Bananas (Musa paradisiaca L., Musaceae)hold a significant cultural, social, and economic
position in India, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Despite its historical roots and
extensive global cultivation, banana production faces numerous challenges, including pest and
disease infestations, declining soil fertility, and climate variability. This research investigates the
perceptions and management practices of banana farmers regarding pests and diseases in Bihar,
India, a major contributor to global banana cultivation. Employing an ex-post facto research
design, the study surveyed 200 farmers from two districts, Bhagalpur and Khagaria, utilizing
semi-structured interviews and data analysis through IBM SPSS Statistics. Demographic and
agricultural practice differences between the districts were observed, highlighting variations in
age, education, experience, and training. Both districts identified the Banana Scarring Beetle and
Panama wilt as significant pests and diseases, with Bhagalpur farmers perceiving higher severity
levels. Targeted training programs focusing on plant protection practices, especially in
Bhagalpur, and effective disease management strategies, particularly for Panama wilt, was
recommended. Promotion of fungicides like carbendazim, integrated pest management,
continuous monitoring, and stakeholder collaboration were suggested for enhancing disease
control efforts. Further research to understand perception differences would inform tailored
interventions, contributing to the resilience and sustainability of banana farming in Bihar and
beyond. The study encountered few challenges, such as the necessity for meticulous cross-
verification of information, arranging convenient interview times with respondents, and gaining
access to farmers' fields to precisely evaluate disease and insect infestations affecting banana
crops. The insights gleaned from this research will significantly aid in the effective management
of banana pests and diseases, particularly Fusarium wilt, leading to enhanced income generation
for farmers.

Seed quality test is most important in agriculture to determine the planting value and to
minimize the hazards of crop production. Quick and reliable vigour tests are required for
supply of quality seed to the farmer. However, most commonly used method for the
evaluation of vigour i.e. germination test is time-consuming and laborious. To rapidly assess
the seed vigour, a Q2 scanner based on Oxygen sensing technology is used. The conventional
vigour testing based on germination and seedling parameters needs a minimum of eight days
for assessment. On the other hand, Q2 analysis provides a fast and accurate single-seed
measurement of oxygen consumption during germination. Oxygen measurement can be used
as it is directly related to seed respiration and energy production. An analysis can take 10 to
72 hours, depending on the species. The result is an easy determination of the metabolic
activity of seeds. Although the Q2 analysis does not provide specific information about
seedling categories in terms of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) (normal,
abnormal etc.), it delivers fast and accurate information about homogeneity of seed vigour
linked to oxygen consumption of seed lots. The Q2 analysis can be used to determine
differences between seed lots in comparative trials. Oxygen-sensing technology provides a
fast and automatic measurement of oxygen consumption and respiration efficiency. The
present study is conducted for the evaluation of six rice genotypes for vigour using Q2
Scanner and examined the correlations between the different potential vigour indices.

To find out the effect of different organic bulk and liquid manures on the growth, yield and seed
quality of knol-khol, a field-experiment was conducted at CONF, Chatha during the Rabi season of
2022- 23. To increase yield, high amount of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides are used which not
only pollute the vegetables but also affect soil chemical properties. As pesticides and inorganic
fertilizers can penetrate vegetable tissues, they have a negative impact on the natural food chain
when utilised extensively in areas where leafy vegetable production occurs therefore an experiment
was conducted in RCBD with 02 factors viz., organic bulk and liquid manures. There were 20
treatments, with three replications. During the vegetative stage, liquid manures (Panchagavya,
Jeevamrut, Compost tea) were applied at 20 and 30 DAT and after 20 days of replanting the knobs
for seed production. Liquid manures were sprayed at 3% concentration whereas bulk manures were
applied at various dosages like FYM 20 t/ ha, vermicompost 3 t/ ha poultry manure 2 t/ ha and
mustard cake 2 t/ha, as basal dose to the crop. Results depicted that during the vegetative stage,
foliar applications of Compost tea + FYM recorded significantly higher growth and yield
contributing parameters as compared to other treatments. This treatment was statistically at par with
the treatment having Jeevamrut + FYM for knob diameter (8.12 cm) and days to 50% marketable
maturity (40 days). At the reproductive stage of the crop, Jeevamrut + FYM showed superiority
concerning days to 50% flowering (91 days), number of siliqua per plant (945), siliqua weight per
plant (75.67g), seed weight per plant (50g) and seed yield per hectare (610kg). Studies further
revealed that organic amendments could not influence soil chemical properties like pH, EC and OC
except available nitrogen. Its primary components, such as organic manures, offer a means of
lowering the indiscriminate use of synthetic fertilizers, which promote soil health and have a good
effect on soil organic matter.

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) is an underutilized minor millet traditionally
consumed as bird feed but nowadays, because of an increase in awareness about the health
benefits of millet, the demand for millet products is increasing in the market. Millets are
gluten-free, have a low glycemic index, and possess many functional and nutraceutical
properties. The physicochemical and functional properties of millets are quite different from
the cereals as millets are gluten-free which can be a challenge to develop new products with
millets substituting the cereals in the formulations. The millet flour properties such as
physical, functional and nutrient components affect the product's processing steps and
quality. Hence, the present study was conducted to analyze the physicochemical and
functional properties of proso millet grain and its flour. The study found that the proso millet
grains were small, oval in shape, and yellow in colour. The L * , a * and b * values were 76.25,
5.20, and 27.83 respectively. The water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, and
swelling capacity of the proso millet flour were 1.15 g/g, 1.16 g/g, and 4.51 ml/g with a good
amount of protein (12.10%) and crude fiber (5.55%). Tannin content was 228.24 mg tannic
acid equivalent per 100 g, total phenolic content was 25.17 mg gallic acid equivalent per 100
g and 45.17 per cent DPPH inhibition activity. It can be concluded that proso millet can be a
nutritious gluten-free functional ingredient with good physical properties and nutrients. Proso
millet has the potential properties and it can be incorporated into different food product
formulations to make them more nutritious.

In the current investigation, 50 okra genotypes were grouped into 9 clusters by treating estimated D2 values as the square of the generalized distance. Among the 9 clusters, cluster II had the highest intra-cluster value (74.77) followed by Cluster I (67.14), and the highest inter-cluster value was noticed between Cluster VII and IX (167.97) followed by Cluster II and IX (152.31). The maximum contribution towards divergence was shown by the characters like PDI of OELCV at 90 DAS (23.53 %), PDI of YVMV at 90 DAS (17.22), fruit length (9.27), days to 1st blooming (9.00 %) and the internodal length (7.69 %). The PCA was carried out to get a simplified view of the relationship between the attributes. From the PCA plot of PC1 vs. PC2 (Dim1 vs Dim2), selection may be refined considering all 8 principal components, with Punjab 8 being the best-performing cultivar having an optimum combination of all variables including OELCV and BYVMV disease tolerance. Seven diverse genotypes were selected based on yield potentiality, disease tolerance, multivariate analysis, and PCA.

In the Gird Agroclimatic Zone at Rajamata Vijayaraj Scindia Krishi Visva Vidhyalay, Zonal Agricultural Research Station Morena, an experiment was carried out during the Rabi season of 2013–14, 2014–15, and 2015–16. Split plot design was used to set up the experiment, with three hydrogel levels assigned to each sub-plot and four watering schedules assigned to the main plots, all of which were reproduced three times. The growth and yield parameters of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) were significantly higher when irrigation was scheduled at 0.8 IW/CPE. These attributes were plant height, number of primary branches plant-1, number of siliquae plant-1, number of seeds siliqua-1, and seed yield (1803 kg ha-1). In a similar vein, the irrigation schedule at 0.8 IW/CPE across the remaining treatments resulted in better oil yield (781.8 kg ha-1), financial returns, production efficiency (15.1 kg ha-1day-1), and B:C Ratio. When compared to the other treatments, the irrigation schedule with rainfed (no irrigation) had the highest water use efficiency (8.5 kgha-cm). As the hydrogel level was increased to 5.0 kg ha-1, growth metrics, yield attributes, seed yield, and oil production all improved. Higher production efficiency (14.3 kg ha-1 day-1) and water use efficiency (9.5 kg/ha-cm) were also brought about by the increased yield with 5.0 kg ha-1 hydrogel.

Soil test crop response (STCR) nutrient management is an advanced approach for productivity of crop and sustaining soil health. On the basis of this technology, field experiment was conducted at Agriculture College and Research Institute, Killikulam, Tamil Nadu during the Rabi season of 2019-20 and 2020-21 to study the effect of soil test crop response (STCR) application of N, P, and K along with zinc and boron on growth, yield, quality of onion and soil fertility status. The growth, yield, and quality were significantly influenced by the soil and foliar application of zinc and boron with STCR dose of NPK. Application of STCR (106:97:54 kg of NPK ha-1) + ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 + 0.5% foliar spray significantly influenced the growth, yield characters, bulb yield, bulb quality and maintained soil fertility status. The lowest growth, yield characters, bulb yield, and quality with lower fertility status were recorded under control. The fertilizer treatment of STCR (106:97:54 kg of NPK ha-1) + ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 with 0.5% foliar spray was found to be the best suitable method and dose for onion production in the semi-arid tract of southern Tamil Nadu.

Annual statice (Limonium Sinuatum L.) can produce two harvests of the quality crop in one cropping season with proper nutrition management. The effect of fertilization on yield and profitability of statice ratoon system has not been reported yet. Hence, the present study addresses the impact of fertilization on increased production potential and profitability of statice ratoon system. Results of the experiment reveal that the overall cost of cultivation as well as the economics of statice flower production under the ratoon cropping system was significantly influenced by fertilizer management in the main crop. An increase in dose of NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium) fertilizer increases the yield and quality of main as well as ratoon crop. The stem length and number of marketable flowers in ratoon crops increase with optimum dose of fertilizer application. The increase in yield and quality of ratoon crop ultimately lead to an increase in net income. Maximum net returns (₹ 6066612.17) and benefit-cost ratio (14.60:1) per hectare area were obtained from the same treatment while lowest (10.60:1) was observed with 100:75:50 kg/ha NPK. Hence, a fertilizer dose of 150:125:75 kg/ha NPK may be adopted to produce the maximum yield of quality cut flower stem of statice under ratoon cropping system which will result in getting maximum returns.

The genetic diversity of of fourteen pearl millet genotypes was investigated using 50 SSR markers. Polymorphism was found in 25 of the 50 markers analyzed. The highest PIC value among these 25 polymorphic SSR markers was reported in SSR marker xpsmp 2251, which was 0.6704. The PIC varied from 0.1239 (3035) to 0.6704 (xpsmp 2251). The power marker UPGMA cluster analysis grouped 14 pearl millet parental genotypes into two major clusters with a 67.5% similarity score. The first cluster has ten parental genotypes: EMRL-14/123, EMRL-14/237, EMRL-14/243, HMS 53 A4, HMS 54 A5, AC 04/13, H77/833-2-202, EMRL-14/111, HMS 30Aegp, EMRL-14/105, while the second cluster contains four parental lines: HMS 58 A1, EMRL-14/103, EMRL-14/127, and EMRL-15/109.

The fruit processing sector disposes of large amounts of fruit waste in landfills or rivers, posing environmental risks. As a result, recycling and producing livestock feed resources, as well as extracting or developing value-added products, are required. Consequently, we utilize the biomass of C. reticulata fruit peel in the environmentally friendly production of zinc oxide nanoparticles. In addition, a nanoparticle coating on fabrics will have a highly active surface with different functional properties. In the parallel streak method, cotton fabrics treated with zinc oxide nanoparticles using citrus reticulata peel powder had the best antibacterial efficacy against E. coli and S. aureus. The results show that fabrics treated with ZnO-1 have stronger antibacterial activity than fabrics treated with ZnO-2, while untreated fabrics have no antibacterial activity. The wash durability test results showed a highly significant difference at a 1 percent significant level in numerous washings, and the proportion of bacterial reduction dropped as the wash cycle lengthened