efficacy of herbicide mixtures for weed management in rabi groundnut

204

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 204-206, 2017

STANDARDIZATION OF SOWING WINDOW FOR KHARIF MAIZE (Zea mays L.)IN SCARCE RAINFALL ZONE

U. RAVI*, P. MUNIRATHNAM, G. PRABHAKARA REDDY AND P. KAVITHA

Department of Agronomy, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station farm of Nandyal during kharif 2016 to studythe “Standardization of sowing window and phosphorous requirement for kharif maize (Zea mays L.) in vertisols. Among thesowing dates, crop sown during II FN of July recorded higher kernel and straw yields. However, the next best time for sowing ofmaize was I FN of August and it was at par with II FN of August. The lower kernel and stover yields were recorded with cropsown during I FN of July.

KEYWORDS: Maize, sowing dates, kernel yield and stover yield.

Date of Receipt: 17-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 25-09-2017

INTRODUCTION

Maize (Zea mays. L) is one of the most importantfood crop in many countries. It is the third most importantcereal after rice and wheat in the world. It is called asqueen of cereals. It is cultivated in an area of 150 M haacross 160 countries and contributes 36 per cent (782 MT) of grain production in the world (Tollenaar and Lee,2006). India ranks fifth among the maize producingCountries (FAO, 2010). At present, it occupies 9.23 Mha with a productivity of 2.56 t ha-1. In Andhra Pradesh,maize is cultivated in 9.2 lakh ha out of which 7.4 lakhha is grown during kharif with an average productivityof 2187 kg ha-1 and remaining area is under rabi with anaverage productivity of 4125 kg ha.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted at RegionalAgricultural Research Station in black cotton soils ofNandyal farm of Acharya N.G.Ranga AgriculturalUniversity, which is geographically situated at an altitudeof 211.76 m above mean sea level with geographicallocation of 150 28" N latitude and 780 29" E longitude inthe scarce rainfall zone of Andhra Pradesh. Theexperiment was laid out in split plot design and replicatedthrice. The treatments consisted of four sowing dates viz.,I FN of July, II FN of July, I FN of August and II FN ofAugust and three phosphorous levels, viz., 75 per centrecommended dose of phosphorous, 100 per centrecommended dose of phosphorous and 125 per cent

recommended dose of phosphorous. Observations wererecorded on growth parameters viz., plant height, leaf areaindex, dry matter production and yield attributes viz.,number of cobs per plant, number of kernels per cob, testweight, kernel yield, straw yield and harvest index.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Growth parameters

Among the sowing windows, crop sown during IIFN of July recorded higher plant height at all the stages.The next best sowing window was crop sown on I FN ofAugust, which was at par with II FN of August (Table 1).The shorter plant height was recorded with crop sownduring I FN of July. The possible reason for shorter plantheight might be due to moisture stress at early stagefollowed by excess moisture at tasseling and silkingstages. At delayed sowing, reduced photo intensity andduration of light might be responsible for lowering downthe crop growth. These results are in line with Jadhav etal. (2015). The leaf area index and dry matteraccumulation per plant was significantly higher with cropsown during II FN of July. The next best time for theseparameters was I FN of August and it was on par with IIFN of August. Longer vegetative period for productionof more leaf area index and dry matter for increasing leafarea and dry matter production (Sulochana et al., 2015).The lower values of these parameters were recorded withcrop sown during I FN of August.

*Corresponding author, E-mail: raviuppara@gmail.com

205

Tabl

e 1.

Eff

ect o

f sow

ing

date

s on

gro

wth

and

yie

ld p

aram

eter

s of

mai

ze

Tre

atm

ents

Pl

ant

heig

ht (c

m)

Lea

f are

a in

dex

Dry

mat

ter

prod

uctio

n (g

pla

nt-1

)

Num

ber

of

cobs

pla

nt-1

Num

ber

of

kern

els

cob-1

1000

seed

s w

eigh

t (g)

Ker

nel

yiel

d (k

g ha

-1)

Stra

w

yiel

d (k

g)

Har

vest

in

dex

I FN

of J

uly

146.

2 2.

57

73.0

1.

00

260.

8 18

7.0

2997

34

54

0.46

II FN

of J

uly

186.

5 3.

26

95.2

1.

10

337.

8 21

4.0

3862

42

49

0.48

I FN

of A

ugus

t 17

6.3

2.85

88

.5

1.07

31

6.0

205.

7 35

14

3768

0.

48

II FN

of A

ugus

t 16

7.0

2.64

86

.8

1.01

31

0.4

198.

4 33

28

3701

0.

47

SEm

± 4.

1 0.

12

0.9

0.02

5.

9 2.

2 70

.1

64.7

0.

003

C D

at 5

%

14.3

0.

43

3.0

0.06

20

.5

7.5

249.

8 22

3.3

0.01

3

Standardization of sowing window for Kharif maize (Zea mays L.) in scarce rainfall zone

206

Yield and yield attributing characters

Crop sown during II FN of July recordedsignificantly higher number of cobs plant-1 and numberof kernels per cob. The lower number of cobs plant-1 andkernels per cob was recorded with I FN of July sowing,which might be due to unfavourable weather during cropgrowing period. Either early or delayed sowingconsiderably reduced the number of cobs plant-1 (Magaet al., 2015), who observed significant variation in numberof cobs plant-1 at different sowing windows.

Higher values of test weight, kernel yield, stoveryield was recorded with crop sown during II FN of July,which was significantly superior over other sowingwindows. However, the next best time for sowing of maizewas I FN of August which was at par with II FN of August.The lower yield attributes were recorded with crop sownduring I FN of July (Table 1). Higher kernel yield mightbe attributed to better growth parameters like plant height,leaf area index and dry matter production and yieldattributing characters such as number of kernels per cob,number of cobs per plant and test weight. This is inaccordance with the results reported by Jaliya et al. (2008)who reported that higher growth and yield parameterscould be attributed to the favourable agro climaticconditions particularly temperature, solar radiation andrelative humidity coincide with even rainfall distribution.The lower growth and yield parameters could be attributedto the uneven rainfall distribution, which causes waterlogging, that affects soil aeration and plant metabolism,especially photosynthesis, assimilate formation andtranslocation, cell division and elongation thus inducingstunted growth and development. The optimum sowingtime causes encountering of kernel formation and fillingstages with long days and maximum energy needed tophotosynthesis resulting in higher yields while, in lateplanting dates due to shorter growing period the plantshave not enough time for complete maturity.

Higher stover yield under II FN of July might bedue to favourable weather conditions for better growthparameters like plant height, leaf area index and dry matteraccumulation, which leads to efficient translocation ofassimilates to sink resulting higher stover yield. The lowerstover yield was recorded with I FN of July. The possiblereasons might be unfavourable weather conditions atcritical stages, excess evaporative demand at early stagesfollowed by cloudy and high relative humidity at maturitystage leads to inefficient utilization of growth resources.

Higher harvest index was recorded with II FN ofJuly and I FN of August, which might be due to increasedkernel yield as well as total dry matter. It represents themore ability of the plant to transfer and allocation ofphotosynthates to economic parts (Azadbakht et al.,2012).

CONCLUSION

Sowing of maize during II FN of July is the bestsowing window for farmers for getting higher kernel yieldand monetary returns in scarce rainfall zone of AndhraPradesh.

REFERENCES

Azadbakht, A., Azadbakht, G., Nasrollahi, H andBitarafan, Z. 2012. Evaluation of different plantingdates effect on three maize hybrids in koohdashtregion of Iran. International Journal of Science andAdvanced Technology. 2(3): 34-38.

FAO, 2010. Agriculture Statistics by Country. Food andAgricultural Organization of the United Nation,Rome, Italy.

Jadhav, A., Kumar, A., Singh, A.K., Ishwar Singh andDas, T.K. 2015. Response of maize hybrids (Zeamays L.) to staggered sowing. Indian Journal ofAgronomy.60 (3): 476 - 478.

Jaliya, M.M., Falaki, M., Muhamad, M and Sani, Y.A.2008. Effect of sowing date and NPK fertilizer onyield and yield components of quality protein maize(Zea mays L.). Asian Research Publishing NetworkJournal of Agricultural and Biological Science. 3(2): 23- 30.

Maga, T.J., Vange, T and James, O.O. 2015. The influenceof sowing dates on the growth and yield of two maize(Zea mays.L) varieties cultivated under SouthernGuinea Savannah Agro Ecoogical Zone. AmericanJournal of Experimental Agriculture. 5(3): 200-208.

Sulochana, N.S., Solanki, J.S., Dhewa and Bhajia, R.2015. Effect of sowing dates on growth, phenologyand agro meterological indices for maize varieties.The Bioscan.10 (3): 1339-1343.

Tollenaar, M and Lee E.A. 2006. Yield potential, yieldstability and stress tolerance in maize. Field CropsResearch.75: 168 - 169.

Ravi et al.,

207

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 207-212, 2017

NUTRIENT MAPPING OF SOILS IN NAGARI MANDAL OFCHITTOOR DISTRICT (ANDHRA PRADESH) - A GIS APPROACH

J. JAGADISH, P.VEKATA RAM MUNI REDDY*, K.V. NAGA MADHURI AND Y. REDDI RAMU

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU,Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

Geo referenced soil samples were collected from 29 villages of Nagari mandal in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh at tenha grid interval following spatially balanced sampling technique. The coordinates of the sampling sites were collected by usingGPS receiver. The soil samples were analyzed for various soil fertility parameters by adopting standard procedures. Analyticaland statistical parameters such as range, mean, average, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were calculated. Soilfertility maps were prepared using Arc GIS 10 software. Soils were slightly to strongly alkaline in reaction with non saline innature. Soil organic carbon per cent was medium to high. Available nitrogen was low, available phosphorus was low to high,available potassium was medium to high. By creating the fertility maps it has been concluded that these nutrients play major rolein crop development.

KEYWORDS: Nutrient mapping, remote sensing, GIS, soil fertility.

Date of Receipt: 20-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 01-09-2017

The major objective of this study is to preparedetailed maps of soil fertility status of the area and tolink the status of fertility with agricultural practices andthe nutrient status of crops by the geo-spatial techniques.This will enable to identify the most important nutrientconstraints for a sustainable production of crops. The soilproperties and nutrient status have a great role ininfluencing yield of crop. These maps serve as a databasefor knowing the soil constraints and deficiency ofnutrients in soils.

GIS techniques can be used to generate fertility mapof a given area which helps to assess the variation of soilfertility spatially and temporally and compute complexspatial relationships between soil fertility factors. Mapswere prepared for spatial variability of all soil propertiesthrough interpolation of point based measurements of soilproperties, using GIS (ARC/Info) techniques.Interpolation techniques commonly used in agricultureinclude inverse distance weighing and kriging (Franzenand Peck, 1995 and Weisz et al., 1995). The outcome ofthe spatial variability helps in precision agriculture whichhelps in application of corresponding resource applicationand agronomic practices with soil attributes and croprequirements. The soil information products derivedthrough the GIS and remote sensing are of high quality

in terms of both level of spatial detail and degree ofattribute accuracy. Technological advancements in thesefields have been a boon for soil surveys by mapping andcharacterizing of soils at various scales (Manchanda etal., 2002).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Nagari Mandal of Chittoor revenue division inChittoor district of Andhra Pradesh sprawls over almost35.45 km2. Its geographic limits range from 13°.15' to13º 25' North Latitude and 79° 28' to 79° 43' EastLongitude and is covered by Survey of India TopographicMap Nos. D44N11. It has an average elevation of 116meters (380 feet). The soils are mainly intra zonal soils,which are further sub classified as (i) Deep black soils,(ii) Mixed red and black soils. They are moderatelyproductive and give good crop yields if irrigated.Temperatures vary from a minimum of 35°C and can riseup to a maximum of 45°C.

About 240 Composite surface soil samples (0-15 cm)were collected across Nagari mandal with an agriculturalarea of 2400 ha area with a grid size of ten ha. The GPSdata at each sample location was recorded. The soilsamples were air dried under shade, pounded and passedthrough a 2 mm sieve. The surface soil samples were

*Corresponding author, E-mail: venkat.agri@gmail.com

208

analysed for various soil properties by adopting standardprocedures.

The pH and electrical conductivity of the soil wasmeasured in 1:2.5 soil and water extract described byJackson (1973). Organic Carbon (OC) was determinedby Walkley - Black Method. Available nitrogen wasdetermined by alkaline permanganate method outlinedby Subbaih and Asija (1956). Available phosphoruscontent was determined by extracting the soil with 0.5 MNaHCO3 by Olsen et al. (1954). Available potassium inthe soils was extracted by neutral normal ammoniumacetate as described by Jackson (1973).

The latitude and longitudes of sample sites wererecorded from study area using a hand held GPSinstrument (GARMIN GPS72H). The ArcGIS 10 softwarewas used in this study. Based on the location dataobtained, prepared point feature showing the position ofsamples in MS excel format and linked with the spatialdata by join option in Arc Map. The spatial and the non-spatial database developed are integrated for thegeneration of spatial distribution maps. The steps forgeneration of point map by using ArcGIS 10 indicated inflow diagram in Fig. 1 and the resultant map generated ispresented in Fig. 2.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Soil reaction (pH) and Electrical conductivity

Data on soil reaction (pH) revealed that the soilsunder study fall under neutral to moderately alkaline rangeand varied from 6.42 to 8.74 with a mean value of 7.925.Majority of soils exhibited weakly alkaline to moderatealkaline reaction (7.5-8.5). The spatial distribution of pHin soils of Nagari mandal is represented by four soilreaction zones (Fig. 3). About 40.21 per cent of total areais characterized by pH range 8.0 to 8.4 (moderatelyalkaline) where as 16 per cent area by pH range 6.5-7.5(Neutral), 32.08 per cent area by pH range 7.5 to 8.0,6.20 per cent of area under the pH range of <6.5 and thezone represented by pH range of >8.4 with highly alkalinereaction is occupied by minimum area of 5.41 per cent.Neutral to moderate alkalinity may be attributed to appliedfertilizer material with soil colloids, which results inretention of basic cations on the exchangeable complexof soil. (Sharma et al, 2008).

Electrical conductivity of the soils in study arearanged from 0.061 to 1.52 dSm-1 and the soils are non-saline, with a mean value of 0.408. Because of gooddrainage condition in almost all the villages EC is withinthe normal range and soils are free from problem of

�

Open ArcGIS software

Add excel file containing the information on latitude, longitude details in degree decimals and select the work sheet

containing the above information

Also add boundary layer and merged toposheets of the study area

Co-ordinate system- import same from other file merged toposheets

Tools

Add XY data

X-field-Longitudes Y-field-Latitudes

Point map gets displayed on window as event file

Export and save it as shape file by giving suitable file name

Point map along with boundary layer can be exported and saved as .pdf or .jpeg format

Fig. 1. Preparation of point map showing samplingsites using Arc GIS

Fig. 2. Location map of soil samples collected in studyarea

Jagadish et al.,

209

Table 1. Soil characteristics of Nagari mandal

pH EC (dS m-1)

Organic carbon

(%)

Available nitrogen (kg ha-1)

Available phosphorus

(kg ha-1)

Available potassium (kg ha-1)

Range 6.42-8.74 0.061-1.52 0.08-2.0 44-182 2.0-133.00 65-753.00

Mean 7.92 0.41 0.75 77.00 29.00 217.00

SD 0.43 0.29 0.31 32.00 18.00 112.00

CV (%) 5.49 71.93 42.10 42.00 60.30 55.00

Table 2. Ratings for pH, EC, OC and Macro nutrients in soil

pH Range Acidic <6.5 Neutral 6.5-7.5 Weakly alkaline 7.5-8.0 Moderately alkaline 8.0-8.4 Highly alkaline >8.4

EC (d Sm-1) Suitable <4.0 Not suitable >4.0

OC (%) Low < 0.50 Medium 0.5-0.75 High > 0.75

Available nutrients (kg ha-1) Nitrogen Low 0 to 280 Medium 280-560 High >560

Phosphorus (kg ha-1) Low 0-11 Medium 11-25.6 High >25.6

Potassium (kg ha-1) Low <120 Medium 120-280 High >280

Soil nutrient mapping of nagari mandal of Chittoor district in A.P.

210

salinity and are highly favorable to crop growth. Thespatial variation in Nagari mandal pertaining to soil ECis divided into three zones (Fig. 4). Of the total mandalarea major area of about 1770 ha (73.73% of total area)is having EC less than 0.5 dSm-1, EC varied from 1.0 to1.5 dSm-1 in minimum area of 140 ha (5.27 %) where asit was 0.5 to 1.0 dSm-1 in an area of 510 ha (21%). Thenormal EC may be ascribed to leaching of salts to lowerhorizons. (Sharma et al, 2008).

Organic Carbon

The Organic carbon content of Nagari Mandal waslow to high and ranged from 0.08 to 2.0 per cent, with amean of 0.76 per cent and standard deviation of 0.31.The spatial variation in Nagari mandal pertaining to soilOrganic Carbon is resulted into three zones (Fig. 5). TheOrganic carbon content ranging < 0.5 per cent occupies24.1 per cent of total area (580 ha), while 0.5 to 0.75 perecnt occupies 28.7 per cent of area (690 ha) and themaximum area under the OC range of > 0.75 per centcovers 47.2 per cent of the area (1130 ha). As rice andsugarcane are major crops in the area, residues of thesecrops left in soil after harvest and their subsequent

Fig. 3. Spatial distribution of pH in soils of Nagarimandal

Fig. 4. Spatial distribution of EC in soils of Nagarimandal

Fig. 5. Spatial distribution of organic carbon in soilsof Nagari mandal

Jagadish et al.,

211

decomposition might have resulted in increase of organicmatter content in the soil over a period of time.

Available Macronutrients

The available nitrogen content in soils of Nagari fallunder low range. and it varied from 44 to 182 kg ha-1,with a mean value of 77 kg ha-1 and standard deviation of32. Out of 29 revenue villages of Nagari mandal, the soilswere low in available nitrogen within range of 280 kg ha-1.The spatial variability of available Nitrogen pertainingto Nagari mandal is depicted in Fig. 6. The availablenitrogen content in the area is in low range occupying100 per cent of the study area (2400 ha). It is quite obviousthat the efficiency of applied nitrogen is very low due tothe fact that N is lost through various mechanisms likevoltalisation (since majority of soils are alkaline),nitrification, denitrification, chemical and microbialfixation, leaching and runoff (De Datta and Buresh, 1989).

The available phosphorus status in soils of Nagariwas low to high range and ranged from 2 to 133 kg ha-1,with a mean value of 29 kg ha-1. The spatial distributionof available phosphorus content of Nagari mandal is

Fig. 6. Spatial distribution of available nitrogen insoils of Nagari mandal

presented in Fig. 7 representing three fertility zones. Themap shows that 44.58 per cent (1070 ha) of the mandal ischaracterized by medium range whereas 45 per cent (1080ha) area by high range and 10.42 per cent (250 ha) areaunder low range of available phosphorus content.Adequate amount of phosphorus in majority of soils maybe attributed to continuous application of phosphaticfertilizers to crops and at same time the efficiency ofapplied phosphorus is very low in soil. Plants take only10-40 per cent of applied phosphorus during growingseason (Aulakh and Paricha, 1999) and the rest resides insoil as less soluble product.

The available potassium content in soils of Nagarimandal ranged from 65 to 753 kg ha-1, with a mean valueof 217 kg ha-1. Most of soils were medium to high inavailable potassium content. In other villages on anaverage the soils recorded medium to high availablePotassium content. The spatial variability map of availablePotassium content of Nagari mandal is shown in Fig. 8.The potassium content of high range category occupiesan area of 420 ha (17.54%) of the study area while the

Fig. 7. Spatial distribution of available phosphorusin soils of Nagari mandal

Soil nutrient mapping of nagari mandal of Chittoor district in A.P.

212

medium range occupies highest area of 1660 ha (69.16%)and the remaining of 13.3 per cent (320 ha) of mandalcontains soils with low potassium content. Adequate availableK in these soils may be attributed to the prevalence ofpotassium- rich minerals like illite and feldspars.

CONCLUSION

The maps suggested variability in fertility statusacross the study area. In soil reaction the soil remainsneutral to highly alkaline in nature and at same timeelectrical conductivity remains at safe level. Organiccarbon status of the soils of Nagari mandal has improvedbecause of addition of crop residues over the years as aresult of intensification of agriculture. Nitrogen deficiencyis majorly observed in the area due to imbalancedfertilization and loss of nitrogen through variousprocesses. Continuous use of P fertilizer resulted in buildof phosphorus in most parts of area. Most of soils weremedium to high in available Potassium content. Solutionsto overcome the problem is balanced fertilizer use andcomplementary use of organic nutrient inputs withfertilizers. These are the possible agro-techniques tosustain yield, increase fertilizer use efficiency and torestore soil fertility under intensive cropping (Dwivediet al., 2003; Timsina and Connor, 2001; Yadav et al., 1998a).

LITERATURE CITED

Aulakh, M.S and Pasricha, N.S. 1999. Effects of rate andfrequency of applied P on Crop yield, P uptake andfertilizer P use efficiency and its recovery ingroundnut- mustard cropping system. Journal ofAgricultural Sciences, Cambridge. 132, 181-188.

Fig. 8. Spatial distribution of available potassium insoils of Nagari mandal

De Datta, S.K and Buresh, R.J. 1989. Integrated Nmanagement in irrigated rice. Advances in Agronomy.10, 143-169.

Dwivedi, B.S., Shukla, V.K., Yadav, R.L. 2003. Resultsof participatory diagnosis of constraints andoppurtunities (PDCO) based trials from the state ofUttar Pradesh Bhopal. India Indian Institute of SoilSciences. 50-75.

Franzen, D.W and Peck, T.R. 1995. Field Soil samplingdensity for variable rate fertilization. Journal ofProduction Agriculture. 8: 568-574.

Jackson, M.L. 1973. Soil Chemical Analysis, Prentice HallIndia Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

Manchanda, M.L., Kudrat, M and Tiwari, A.K. 2002. SoilSurvey and mapping using remote sensing. TropicalEcology. 43, 61-74.

Olsen, S.R., Cole, C.V., Watanabe, F.S and Dean, L.A.1954. Estimation of available phosphorus in soilsby extraction with sodium bicarbonate. Circular ofUnited States Department of Agriculture. 939.

Sharma, P.K., AnilSood, R.K., Setia, N.S., TurDeepakand HarpinderSingh. 2008. Mapping of micronutrientsin soils of Amritsar district, Punjab-A GIS Approach.Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science 56, 34-41.

Subbiah, B.V and Asija, G.L. 1956. A rapid procedurefor estimation of Available Nitrogen in soils. CurrentScience. 25, 259-260.

Timsina, J and Connor, D.J. 2001. Productivity andmanagement of rice- wheat cropping systems Issuesand challenges. Field Crops. 69, 93-132.

Weisz, R.S., Fleischer, and Smilowitz. 1995. Mapgeneration in high-value horticultural integrated pestmanagement: Appropriate interpolation methods forsite-specific pest management of Colorado potatobeetle (Coleoptera: chrysomelidae). Journal ofEconomic Entomology. 88: 1650-1657.

Yadav, R.L., Dwivedi, B.S., Prasad, K and Gangwar, K.S.1998a. Overview and prospects for enhancingresidual benefits of legumes in rice and wheatcropping systems in India. In Residual Effects ofLegumes in Rice and Wheat Cropping Systems ofIndo-Gangetic Plain. 207-225.

Jagadish et al.,

213

Andhra Pradesh J Agril. Sci : 3(3): 213-216, 2017

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SALT AFFECTED SOILS OF YERPEDUMANDAL OF CHITTOOR DISTRICT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

M. MANIMALIKA*, A. PRASANTHI, K.V. NAGA MADHURI AND N. SUNITHA

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU,Tirupati-517 502, Chittoor Dt., A.P.

ABSTRACT

Thirty one representative surface soil samples collected from 11 villages of Yerpedu mandal were analyzed for physico-chemical properties. Soils were slightly to strongly alkaline in reaction and non saline to strongly saline. Texturally soils wereclassified as loamy sand, sandy loam, sandy clay loam, sandy clay, clay loam and clay. The soils were low in organic carbon(0.28%), calcareous (7.53% CaCO3) and cation exchange capacity varied from 36.28 to 69.22 c mol (p+) kg-1 soil. The soilorganic carbon per cent was low (0.28%), soils were calcareous (7.53% CaCO3), cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from36.28 to 69.22 c mol (p+) kg-1 and ESP varied from 7.03 to 37.83 with a mean value of 19.75.

KEYWORDS: Physico-chemical properties, salt affected soils, sodic, saline-alkali.

Date of Receipt: 22-06-2017 Date of Acceptance: 29-09-2017

*Corresponding author, E-mail: manimalika.magham@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

All the soils contain some amount of soluble salts,which are essential for the healthy growth of plants. Ifthe quantity of these soluble salts in soil exceeds certainvalue, the growth and yield of crops are adversely affected.Soils, with excess soluble salts, are called the salt affectedsoils. Soils turn saline generally due to weathering ofparent materials (causing fossil or primary salinity), orfrom anthropogenic activities involving the impropermanagement of land and water resources (contributingto man-made or secondary salinity). It is estimated that8.09 M ha of land in India was with salt affected soilsand causing degradation of land and pose serious problemfor the productivity of crops. Hence, characterization ofthese soils is a pre- requisite for the profitable soilmanagement and sustainable crop production. The presentinvestigation was taken up to study the physico-chemicalproperties and to characterize salt affected soils ofYerpedu mandal.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty one surface (0-20 cm) soil samples werecollected from farmer fields of 11 villages of Yerpedumandal having salinity/ sodicity problems. Collected soilsamples were analyzed for pH and ECE from saturationextract as described by Jackson (1973). The soil organic

carbon was estimated by wet digestion method of Walkeyand Black (1934).

The CEC was analyzed as per the standards methodof Bower et al. (1952), while soil texture and free CaCO3

were determined as per Piper (1966).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Soil texture

The clay content of soils of Yerpedu mandal rangedfrom 6.92 to 45.29 per cent with a mean value of 28.25per cent, indicating that the soils varied from loamy sandto clayey as shown in Table 1. The wide variation in thetexture of the soils might be attributed to the differencesin composition of parent material in the study area. Similarresults were also reported by Kumar et al (2013).

Soil reaction

It is evident from the data that pH of the soils variedbetween 7.60 to 10.04 with a mean value of 8.68indicating that soils were slightly alkaline to stronglyalkaline in reaction (Table 1).The distribution of soilsamples into different pH classes (7.5 to 8.0, 8.0 to 8.5,>8.5) as suggested by Brady and Well (2007) indicatedthat 61.3 per cent of soil samples were strongly alkalinewhile 25.8 and 12.9 per cent samples were mildly andmoderately alkaline in reaction respectively. High

214

alkalinity in the study area might be due to increase insoluble sodium, clay and CaCO3.

Electrical conductivity

The values of ECe varied between 0.49 and 9.58dSm-1 with a mean value of 2.33 dSm-1. The highest valueof 9.58 dSm-1 was observed in Pagali village while lowestvalue of 0.49 dSm-1was seen in Jangalapalli village.According to the classification given by soil surveydivision staff (1995), 51.6, 38.71, 6.45 and 3.22 per centof soil samples were non-saline, slightly saline,moderately saline and strongly saline respectively.Relatively higher soluble salt content in soils of studyarea was mainly due to semi-arid climate wheretemperature was very high due to which water table movesbelow the root zone leaving behind the salts on the surfaceleading to high concentration of soluble salts in surface.Similar results were also reported by Mandal and Sharma(1997)

Organic carbon

The soils in the study area were poor in organiccarbon status (with the average value less than below 0.5per cent). Only two villages Rajulapallem andGudimallem of Yerpedu mandal had shown organiccarbon more than 0.5 per cent. The organic carbon contentof different villages in Yerpedu mandal varied from 0.05(Pagali) to 0.78 per cent (Gudimallem) with a mean valueof 0.28 per cent. As per the ratings for organic carbonproposed by Ramoorthy and Bajaj (1969) majority of soilsfalls under low organic carbon status (87.1 per cent), while9.7 and 3.2 per cent of soil samples were medium andhigh respectively. The low organic carbon status in studyarea is due to lesser application of organic manures mainlyFYM by the farmers, high temperatures and good aerationin the soil which increases the rate of oxidation of organicmatter. Furthermore higher pH and presence ofconsiderable amount of CaCO3 might be responsible forlowering the organic carbon status of the soils. Thesefindings were in conformity with the findings of Dhaleand Prasad (2009).

Calcium carbonate

The CaCO3 content varied from 0.50 (Jangalapalli)to 16.00 per cent (Rajulapallem) with a mean value of7.53 per cent indicating the calcareous nature of the soils.This might be due to presence of higher amount of clayin the soils and existence of semi-arid climate and also

due to less leaching of calcium because of high claycontent and dry season resulted in accumulation of moreCaCO3 in soils. The findings were in tune with KawdeKawade et al. (2005).

Cation exchange capacity

The CEC values of soils of Yerpedu mandal rangedfrom 36.28 to 69.22 c mol (p+) kg-1 with a mean value of52.97 c mol (p+) kg-1. The highest value of 69.22 andlowest value of 36.82 c mol (p+) kg-1 was reported inModugulapalem and Jangalapalli villages, respectively.The high CEC values might be due to dominance ofsmectite type of clay minerals present in soils. These theresults are in agreement with the findings of Yereshmi etal. (1997).

Exchangeable sodium percentage

The highest ESP value of 37.83 was recorded inRajulapalem village and the lowest value of 7.03 inKatrakayalagunta village. The overall ESP ranged from7.03 to 37.83 with a mean value of 19.75. The distributionof soil samples in to different ESP classes as suggestedby CSSRI (2004) revealed that 32.25 per cent samplesvaried from non to slightly alkaline 61.29 per cent samplesin slight to moderately alkaline and 6.45 per cent of soilsamples fell under moderate to highly alkalinity.Relatively heavier texture of the soils, arid climate, highexchangeable sodium and proximity to soil erosion andlow-lying area with poor drainage could be attributed asprobable reasons for the highest ESP observed in studyarea. (Polara et al., 2006).

According to the classification of salt affected soilsgiven by Richards (1954) soils of Yerpedu mandal wasclassified as normal (pH <8.5, EC <4dSm-1, ESP <15),saline (pH <8.5, EC >4 dSm-1, ESP <15), sodic (pH >8.5,EC <4dSm-1, ESP >15) and saline-sodic (pH ~8.5, EC>4dSm-1, ESP >15). However soil samples were sodicseventeen (54.83 per cent) and three (9.67 per cent) weresaline-sodic and eleven 11(35.48 per cent) soil sampleswere normal soils.

CONCLUSION

The soil samples with study area were slightlyalkaline to strongly alkaline in reaction, non saline tostrongly saline and low in organic carbon. Soils werecalcareous with high calcium carbonate content.Texturally soils varied from loamy sand to clay. The cationexchange capacity of the soils was high indicating a high

Manimalika et al.,

215

Tabl

e 1.

Phy

sico

-che

mic

al p

rope

rtie

s of

sal

t aff

ecte

d so

ils o

f Yer

pedu

man

dal o

f Chi

ttoo

r di

stri

ct o

f And

hra

Prad

esh

S. N

o N

ame

of th

e V

illag

e pH

s E

Ce

(dSm

-1)

OC

(%

) C

aCO

3

(%)

CE

C

(c m

ol k

g-1)

ESP

C

lay

(%)

Tex

ture

C

lass

ifica

tion

of so

ils

1.

Palle

m

9.12

1.

28

0.08

11

.00

37.2

8 23

.62

7 LS

So

dic

2.

Palle

m

9.64

1.

59

0.17

8.

00

39.3

8 24

.23

9.64

LS

So

dic

3.

Palle

m

9.21

1.

34

0.13

8.

00

38.1

8 23

.61

11.3

6 LS

So

dic

4.

Palle

m

9.36

1.

87

0.34

9.

00

57.8

6 25

.02

37.1

6 SC

So

dic

5.

Palle

m

9.74

2.

14

0.33

8.

50

56.0

6 37

.83

36.1

3 SC

So

dic

6.

Raj

ulap

alem

9.

25

1.69

0.

65

8.50

55

.58

18.1

4 35

.92

SC

Sodi

c 7.

R

ajul

apal

em

8.71

2.

56

0.56

4.

00

55.7

8 18

.06

29.9

2 SC

So

dic

8.

Raj

ulap

alem

9.

46

1.92

0.

06

16.0

0 63

.12

28.4

2 32

.95

CL

Sodi

c 9.

Pa

gali

10.0

4 2.

34

0.07

8.

50

55.9

8 24

.99

35.9

2 SC

So

dic

10.

Paga

li 8.

20

4.16

0.

05

8.50

58

.84

16.7

8 42

.95

SC

Sodi

c 11

. Pa

gali

9.70

1.

92

0.06

7.

50

64.5

2 32

.29

30.2

1 C

L So

dic

12.

Paga

li 9.

80

2.09

0.

09

11.0

0 60

.88

27.8

7 28

.91

CL

Salin

e-so

dic

13.

Paga

li 8.

42

2.96

0.

08

6.00

64

.92

16.6

1 30

.67

CL

Nor

mal

14

. Pa

gali

8.60

9.

58

0.07

8.

00

65.2

8 17

.03

37.6

5 C

L Sa

line-

sodi

c 15

. K

atra

kaya

lagu

nta

7.70

1.

82

0.29

4.

00

51.2

8 7.

03

25.3

2 SC

L N

orm

al

16.

Kob

aka

8.10

2.

27

0.21

8.

50

63.0

8 10

.67

36.9

2 C

L N

orm

al

17.

Pang

uru

8.04

2.

13

0.15

10

.00

59.5

0 14

.10

28.3

8 C

L N

orm

al

18.

Kob

aka

9.60

4.

78

0.09

8.

50

47.2

6 29

.96

29.3

1 SC

L Sa

line-

sodi

c 19

. M

odug

ulap

alle

m

8.76

2.

56

0.27

8.

50

69.2

2 17

.74

45.2

9 C

So

dic

20.

Mod

ugul

apal

lem

8.

62

2.14

0.

17

8.00

37

.30

24.1

0 6.

92

LS

Sodi

c 21

. M

unag

alap

alem

8.

66

1.20

0.

34

6.00

45

.78

17.5

0 23

.84

SCL

Sodi

c 22

. G

ovin

dava

ram

7.

60

1.29

0.

41

6.00

49

.34

14.2

4 30

.64

SCL

Nor

mal

23

. K

atra

kaya

lagu

nta

7.95

1.

64

0.49

7.

50

59.0

8 12

.87

28.9

3 C

L N

orm

al

24.

Gov

inda

vara

m

8.00

1.

21

0.31

4.

00

61.2

8 14

.07

33.6

7 C

L N

orm

al

25.

Jang

alap

alli

7.60

1.

64

0.29

0.

50

58.8

2 12

.04

42.3

6 SC

N

orm

al

26.

Gov

inda

vara

m

8.63

3.

41

0.35

6.

00

37.1

6 24

.83

6.92

LS

So

dic

27.

Jang

alap

alli

7.71

2.

24

0.44

11

.00

59.2

8 14

.29

29.6

3 C

L N

orm

al

28.

Vik

ruth

amal

a 8.

57

1.52

0.

41

7.50

40

.80

20.9

8 25

.37

SCL

Sodi

c 29

. G

ovin

dava

ram

8.

71

1.23

0.

74

7.50

40

.00

19.5

1 24

.87

SCL

Sodi

c 30

. Ja

ngal

apal

li 7.

60

0.49

0.

32

0.50

36

.28

9.18

19

.36

SL

Nor

mal

31

. G

udim

alle

m

7.94

3.

25

0.78

7.

00

52.9

4 10

.65

31.6

8 SC

L N

orm

al

R

ange

7.

60-1

0.04

0.

49-9

.58

0.05

-0.7

8 0.

50-1

6.00

36

.28-

69.2

2 7.

03-3

7.83

6.

92-4

5.29

Mea

n 8.

68

2.33

0.

28

7.53

52

.97

19.7

5 28

.25

CL:

cla

y lo

am, C

: cla

y, S

CL:

sand

y cl

ay lo

am, S

C: s

andy

cla

y, L

S: lo

amy

sand

, SL:

sand

y lo

am.

Physico-chemical properties of salt affected soils

216

sorption capacity of the soils. 67.7 per cent samplesshowed high ESP values.

However salt build-up, soil alkalization and raisingwater table affected soil productivity. The alkali soils canbe reclaimed by application of amendments with bettersoil and water management practices. Gypsum is acommonly used material to supply calcium forreclamation of sodic soils. Elemental sulphur can also beused for reclamation of sodic soils when free lime existsin soil.

LITERATURE CITED

Bower, C.A., Reitemeier, R.F and Fireman, M. 1952.Exchangeable cations analysis of saline and alkalisoils. Soil Science. 73: 251-261.

Brady, N.C and Well, R.R. 2007. The Nature andProperties of Soils. (13thedition). DorlingKindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd., licensees of PearsonEducation in South Asia. pp.144.

CSSRI, 2004. Reclamation and management of saltaffected soils. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute(CSSRI), Karnal. 2004. 12-153

Dhale, S.A and Prasad, J. 2009. Characterization andclassification of sweet orange growing soils of Jalnadistrict, Maharastra. Journal of the Indian Societyof Soil Science. 57(1):11-17.

Jackson, M.L. 1973. Soil Chemical Analysis. Oxford IBHPublishing House, Bombay. 38.

Kawade, A.D., Ravankar, H.N and Padole, V.R. 2005.Physico chemical properties and classification of saltaffected soils of keliveli (district Akola) from purnavalley. Journal of Soils and Crops. 15 (1): 139-143.

Kumar, M.V., Lakshmi, G.V and Madhuvani, P. 2013.Characterization of salt affected soils of Ongoledivision, Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh. MadrasAgricultural Journal. 100(10-12): 816-821.

Mandal, A.K and Sharma, R.C. 1997. Characterizationof some salt affected soils of Indira Gandhi NaharPariyojana command area, Rajasthan.Agropedology. 7:84- 89.

Piper, C.S. 1966. Soil and Plant Analysis. HansPublications, Bombay. 59.

Polara, K.B., Patel, M.S and Kalyansundaram, N.K. 2006.Salt Affected soils of northwest agro-climatic zoneof Gujarat: Their characterization and categorization.Journal of the Indian Society of Coastal AgriculturalResearch. 24(1):52-55.

Ramoorthy, B and Bajaj, J.C. 1969. Available N, P and Kstatus of Indian Soils. Fertilizer News. 14 (8):25-37

Richards, L.A. 1954.Diagnosis and Improvement of salineAlkali Soils. USDA Handbook No. 60. Washington,DC, USA.

Soil survey division staff, 1995. Soil taxonomy, USDA,Natural resources conservation services,Washington, D.C

Walkey, A. and Black, C.A. 1934. Estimation of soilorganic carbon by chromic acid tritration method.Soil Science. 37: 29-38

Yeresheemi, A.N., Channal, H.T., Patagundi, M.S andSatyanarayana, T. 1997. Salt affected soils of upperKrishna Command, Karnataka. I. Physical andchemical characteristics. Agropedology. 7:32-39.

Manimalika et al.,