Volume 11, Issue 4, 2023

There are several major problems like, abscission of leaves and reproductive parts associated with the growth and development limiting the yield. An objective for using plant growth regulators in cotton is to balance vegetative and reproductive growth as well as to improve yield and its quality. In recent years, plant growth regulators considered as new generation agrochemicals after fertilizers and pesticides. The experiment was carried out during kharif seasons of 2018-19 and 2019-20 at Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design with three replications consisting of twelve treatment combinations comprising three plant growth regulator treatments in main plot and four micro-nutrient treatments in sub plot. It indicated that among application of plant growth regulators, Brassinosteroids @ 0.01% significantly increased yield and yield attributes like, no. of picked bolls/plant, seed cotton yield/plant (g), seed cotton yield (kg/ha) and stalk yield (kg/ha-1) as compared with other plant growth regulators during year 2018-19 and 2019-20. Among application of micro-nutrient treatments, yield and yield attributes like, no. of picked bolls/plant, seed cotton yield/plant (g), seed cotton yield (kg/ha) and stalk yield (kg/ha) was significantly higher with Foliar spray at the square formation and at the flowering of 0.5% ZnSO4 + 0.5% MgSO4 + 0.5% FeSO4 + 0.2% B which was at par with foliar spray of Grade II micro-nutrient at the square formation and at flowering during both the years of studies.

Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) is a native of the Americas. Since the initial identification of invasion into Nigeria and Ghana in 2016, it has swiftly invaded 47 African countries and 18 Asian countries. Its host range (at least 353 host plants), innate capacity to live in a variety of habitats, robust migration ability, high fecundity, quick development of insecticide/virus resistance and gluttonous traits all contribute to its classification as a ‘Super Pest’. The outstanding biological characteristics of FAW contribute to its invasiveness. There are still gaps in our understanding of S. frugiperda’s invasive mechanisms, how to stop it from spreading and how to improve managemement techniques. An overview of distribution, life stages, behaviour, host strain identification, damage symptoms at various stages and insect biology, a description of are presented here.

In the present study the parents, F1 crosses, and F2 individuals were screened on the field condition to evaluate resistance to budfly and alternaria blight in linseed. The parental lines included wild accessions exhibiting resistance and susceptibility to budfly and alternaria blight. EC-993391 and IC-633096, displayed minimal infestation (0), while others, like EC-993389, were more susceptible, with infestation levels reaching as high as 27.8 for bud fly and 21.88 for alternaria blight. Notably, the F1 hybrids T-397 × IC-633096 and T-397 × IC-633096 (treated with 0.15 mg/L in the shoot tip) displayed resistance to budfly and alternaria blight. Although, the overall F2 population was moderately susceptible to bud fly and alternaria blight, specific individual plants within this generation exhibited lower infestations, suggesting their potential as valuable pre-breeding materials. Molecular studies using identified specificSSR markers including “Lu 2853, Lu 2850, Lu 2840, Lu 2332,” which distinguished F1 hybrids derived from the cross between T-397 × EC-993389 from the parental lines. Besides molecular markers, morphological characteristics such as plant height, number of branches plant-1, capsule size, seed size, and 1000 seed weight were also assessed. Breeding strategies included the possibility of intermating selected F2 plants to preserve resistance to both budfly and alternaria blight while potentially disrupting undesirable linkages between different traits.

Food grain production after first green revolution has increased from 50.82 to 285.21 million metric ton to feed growing population. With the increase in grain production straw production has also increased proportionally. Crop residues are the plant parts that are left in the field after harvesting. These residues are usually burnt to clear the field as field preparation for the next crop. Current production of crop residues in India is 501.73 million tones. Highest quantities of crop residue are generated in Uttar Pradesh greater than 60 Mt, followed by Punjab and Maharashtra.Burning residues is the cheapest and most common method adopted by farmers. Burning of residues affects the soil health as well as pollutes the environment. Due to the burning of residue, microbes are killed making soil unfertile. Also different micro as well as macronutrients which are easily volatilised is loss due to the burning of residue in the soil. So, the different scientific communities are in great concern for the management ofagricultural crop residue. To manage this issue, it is necessary to adapt diversified management practices and the inclusion of mechanization as a part of managing increases the scope of usage of crop residues as a future prospect. Crop residue management improves both soil and environmental quality.

Agrochemicals are widely used in Indian agriculture for crop protection and to increase yield.They are known to have a negative impact on both the environment and human health. This study aims to explore the attitude of rice farmersand variouspractices followed by themregarding agrochemical usage in the Amritsar district of Punjab. A five-level Likert scale questionnaire was applied to measure the respondents’ attitude. The data was collected from 100 respondents, compiled, and interpreted in accordance with the study’s objectives. The farmers were all men belonging to the age group of 24-43 years (45 %). A total of 64 percent of the respondents lived in nuclear households, specifically those with a medium family size of between 5-8 individuals, which made up 44 percent of the population researched.About 38 percent of the farmers have semi-medium (5-10 acre) and medium (10-25 acre) operational land holdings. Agriculture came out as the primary occupation of the majority of the farmers, with approximately 77 percent of them engaged in this sector. Only four per cent of them participated in any training or extension programs on the use of agrochemicals because the majority were unaware of it.Farmers were found to have a low amount of mass media exposure, with only 56 percent of them reporting any such exposure. About 65 per cent of the farmers indicated a highly favorable attitude of the use of agrochemicals. It was also revealed that farmers follow various kinds of practices regarding agrochemical usage like soil testing, applying neem-coated urea, usingleaf color chart, ETL (Economic Threshold Level) observation, and a lot more practices which highlights the need foreducational initiatives to increase awareness about various practices that can lead to improved rice cultivation and agrochemical usage. It was also revealed that farmers face various challenges like high prices of agrochemicals, lack or awareness and many other which impact the growth and overall production.

Soybean crop is known to be infected by several seed and soil borne pathogens affecting the seed quality and viability in field and during storage. Colletotrichum truncatum and Macrophomina phaseolina are the important seed and seedling pathogens affect the germinating seed. Since intensive use of synthetic pesticides is unsafe, bio formulations can be an alternative as they are eco-friendly and sustainable without any residual effects. Thirteen commercially available bio formulations were evaluated for their antagonistic activity against these two test pathogens. The population density of the bio agents ranged from 1×105 to 6x 108 cfu/g.The dual culture assay of C.truncatum and M. phaseolina revealed that, highest per cent inhibition was recorded by formulation T5, T. viride + P. flourescens followed by T6, T. harzianum+ B.subtilis with88.16% and 88.01%; 62.00% and 53.64 per inhibition of mycelial growth, respectively. The fungal bio agents T.viride and T.harzianum were found effective over the bacterial bio agents P.fluorescens and B. subtilis for their suppressing activity. However, the bio fertilizer, Rhizobium sp. was least effective with 72.92% and 32.73% mycelial inhibition of both the pathogens, respectively.While, the formulation T10 basil oil @ 5ml/l was observed equally effective as that of fungicidal check carboxin+thiram @3g/l in poisoned food technique in suppressing cent per cent mycelial growth of both the test pathogens. However, the formulations T8 biopolymer and T9 neem oil were least effective with (21.18%, 2.32%) and (23.66%, 10.44%) inhibition, respectively.The response of these bio formulations for seed quality and seed health against C. truncatum stated that seed treatment formulation T5, T. viride + P. flourescens @10g/kg was most effective with 85.50 per cent seed germination followed by T10basil oil @5 ml/kg with 84.50 per centwhich were statistically on par with each other. T5 has shown 34.79% increase of seed germination over untreated control (55.75%). Formulation T10 basil oil has recorded minimum 9.75% seed infection, maximum SV-I and SV-II (2355, 98 g) respectively. All the bio formulations except for T8 bio polymer and T13 GA3 have showed per cent seed germination above IMSCS against M. phaseolina. Formulation T5 has recorded highest 85.75 % seed germination and was on par with T10 basil oil, 85.00 per cent. However, T5 has exhibited 33.81% increase of seed germination over the control (56.75%). Seed treatment with T10 has reported minimum 7.00% seed infection followed by T5 with 8.00 per cent. Significantly highest 2190, 96.61g SVI-I and SVI- II, respectively was observed in T5. However, formulations, T8 biopolymer and T13 GA3 have showed maximum (27.25%, 24.00%) seed infection, lowest 1068, 48.62g, 1125, 55.14g, SV-I and SV-II, respectively. The results of the present investigation states that formulations, T5 T. viride + P. fluorescens, T1 10 and T6 T. harzianum+ B.subtilis were found effective for their antagonistic potential against C.truncatum and M. phaseolina.

A field study was carried out to determine the effect of boron sprays on fruit cracking in pomegranates. Different treatments were taken i.e. T1: Single spray of borax (0.3%) in Ist week of May, T2: Two sprays of borax (0.3%) – Ist week of May and first week of June, T3: Three sprays of borax (0.3%) (3rd week of April, Ist week of May and last week of May), T4: Four sprays of borax (0.3%) (3rd week of April, Ist week of May and last week of May and 2nd week of June) and T5: Control (water spray) with four replications under randomized block design. The results of the study revealed a significant increase in yield, TSS, and a decrease in acidity and fruit cracking of pomegranate. However, four sprays of borax (0.3%) during (the 3rd week of April, Ist week of May, and last week of May and 2nd week of June) proved to be the best treatment in reducing the fruit cracking in pomegranate by 73.9% over control. Thus, it can be concluded that the effect of boron on pomegranate not only reduces fruit cracking but improves yield and TSS. The challenges faced during the research work was extreme variations in day and night temperatures.

IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on the long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of
techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modi

ication of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties.
Pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established guidelines, and treatments are made
with the goal of removing only the target organism. Pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks
to human health, bene

icial and non-target organisms, and the environment. This study was conducted to measure the training
effectiveness of IPM technologies and awarness about the bio control agents among the tribal farmers. Results revealed that the
majority of the tribal farmers were aware of Pseudomonas

luorescence (28%) followed by Trichoderma viridi (20%) and Bacillus
subtilis (16.67%) before attending the training and cent per cent awareness was found with respect to Trichoderma viridi and
Pseudomonas

luorescence due to the training. The majority (55%) of them expressed that high level of effectiveness for the training
programme followed by medium level (21.70%) and low level (15 %). Adequate information in a particular area’ with weighted a
mean score of 3.05 and ‘easy understanding’ with a weighted mean score 2.95 were the most important aspects where training was
found effective. The overall training Effectiveness Index was found to be 64.5 per cent which implies that the training conducted was
successful and rated as Good.

Vegetation analysis is used to determine weeds that have a high ability to grow to dominate in a living space. The dominant weed population can later be used as a consideration to make some decisions. This survey aimed to analyze the weed vegetation in North farm and South farm in Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture and ind the species that is dominant. Identiication on plant species inside the farm is conducted directly based on the characteristic and morphology from every species found. Vegetation analysis is used to determine weeds that have a high ability to grow and dominate in a living space. The dominance generally determines whether weeds are important or not. The dominant weed population can later be used as a consideration to make some weed control decisions. From the survey, there are 24 species of weeds from 13 families identified which were consisting of 7 no of species belongs to Poaceae, 4 no of species belongs to Euphorbiaceae remaining are from other families. The dominant species in broadleaved weeds compromising of Trianthema portulacastrum followed by Phyllanthus niruri, Dactylactenium aegyptium in grasses and Cyperus iria in sedges. This survey concluded that Trianthema portulacastrum is the species which have the highest important value index of 16.75. It means that this plant has the highest level of domination in the observation plots. Whereas Phyllanthus madraspetans is recorded the lowest important value index of 1.43.

The objective of the current study was to boost the growth of the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, and increase cocoon yield by
feeding the larvae on mulberry leaves sprayed with various doses of nano fertilizers, speci

ically nano NPK (19:19:19) at
concentrations of 2, 4 and 6 g/l, as well as nano urea at concentrations of 2, 4 and 6 ml/l. The application of nano fertilizers to the
leaves, followed by their consumption by silkworms from hatching until the spinning stage, resulted in notable improvements in
various economic parameters related to larval development, cocoon production, and silk quality. Among the different doses of nano
fertilizers assessed, it was observed that nano NPK (19:19:19) at a concentration of 6 g/l exhibited favorable outcomes in terms of
reduced larval duration, increased mature larval weight, improved effective rate rearing, enhanced silk productivity, cocoon yield,
greater cocoon weight, higher shell weight, improved cocoon shell ratio, increased pupal weight, greater silk gland weight, longer
cocoon
ilament length,

iner denier and the highest

ibroin protein, while concurrently having the lowest sericin protein content.