Hydrangea is one of the world's most charming and wonderful ornamental plants. In recent years
hydrangeas have been used commonly as cut flowers, potted plants, and garden plants with a
gradual increase in popularity and production worldwide. The present study was conducted to
investigate the effect of foliar application of plant growth regulators on Hydrangea macrophylla.
The study provides valuable information for optimizing hydrangea growth and development
through the use of PGRs. It focuses on the factors such as plant height, flower size, and overall
aesthetics. The treatments comprised of different plant growth regulators at different
concentration i.e., gibberellic acid (GA 3 : 25 ppm, 50 ppm, and 100 ppm), benzyladenine (BA: 50
ppm, 100 ppm, and 150 ppm and giberellin in combination with benzyladenine (GA 4+7 @ +BA:
50 ppm, 150 ppm, and 250 ppm). From the data, it was revealed that the use of different PGRs
had a significant effect on all the vegetative and floral parameters of the plants. The plants
treated with GA 3 @ 100 ppm had maximum plant height (39.60 cm), the maximum length of
shoots (27.51 cm), minimum days taken for visible bud formation (151.47 days), and minimum
days for flowering (184.53 days). In addition, maximum pot presentability (88.17) and growth
index (35.81) were recorded in the plants with the application of GA 4+7 @ 50 ppm+BA @ 50
ppm. Thus, the study indicated that hydrangea plants treated with GA 4+7 @ 50 ppm + BA @ 50
ppm resulted in the most desirable and presentable potted plants. By providing insights into the
effective use of PGRs, the study can help growers optimize plant production, improve plant
quality etc.

Silicon (Si), the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and soils. However, its beneficial role in stimulating the growth and development of many plant species is widely recognized. Silicon effectively mitigates various abiotic stresses, including iron, manganese, and aluminum toxicities, as well as salinity, drought, chilling, and freezing stresses. Despite this, the mechanisms underlying Si-mediated alleviation of abiotic stresses remain poorly understood. This review highlights the role of Si in enhancing stress resistance and emphasizes its importance in rice and sugarcane production. Exploring silicon as a critical nutrient offers promising opportunities to enhance stress tolerance, improve yields, and promote sustainable practices, addressing global food security and environmental challenges.

A pot culture experiment was conducted on “Influence of Phosphorus and Sulphur Application on Nutrient Content and Uptake by Sesamum in High Phosphorus soils of Telangana”. In this experiment, two high phosphorus status soils were selected consisting of 67.29 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 and 83.46 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 . Treatments mainly include five levels of phosphorus (P 0 -0, P 1 – 5, P 2 -10, P 3 -15 & P 4 -20 kg ha -1 of soil) and four levels of sulphur (S 0 -0, S 1 -10, S 2 -20 & S 3 -30 kg ha -1 of soil) and it was conducted factorial completely randomized design. Results indicated that a significant increase in nutrient content and uptake by sesamum crop could be achieved by combined application of 15 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ( 75 % RDP ) + 20 kg S ha -1 in both high available phosphorus soils. Among the various treatments tested, the highest nutrient content and uptake by sesamum crop was recorded with a combined application of 75 per cent RDP (15 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ) + 20 kg S ha -1 in soil 1 and 50 per cent RDP (10 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ) + 20 kg S ha -1 in soil 2.

An experiment was conducted at AICRP on STCR, ARI, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to
evaluate the performance of multinutrient extractant AB-DTPA in comparison with the standard
method (Olsen’s method) during 2019-20. Geo-referenced surface soil samples were collected
through a random sampling technique from in and around Ranga Reddy district of Telangana.
These soils were screened for available phosphorus status and thirty soil samples were collected
with ten samples from each category viz., low, medium and high phosphorus fertility levels. The
amount of available phosphorus extracted by Olsen’s extractant (112 kg ha -1 ) was found to be
numerically more compared to AB-DTPA extractant (82 kg ha -1 ). The correlation coefficient
between Olsen’s and AB-DTPA extractant during estimation of available P in varying native
phosphorus status soils was found to be 0.84** in low P soils, medium P soils (r = 0.86**) and
high P soils was (r = 0.87**) while in case of overall soils it was found to be (r = 0.94**). It can
be concluded that Olsen's and AB-DTPA extractable phosphorus were equally good indices for
estimating available phosphorus. Hence, AB-DTPA can be used as an extractant for the
estimation of available P in neutral and alkaline soils.

A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season at Nalanda College of
Horticulture Noorsarai, Nalanda, Bihar, India to evaluate the effect of potassium
(75%,100%,125%,150%) of RDF(120:90;100 N:P205:K20) and boron (0,1,2,3 kg/ha) levels on
potato yield and quality during rabi season with factorial RBD design with three replication. The
result of three consecutive years (2020-2021, 2021-22 and 2022-23) data revealed that T-15 150
% of RDF (equivalent to 150 kg/ha potash) along with 2 kg Boron/ha given significantly higher
no of tuber /hill (9.05), tuber wt (89.87g), total tuber yield (401.02 q/ha), dry matter (20.8%),
Minimum total weight loss (22.79 %), Vit-c (20.67 mg/100 g) and reducing sugar (1.74 %), Net
return of Rs 2.44 lakh/ha and B/C ratio 3.17 in the environmental condition of Nalanda college
of horticulture, Noorsarai ,Nalanda Bihar. There are several challenges for effect of Potassium
and Boron levels on yield and quality of potatoes like nutrient imbalance, soil variability, crop
sensitivity, monitoring and testing etc. Potatoes are sensitive to nutrient deficiencies or excesses,
different soil types and environmental conditions. Proper Potassium and Boron levels, alongwith
sustainable agriculture improve efficiency of tuber production and quality by minimizing
environmental impact, reducing waste and optimize fertilization practices.

The effect of sowing dates on the qualitative traits of Vegetable pea (Pisum sativum
L.) was investigated to determine how planting time influences the qualitative traits of
vegetable pea. Twenty genotypes of Vegetable pea were used in the experiments which were
collected from NBPGR New Delhi, IARI New Delhi and different districts of Bihar
(Begusarai, Samastipur, Bhagalpur etc.). In this study, vegetable peas were sown at different
dates i.e., 15th October, Last week of October, and 1st week of November and various
qualitative traits, including TSS Content, Total Sugar, Reducing Sugar, Protein Content and
ascorbic acid were assessed. These all qualitative traits were observed minimum for IC-
342046 and maximum for 5438/P-2110 which was at par with all four checks (Pusa Prabhat,
Arkel, GS-10, and Punjab 89). When comparing early-planted vegetable pea on October 15 th
to other sowing dates, noticeably larger TSS Content, Total Sugar, Reducing Sugar, Protein
Content and ascorbic acid was found which indicates that the sowing date determined the
level of qualitative traits in vegetable pea. The current study found that early sowing dates
generally produced better qualitative characteristics in vegetable pea. Predicting the ideal
time to plant might be challenging due to unseasonable rains, temperature fluctuations, or
frost events. The development of crop management techniques that can adjust to climatic
variability and harsh weather events is aided by research on sowing dates. Farmers can better
adapt to variations in temperature and precipitation patterns by modifying the time of sowing.

The soil’s biological health is an important aspect in sustaining crop production in arable soils. The impact of the long-term application of graded doses of farmyard manure(FYM) and its integration with mineral nitrogen on soil biochemical properties was investigated in a pearl millet-wheat system. The study involved four levels of FYM (0, 10, 20 and 30 Mg ha-1) and two nitrogen levels (0 and 120 kg ha-1) and the effects were assessed soil nitrogen availability, microbial activity and nitrogen (N) cycling soil enzymes activities in two soil depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm). The results showed a significant increase (p< 0.05) in soil available nitrogen with addition of FYM and N and it ranged from 169-328 kg ha-1 in surface soil and 132-238 kg ha-1 in subsurface soil. The soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) content was significantly increased with increasing FYM and N levels, where MBC ranging from 162-1189 mg g-1 soil in 0-15 cm depth and 91-852 mg g-1 soil in 15-30 cm depth. The substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and soil microbial quotient (SMQ) was also reported with FYM and N application irrespective of soil depths. The soil urease activity was increased by 227% in surface soil and 323% in subsurface soil with increased FYM level from 0 to 30 Mg ha-1. The activity of arginine deaminase in soil ranged from 4.36-10.3 µg NH4+ g-1 soil hr-1and 2.60to 6.34 µg NH4+ g-1 soil hr-1in 0-15 cm and 15-30cmsoil layer, respectively. Thus, the study emphasizes the importance ofFYM and N fertilization for enhancing soil microbial biomass,activity and nitrogen availability in semiarid environment, all of which support better soil health and sustainable crop production.

Millets, ancient grains once central to the Indian diet, have seen a sharp decline due to the rise of
more refined cereals. However, their reintroduction into the Indian thali addresses critical health,
nutritional, and environmental issues. This paper delves into their historical background,
nutritional and ecological benefits, economic relevance, and strategies for mainstreaming millets
in modern diets. It also explores the challenges faced in promoting millet consumption and offers
solutions for their sustainable integration into public food systems. Globally, there has been a
notable surge in the prevalence of diabetes cases as a result of factors such as population growth,
aging, urbanization, rising obesity rates, and declining physical activity. Diabetes can be
controlled in large part by diet, and millets having low-glycemic index (GI) have become more
significant as they release glucose into the bloodstream at a very slow rate. Dietary changes,
particularly the addition of millet, can help prevent and manage diabetes mellitus. Eating
practices have long been acknowledged for their important role in promoting health and wellness
through the consumption of nutrient-dense meals

The study aimed to explore the agricultural machineries usage behavior and its direct and
indirect effects on livelihood of the delta farmers in Cauvery river region of Tamil Nadu. Four
villages namely, Pullavarayan kudikaadu, Idamelaiyur, Vaduvoor and Saathanur from Thiruvarur
district of Tamil Nadu have been selected based on land distribution and intensive agriculture.
The household survey was held in all the four villages. Based on the secondary data, the villages
were identified. Around 104 voluntary farm households were surveyed. The study found that,
because of Cauvery canal and availability of three phase current supply, majority of the
households relies on agriculture for their livelihood. The farm families that earn supplementary
income excluding animal rearing are above 90.00 %. About 22.50 % of the farm households are
collegiate, meagre proportion (5.62 %) of the farm Households leased out their land due to
ageing, migrated children and to preferentially allocate more time for their non-farm jobs. The
most prominent agricultural machineries used by the samples either by owning or through rent
are, Combined harvester (96.92%), Tractor (96.92%), Straw Baler (90.81%) Hand Sprayer
(76.53) and Rice Transplanter (70.40%). The cost savings using agricultural machineries over
traditional cultivation method as perceived by the respondents were, less than 25000 rupees
(48.97%), more than 25000 to 1 lakh rupees (40.81%) and more than 1 lakh rupees (10.20%).
Even though agricultural machineries proven economic benefit on field level, farmers are yet to
be convinced fully on its adoption this might be due to several insightful field level usage and
access problems.

Sea buckthorn as an ancient economically and ecologically important plant with modern traits recently gained global attention due to its nutritional and therapeutic properties. It is one of the most important, underutilized plants at high altitudes, in the cold desert region of the Spiti Valley which has immense industrial, medicinal, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical importance. Numerous
bioactive chemicals, such as vitamins A, C, and E, unsaturated fatty acids, and phenolic compounds which bestow favorable
effects on the cardiovascular system, may be found in the plant’s leaves, fruits, and oils. Additionally, Sea buckthorn has a lot of potential as a bio-resource for land reclamation because of its ability to bind soil, provide rapid surface cover, fix nitrogen, and endure cold and drought. However, research on sea buckthorn is still limited due to a number of issues, including a lack of meticulous field studies, data gaps, and the difficulty of accessing remote cold desert areas, despite its enormous potential. Due to its multipurpose nature, the plant is widely utilized to obtain different valuable products such as oil, wine, medicinal supplements, and other products. This brief review summarises the current literature, highlights ecological and economic potential, and significant knowledge identified on Sea buckthorn which will give momentum to recognise it as an exceptional plant in the Spiti
Valley.