Journal of Hill Agriculture 2010 Vol 1(2)

Volume 1, No. 2 July - Dec, 2010

ISSN : 0976-7606

INDIAN SOCIETY OF HILL AGRICULTURE (Regd. 2010)URL: www.isharanichauri.com

Indian Society of Hill Agriculture (ISHA) was founded in 2010 having its secretariat at G.B. Pant University ofAgriculture and Technology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Distt Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India with the mainobjective to cultivate and promote research, education and development of agriculture and allied branches ofscience with special emphasis on development of hill and mountain regions of the world.

OFFICE BEARERSChief Patron: Dr BS Bisht, Vice Chancellor, GB Pant Univ of Ag & Tech, Pantnagar, UttarakhandExecutive Patron: Dr MC Nautiyal, Dean, College of Forestry and Hill Ag, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandPresident: Dr PS Bisht, Dean, VCSG College of Horticulture, Bharsar, GBPUAT, UttarakhandVice President (s): Dr AK Sharma, Additional Director Hort, Deptt of Hort, Govt of Uttarakhand, Chaubattia

Dr SK Thakur, CSK HPKVV, Palampur, Himachal PradeshDr VK Rao, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr PJ Handique, Gauhati University, Guwahati, AssamDr MS Mir, Sher-e-Kashmir Univ Ag & Sci Tech, Shalimar, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir

Secretary: Dr VK Yadav, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandJoint Secretary: Dr Sanjeev Sharma, Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

Dr Sunil Kumar, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr OC Sharma, Sher-e-Kashmir Univ of Ag Sci & Tech, RARS, Leh, Jammu & KashmirDr Vinod K Sharma, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr Mayank Rai, Central Agricultural University, Manipur

Editor-in-Chief, J Hill Ag Dr Satish K Sharma, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandAssociate Editor Dr KC Sharma, CSKHPKVV, Kullu, Himachal PradeshTreasurer: Dr Chandra Dev, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandBusiness Manager: Dr AK Pandey, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, Uttarakhand

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARDMembers From India Dr Mangla Rai, President NAAS and Former Secretary DARE, Govt. of India

Dr P L Gautam, Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority, Govt. of IndiaDr Anwar Alam, Vice Chancellor, Sher-e-Kashmir Univ Ag & Sci Tech, Srinagar, J&KDr KM Bujarbaruah, Vice Chancellor, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, AssamDr K R Dhiman, Vice Chancellor, Dr YSP Univ of Hort & Forestry, Solan, HPDr Bhag Mal, South Asia Coordinator, Biodiversity International, New Delhi

Members From Abroad Dr JDH Keatinge, Director General, AVRDC, World Vegetable Centre, TaiwanDr Md. Yousuf Mian, Director General, BARI, Gazipur, BangladeshDr C Kole, Clemson University, South Carolina, USAProf (Dr) FG Schroeder, Dresdan, GermanyDr G Paliyat, University of Guelph, Ontario, CanadaDr Ramesh Thakur, Michigan Technical University, Houghton, USA

EXECUTIVE COUNCILLORSDr VK Joshi, Prof & Head, Univ Hort & Forestry, Solan, Himachal PradeshDr AK Singh, Professor, Horticulture, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar PradeshDr AK Singh, Professor and Head, Forestry, GB Pant Univ of Ag & Tech. Hill Campus, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr Vandana A Kumar, Professor, Biological Sciences, GB Pant Univ of Ag & Tech. Hill Campus, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr VK Sah, Professor Ecology, GB Pant Univ of Ag & Tech. Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Uttarakhand

EDITORIAL BOARD (2010)Dr Alkesh Kandoria, PSCST, ChandigarhDr Ashok Thakur, UHF, Solan, Himachal PradeshDr AV Singh, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr B K Khanduri, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr B Prasad, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr BK Mishra, North Eastern Hill Univ, MeghalayaDr BM Pandey, VPKAS, Almora, UttarakhandDr Deep Ji Bhat, SKUAST (J), Jammu & KashmirDr Med Ram Verma, IVRI, Izatnagar, Uttar PradeshDr N Bhardwaj, CHF, Passighat, Arunanchal Pradesh

Dr Pankaj Panwar, CSWCRTI ChandigarhDr Pawan Sharma, ICAR Res Complex Imphal, ManipurDr PS Kashyap, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr Rakesh Sharma, UHF, Solan, Himachal PradeshDr Rashmi Yadav, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr S Tripathi, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr SC Singh, CSUAT, Kanpur, Uttar PradeshDr Shachi Shah, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr TP Singh, GBPUAT, Ranichauri, UttarakhandDr Tsering Stobdan, DIHAR, Leh, Jammu & Kashmir

For any queries pertaining to Indian Society of Hill Agriculture (ISHA) or Journal of Hill Agriculture (JHA) please writeto Secretary / Editor-in-Chief (JHA), Indian Society of Hill Agriculture, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture andTechnology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Distt Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand – 249 199, IndiaPho ne : +91 1376 252651, 252650, 252138 Fax: +91 1376 252128, 252651E mail: [email protected] URL : www.isharanichauri.com

Online version of “Journal of Hill Agriculture” is availabe at www.indianjournals.com

Sharing Knowledge for Prosperity

Journal of Hill Agriculture, 2010 Vol 1(2)

CONTENTS

Hill Agriculture – fast forwardMANGLA RAI

Exploring potential of traditional mountain agro-ecosystems in addressing food security and climatechange issues in the central Himalaya

VINOD KUMARMicropropagation of Stephania japonica , a raremedicinal plant of north - east India

PJ HANDIQUE, DEBOJA SHARMAGeneration of Double haploids through inducedandrogenesis in Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinataA. Braun)

PHILEM SARINA, SANJAY CHADHASimulation of growth and yield of rice under variedagronomic management and changing climatic scenarioby using DSSAT ver. 4.0 crop model in Chitwan, Nepal

A LAMSAL, LP AMGAINNitrogen and sulphur management in Gobhi sarson(Brassica napus L.) for improving yield, quality andsoil properties in inceptisol of Himachal Pradesh

DHANBIR SINGHPerformance of Pleurotus species on different substratesof hill region

SK MISHRA, OMVEER SINGH, AK TIWARIEffect of time of planting and planting densities ongrowth, yield and economic production of broccoli(Brassica oleracea L. var italica Plenck) cv. Pusa broccoliKTS-1

BR SAIKIA, DB PHOOKAN, SANCHITABRAHMA

KVK trainings for the farmers in hilly areas of Poonchdistrict – identifying need of the hour

NEERJA SHARMA, RK ARORA, SANJAYKHER

Genetic variability, characters association and pathanalysis in exotic lines of cabbage under mid hill subhumid conditions of Himachal Pradesh

KC SHARMASeed maturity indicators in Himalayan Cedar [Cedrusdeodara (Roxb.) G.Don]

SUNNY VERMA, TARA CHAND,RK NAYITAL, NARESH KUMAR

Relative susceptibility of okra varieties and hybrids toblister beetles (Mylabris spp.) in Himachal Pradesh

ADITI BADIYALA

Effect of different levels of potassium on growth, yieldand fruit quality of apple (Malus domestica Borkh)

NS KAITH, DK MEHTA, USHA SHARMAPerformance of various cultivars of pear in Kullu valleyof Himachal Pradesh

JAYANT KUMAR, JS CHANDELAn analytical study on economics of saffron cultivationin Jammu and Kashmir

SUDHAKAR DWIVEDI , TARUNVIR SINGHStudies on heterobeltiosis in bittergourd (Momordicacharantia L.) under mid hill condition of Uttrakhand

ML KUSHWAHA, RP MAURYAEffect of organic manures and biofertilizers on growthand yield of tomato and french bean under mid hills ofHimachal Pradesh

KS THAKUR, DHARMINDER KUMAR,AMIT VIKRAM, AK THAKUR, DK MEHTA

Correlation and path analysis in strawberry (Fragariax ananassa Duch.)

VK RAO, BHARAT LAL, VK YADAV,SK SHARMA

Standardization of feed rate and vacuum pressurefor processing of seeds of bell pepper (Capsicumannuum L.)

DK MEHTA, HS KANWAR, AK THAKURIntegrated nutrient management studies in grain amaranth(Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.)

TEJ PRATAP, MANORANJAN DUTTAEffect of organic manures and biofertilizers on growthand fruit yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

KS THAKUR, RAJESH THAKUR,YR SHUKLA, DK MEHTA, AK THAKUR

Manifestation of heterosis for quantitative traits inbacterial wilt resistant lines of brinjal (Solanummelongena L)

VK SHARMAStability for green pod yield in bush type french bean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under north-western Himalayas

KC SHARMAAwards of ISHAReferees of JHA 2010 Vol 1(2)AdvertisementsGuidelines for authorsMembership form

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From the desk of Editor-in-ChiefDear readers and researchers,

India holds very prominent place in agricultural production in the whole world, especially in south Asia. The greenrevolution has begun a new era of agriculture in the country making us self sufficient in food production. But it is aparadox that although, we have advanced so much in almost all segments of agriculture, but a revolution similar to thegreen revolution is still awaited in hill agriculture. It would not be wrong if I say that green revolution passed across butdid not actually reach the hills of India as well as other hill regions of the world. Today also, we have problems andchallenges like low productivity, lack of irrigation, depleting soil nutrient and health status, scarce or no package ofpractices for hill crops, low production from milch animals, lack of diversification and so many more. Difficult terrains,lack of transportation and marketing facilities, fragmented land holding, poor knowhow etc. further add to the grievancesof hill farmers. The problems and challenges in hill agriculture are entirely different from that existing in the plains.Framing a common policy for the nationwide development of agriculture, would not be a wise step. The problems andprospects of agricultural production in hills therefore need to be addressed from a different angle. We cannot expect amajor breakthrough in hill agriculture unless separate and dedicated steps are taken for that.

It has always been a challenge for people, scientists and researchers to work under difficult agro-climatic conditionsof the hills. For working in hills, people, alongwith their families, have to sacrifice the comfort and luxuries of their lives.This sometimes becomes very painful, especially under the situations wherein the workers do not receive anyappreciation and recognition from those sitting at headquarters located in prime places or good cities. It requires manytimes more amount of labour, energy, time and resources to produce good results in various research programmesundertaken at hill research stations, than that required for similar accomplishments made by people at headquarters ofthe organizations. Unfortunately, in most of the organizations, we receive lesser recognition for the work done at smallhill research stations. People sometimes spend all their lives working in hills and still await an encouraging tap on theirshoulders from any one of their seniors. This a kind of feeling one can only understand if has served in hills. Nevertheless,there are a large number of contributions and achievements made by hill researchers which have made major changesin the field of agricultural development in hills. These efforts should continue on and on.

Considering all the above, the thought of having some platform to recognize the work of agricultural researchers,scientists, teachers etc., in hills, was shaking my mind for the last many years. The difficulties somehow with all thecooperation of my colleagues at Ranichauri and in other organizations of hill states and the support of the administrationof GBPUA&T laid the foundation of Indian Society of Hill Agriculture, under the purview of which, this “Journal of HillAgriculture” was initiated. It is my pleasure to present the second issue of JHA before the readers. It has been a tiringtime for all of us, especially the office bearers and members of the editorial board of JHA, who have worked day andnight for accomplishing what was planned for the first year of the journal and the society. The overwhelming responseof authors by contributing papers for the journal was also worth appreciation.

In this small period of few months, we have made our journal available in print as well as online. The onlinesubmission and processing of manuscripts has also started and is being used by authors. I urge upon the authors toprefer the online mode of submitting their papers for faster processing. In the first two issues we have published paperson many aspects of hill agriculture including, agronomy, fruit science, vegetable science, soil science, postharvesttechnology, agricultural extension, agricultural economics, mushroom, plant protection, biotechnology, microbiology,forestry etc. Papers from persons of eminence in Indian agriculture were also published to give an insight for futuredevelopment of hill agriculture. Since information delayed is information lost, we have tried our best to process thepapers as fast as possible so as to disseminate the research findings at the earliest.

Being new in the business of publication of research journals, we have faced many difficulties, but I hope theauthors must have enjoyed the kind of effort we have put to process their manuscripts in short time and to improve thepresentation of results in their papers. Hopefully, in years to come with all the cooperation of worthy members of theISHA, we shall make gaint strides in hill agriculture and march forward towards achieving excellence in bringing out aresearch journal and recognizing the work of scientists in the hill regions of the world. I hope readers would welcomethis issue of JHA and contribute their work for publication in their own hill journal.

(Satish Kumar Sharma)Editor-in-Chief, JHA

[email protected]

Journal of Hill Agriculture 1(2): 91-93, July-December 2010

Hill agriculture – fast forward

MANGALA RAI

Accepted: December 01, 2010


STRATEGY PAPER

Mangala RaiPresident, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, NASC,Dev Prakash Shastri Marg, New Delhi - 110 012, India

E mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Hill agriculture is actually a culture. Horticulture withits floriculture makes it a colourful culture and livestock,fisheries, agroforestry along side forestry integrationnecessitates a multi-cultural evolution culminating intorainbow revolution to meet the needs of the ever growingpopulation in the hilly region. How do we do it?

As farm culture is growing, intensified, integratedand harmonized R&D efforts and supports to sustain thefarm, family and livestock on a long term sustainable basisis needed. Increasing productivity, profitability andsustainability in perpetuity is thus the real issue. Withlimited options for expansion agriculture, intensificationof agriculture is the call, for efficient, effective and relevanttechnology generation and its adoption in a system’sperspective. System wide system’s approach inproduction to consumption mode of operation isessentially required. This would necessitate reorientationof research, education, extension, marketing and tradewith on course correction mechanism. We will have tochange our attitude, make structural adjustments andinvestment rather heavily.

Subsistence agriculture will have to provide roomfor bringing commerce in agriculture to get hill agricultureintensified and commercialized. In the process, sector bysector critical analysis will have to be made and sequentialplan of action put in motion to address existing andemerging problems and value chain operation.Opportunities are enormous but they will have to beavailed by converting weaknesses into strengths tocapitalize on the potential.

Technology generation and extension will have tobe in continuum. Production will have to be linked withconsumption, market and trade. In the process, valueaddition, diversified product development and cool chainoperation appears inevitable.

Natural Resource Management: Soil is the essentialcomponent of land and production system and a majorhabitat and carbon sink. It provides various ecosystemservices, including maintenance of biodiversity andresilience to climate change. Hence, Sustainableproduction intensification requires successfulmanagement of soil health and its fertility. To start with,soil erosion will have to be minimized by changing culturalpractices and resorting to soil and water conservationmeasures where considerable data is generated andtechnological options provided. Varying technologiesare adoptable at farm, village, Panchayat and block levels.Effective measures are essential on water harvesting andjudicious use of water. Water productivity and multipleuse of water with enhanced water use efficiency wouldhold the key to intensified agriculture in the region.

Climate change is expected to increase soildegradation through increase, in drought and heat stressand extreme weather events. We will have to preparefarmers to adapt to climate change, and provide adoptabletechnological options to meet short-term needs withinlong term perspectives. Sound technical solutions,supported with appropriate policies and enhancedinvestments are needed for such efforts of small holderfarmers in restoring and sustaining the soil resources.

Incentives for restoration of soil organic carbon andagriculture-based soil carbon sequestration is imperativeto improve agricultural productivity, profitability andsustainability reducing vulnerability of farmers. Thepossibility of payments/ incentives for EnvironmentalServices can be used to encourage the adoption of moresustainable land use systems and soil managementpractices and to enhance the economic viability of the


Exploring potential of traditional mountain agro-ecosystems inaddressing food security and climate change issues in the centralHimalaya

VINOD KUMAR

Received: Nov 3, 2010; Revised: Nov 25, 2010; Accepted: Dec 1, 2010


REVIEW PAPER

ABSTRACT The traditional mountain agro-ecosystems,crops and varieties are the results of farmer’s experienceand knowledge that they have gained through centuries.The changes we brought in the traditional agriculturethrough modern and intensive agriculture have no doubtenhanced food production and crops productivity but atthe same time resulted in the genetic erosion of largenumber of traditional crops and varieties. The recentlyemerging issues like food security and changes in weatherpatterns have threatened the modern agricultural systemsin various ways, thus need to revive the traditional agro-ecosystems has been felt at various levels. The diverseagro-ecological conditions of mountains supportheterogeneous environments which help in supportingvariety of agro-ecosystems. These traditional agro-ecosystems including crops, varieties and even animalsare adapted to harsh environments and have potential tomitigate the negative impacts of climate change. It isfurther argued that food security depends significantlyon production in more industrial agriculture; it is relevantto note the important contribution of agriculturalbiodiversity to global food production and to sustainablelivelihoods is more on traditional agricultural systems. Itis therefore inappropriate to promote large-scaleabandonment of biodiverse agriculture and to marginalizeit in intensive production systems.

KEYWORDS Himalaya, agro-ecosystems, forgottencrops, food security, climate change

Kumar VinodSERC Division, Department of Science and Technology,Technology Bhawan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi-110 016,India


INTRODUCTION

Among several issues that Indian agriculture isfacing, ensuring food security to growing populationsand mitigating the impacts of climate change haveemerged as key issues in the recent times. Both the issueshave been interpreted differently at various levels. Forinstance, food security has been defined by the FAOCommittee on World Food Security as “the economic andphysical access to food, for all people, always”. This infersthat food should be available throughout the year, tosustain household energy and health, and to meetnutritional requirement. On the other hand, climate changehas been viewed to impact Indian agriculture and othernatural resources positively in some regions andnegatively in others. A recent study by Ashfaq et al. (2009)depicted a very worrying scenario of the effect that climatechange may have in South Asia and projected a delay inthe start of the monsoon season of up to 15 days by theend of the21slcentury, accompanied by less summerprecipitation and longer breaks between the rainy periodsand also temperature increase of as much as 3-4°Ctowards the same timeline in India (DEFRA 2005a). As aresult, the new varieties and hybrids which invariablyhave narrow genetic base and poor adaptation to extremeenvironments are likely to be impacted more. Under thecircumstances, there is need to understand and analyze,the strategies that we shall be adopting to address theseissues suitably. The agro-ecological diversities anddiversity of crops and varieties that we have in India andin mountainous regions particularly and considered tobe unique worldwide, has potential to address thechallenge be it food security or climate change (Jarvis etal. 2007, Podulosi et al. 2009, Rana and Sharma 2010).Traditional agro-ecosystems world wide hold greatgenetic diversity and a vast heritage of indigenous


Micropropagation of Stephania japonica, a rare medicinal plant ofnorth-east India

PJ HANDIQUE DEBOJA SHARMA

Received: Aug 4, 2010; Revised: Nov 11, 2010; Accepted: Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT Stephania japonica (Thunb). (Syn S.harnendifolia) is a species under the genus of climbersbelonging to family Menispermeceae. It is used intraditional medicinal practices and is locally known asTubuki lota or Goldua. Having high medicinal value, rootsof Stephania japonica are used for treatment of fever,diarrhea, dyspepsia and urinary diseases. The alkaloidakanidine shows significant anti-spasmodic activity onuterine spasms. As this highly valued medicinal plant isfacing rarity, its micropropagation and conservation wasfelt necessary. Stephania japonica explants collectedduring dry spells (January) in dormant stage showed higherrate of regeneration. Murashige and Skoog mediumshowed good response compared to others. Among thevarious hormones used singly or in combinations, bestresults were obtained in BAP (4.0 mg/l) + Kn (0.1 mg/l)after 15 days of inoculation. Among the variouscombinations, BAP+Kn showed best results in BAP (4.0mg/l) + Kn (0.1 mg/l). Best rooting i.e longest roots of 14mm and maximum regeneration of 17.1 roots were observedin IBA (1.0 mg/l) in 14 days. For hardening, shoots withprofused rooting were transferred to ½ strength MS liquidmedium with filter paper raft support for two weeks.

KEYWORDS Stephania japonica, tissue culture, mediaselection, BAP + Kn, IBA, hardening

Handique PJ Sharma DebojaDepartment of Biotechnology, Gauhati University, Guwahati,Assam -781 014, India

PJ Handique ( )E mail: [email protected], [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Medicinal plants have been used for the treatment ofhuman ailments from time immemorial. In India, theknowledge of herbal medicine is widespread ranging fromtribal folklore use to age-old practices and closely guardedrecipes handed down from generation to generation, tohighly evolved systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddhaand Unan-tibb (Sharma 1996). Demand for medicinalplants is increasing in both developing and developedcountries due to growing recognition of natural productsbeing non-toxic, having no side effects and easilyavailable at affordable prices. Medicinal plants sector hastraditionally occupied an important position in the socio-cultural, spiritual and medicinal area of rural and triballives of India as a whole and north- eastern India inparticular.

Under this context the present programme of studywas designed to standardize micropropagation methodsin Stephania japonica. Stephania is a genus of climbers/twiners belonging to family Menispermaceae. Stephaniajaponica Thunb (Syn S. harnendifolia), is used intraditional medicinal practices. Stephania japonica islocally known as ‘Tubuki lota’ (Assamese) and ‘Goldua’(Hindi). It is distributed in tropics and confined to north-east India. Roots of this plant are used for treatment offever, diarrhoea, dyspepsia and urinary diseases. Thealkaloid akanidine shows significant anti-spasmodicactivity on uterine spasms brought by the posteriorpituitary lobe extract and it may be useful in obstetricalpractice. D-and dl-tetrandine, fangchinoline and d- isochondrodendrine exhibit significant cytotoxity againsthuman carcinoma of naso- pharynx and also against intramuscular carcinosarcoma in rats (Anon 2010). Tuber isbitter and their astringent property is used in fever,diarrhoea, stomach-ache and urinary diseases. When


Generation of doubled haploids through induced androgenesis inEthiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun)

PHILEM SARINA SANJAY CHADHA

Received: May 27, 2010; Revised: Oct 13, 2010; Accepted: Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT Ethiopian mustard (B. carinata A. Braun),a natural allopolyploid (2n= 34) of B. oleracea and B.nigra, has several desirable characteristics which make ita better oilseed crop for higher productivity andsustainability under biotic and abiotic stresses. But, afew traits like late maturity and poor quality of oil andmeal need improvement. Androgenesis/anther cultureshortens the breeding cycle and fixes agronomic traits ina homozygous state as compared to conventionalbreeding methods. Therefore, the present study wasundertaken to develop doubled haploid through antherculture and identify suitable medium for androgenesis inEthiopian mustard. Florets of F1 from a cross between anelite cultivar of Brassica carinata i.e. ‘Jayanti’ and anearly maturing line ‘RCC 6 - 1’ after 2, 4 and 6 days of pre-treatment at 35°C, plated on B5, N6 and KA mediasupplemented with eight hormones/hormonalcombinations were used to generate doubled haploidsthrough anther culture. 2 days pre-treatment at 35°C inthe callusing medium B5 supplemented with 0.5 mg/l 2, 4-D + 1.0 mg/l NAA was most suitable for androgenesis inEthiopian mustard for production of induced doubledhaploids. Out of the total 204 plants regenerated only 42survived till flowering and 29 doubled haploids plantswere obtained with 69.05 % fertility and/or doubledhaploid frequency. The doubled haploids regeneratedfrom a diverse intraspecific cross of B. carinata in thepresent study will help in identifying the potential doubledhaploids containing desired combinations of traits forexploitation as a cultivar or used in breeding programme.

Sarina Philem Chadha SanjayDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology, CSK HimachalPradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya Palampur, Himachal Pradesh-176 062, IndiaSanjay Chadha ( )Email: [email protected].

KEYWORDS Ethiopian mustard, Brassica carinata,androgenesis, double heploids

INTRODUCTION

Oilseed crops are the backbone of the agriculturaleconomy of India from the time immemorial. These arecultivated on about 26.5 million ha with total productionof nearly 24.2 million tonnes (Anon 2007a). Among theoilseed crops, Brassica (rapeseed and mustard) speciesplay an important role in agriculture and contributing bothto the economy and health of populations around theworld. India occupies the first position, both with regardto acreage and production of rapeseed and mustard inthe world with an area of 6 million ha and production ofabout 5.6 million tonnes (Anon 2008). In Himachal Pradesh,rapeseed and mustard accounts for about 57 % of thetotal oilseed area and 60 % of the total oilseed production.Total area and production under rapeseed and mustard is9.3 thousand ha and 4.7 thousand tonnes, respectivelywith an average production of 510 Kg ha-1 (Anon 2007b).

Ethiopian mustard (B. carinata A. Braun), a naturalallopolyploid (2n= 34) of Brassica oleracea and Brassicanigra, has several desirable characteristics such as non-dehiscent siliquae and a more developed aggressive rootsystem. It is resistant to a wide range of diseases andpests (Getinet et al. 1996), drought (Kumar et al. 1984),pod shattering (Alonso et al. 1991) and better performanceunder saline and late sown conditions (Malik 1990). Thesefeatures make it a better oilseed crop for higherproductivity and sustainability under biotic and abioticstresses (Raut 1996). Because of the above desirablecharacteristics, B. carinata can be a suitable winter cropfor marginal lands. This crop is also becoming popularwith the farmers of Himachal Pradesh due to itsadaptability to rainfed agriculture and low inputmanagement. However, a few traits like late maturity and


Simulation of growth and yield of rice under varied agronomicmanagement and changing climatic scenario by using DSSAT ver. 4.0crop model in Chitwan, Nepal

A LAMSAL LP AMGAIN

Received: August 07, 2010; Revised: Nov 21, 2010; Accepted: December 01, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT A field experiment on various cultivars andN levels on rice was carried out for identifying their growthand yield performance under humid sub-tropical climateof Chitwan, Nepal during rainy season of 2008. Thesimulation study for different agronomic and climatechange parameters was also done concurrently by theuse of CSM-CERES-Rice model embedded in DSSAT ver.4.0. The experiment was laid out in 2 factorial RCBD withthree replications consisting three varieties: hybrid‘Prithivi’, improved check ‘Masuli’ and scented basmati‘Sunaulo Sugandha’ and four levels of nitrogen: 40, 80,120 and 160 Kg ha-1. Soil of experimental field was loamysand in texture where in initial content of soil available N,P and K was medium in surface horizon and lower in subsurface horizon. Significantly higher grain yield (5.71 tha-1) was obtained for Prithivi with 160 Kg N ha-1. Theancillary attributes viz. plant height, leaf area index (LAI),tillers m-2 and total dry matter production were significantlycorrelated with grain yield (r=0.58, 0.59, 0.89 and 0.84),respectively. The model calibration was performed with160 Kg N ha-1for Prithivi and Sunaulo Sugandha and 120Kg Nha-1 for Masuli and the model validation was foundto be satisfactory. The model was found sensitive tovarious scenarios of climate change parameters likeweather years and different amplitudes of weathervariables and other agronomic parameters viz.transplanting date, crop geometry and doses of N.Increment and decrease in maximum and minimum

Lamsal A Amgain LPTribhuvan University, Department of Agronomy, Institute ofAgriculture and Animal Science, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal

LP Amgain ( )E mail: [email protected]

temperature (± 40C), CO2 concentration (+20ppm) withchange in solar radiation (±1MJ m-2 day-1) resultedmaximum increase in yield (by 62, 41 and 42%) underdecreasing climatic scenarios in Prithivi, Masuli andSunaulo Sugandha, whereas maximum decrease in yield(by 80, 46 and 40%) was recorded under increasing climatechange scenarios, respectively. Similarly Prithivi showed13 % decline under early transplanting (July 1) where asMasuli and Sunaulo Sugandha predicted 13 and 19% ofyield loss by 20 days of delaying in transplanting (July31) than the standard transplanting (July 11). Simulatedyield of Prithivi was reduced by 5% for closer geometryof 20×20 cm2 and increased by wider geometry of 30×30cm2 with reference to 25×25 cm2. N stressed (control) inPrithivi, Masuli and Sunaulo Sugandha reduced the yieldby 17, 34 and 38%, respectively with maximum loss inimproved check and scented varieties. Results showedthat the CSM-CERES-Rice model could be a good tool foracquiring précised decision on the allocation of scarceresources and to increase the efficiencies of inputs in thehilly and inner-terai regions of central Nepal under theburning scenarios of global climate change.

KEYWORDS DSSAT ver.4.0, growth and yield, rice,agronomic and climate change scenarios

INTRODUCTION

Globally, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is most important foodcrop since it provides more than 60% share of the world’spopulation as staple food. In Nepal, agriculture holdsmajor share of economy (31.07% of GDP) on which ricealone contributes 20.75% of the agriculture gross domesticproduct (AGDP) (MoAC 2008). Rice is the dominant cropin the terai and inner terai and still dominant in certainfoot-hill pockets of Nepal. Available decadal yield data in


Nitrogen and sulphur management in Gobhi sarson (Brassica napus L.)for improving yield, quality and soil properties in inceptisol ofHimachal Pradesh

DHANBIR SINGH

Received: July 13, 2010; Revised: September 09, 2010; Accepted: September 23, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT The productivity of oilseeds in India (935Kg ha-1) is still below the world average (1632 Kg ha-1).The main reason for low productivity is that these cropsare largely cultivated under nutrients starved conditions.Hence, requirement of major nutrients (NPK) as well assulphur in oilseed crops is quite high. Keeping this factin view, field experiment was conducted on gobhisarson(Brassica napus L.) to study the effect of nitrogenand sulphur fertilizers on seed yield, 1000-seeds weight,fatty acids (Palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic,ecosenoic and erucic acid) content and available nitrogenand sulphur in soil. A total of sixteen treatments includingcontrol were replicated thrice in a Randomised BlockDesign. Results revealed that combined treatment of N120S60 Kgha-1 recorded highest seed yield (1641 Kg ha-1),which was significantly superior to control (416 Kg ha-1).Application of N120 S20 Kg ha-1 resulted in highest 1000-seeds weight (3.51g). Maximum oleic acid content (66.3%) was recorded in treatment N80 S0 Kg ha-1. Whereas,maximum linoleic acid (19.4 %) content was obtained withcombined treatment of N120 S20 Kg ha-1. Optimum andmaximum dose of sulphur for the crop was 48.05 and 62.24Kg ha-1, respectively. A significant interaction wasobserved between N and S on available nitrogen andsulphur levels of soil.

KEYWORDS Nitrogen, sulphur, Brassica napus L., yield,fatty acids, soil properties

Singh DhanbirCSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidalaya, Krishi VigyanKendra Kullu, Bajaura Himachal Pradesh-175125 India

E-mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Gobhi sarson (Brassica napus L.) has beenintroduced to India from Europe and Canada. This crop isreplacing Indian mustard in Punjab and lower parts ofHimachal Pradesh because of its high yield potential,wider adaptability and suitability for early planting toexploit monsoonal residual moisture. Moreover, itcontains higher oil content (41-45 %) of good qualityhaving high percentage of essential fatty acids i.e. oleicand linoleic and linolenic acid. Gobhi sarson is highlyresponsive to nitrogen and sulphur application whichregulate the growth, development and yield componentof the crop. Sulphur is best known for its role in protein,oil and vitamin synthesis and is a major constituent of 3amino acids viz. cysteine, cystine and methionine. Inoilseed crops, adequate nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S)application along with basal dose of phosphorus (P) andpotassium (K) is known to increase 3 to 10 per cent oilcontent and 12 to 14 per cent essential fatty acids andalso significantly increase each other’s uptake (Pasrichaet al. 1988). However, maximum yield responses to N andS are achieved only when N and S are in balancedquantities (Zhao et al. 1993). Keeping the above fact intoconsideration, the present investigation was carried outto study the effect of N and S alone and in combinationon seed yield, 1000- seed weight, fatty acids contents,available N and S in soil and to find out the mosteconomical dose of N and S for optimum yield of thecrop.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted at experimentalfarm of CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya,Research Sub –Station, Akrot, District Una (Himachal


Performance of Pleurotus species on different substratesof hill origin

SK MISHRA OMVEER SINGH AK TIWARI

Received: June 29, 2010; Revised: Oct 15, 2010; Accepted Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT The performance of Pleurotus species anddifferent substrates were studied on spawn run, yield,number, length, width, protein, carbohydrate and fatcontent of mushroom. Out of eight species, P. ostreatusefficiently colonized paddy straw, wheat straw, forestgrass, pine leaves and kodo husk within 74-95 daysfollowed by P. flabellatus. The interaction of P. flabellatuswith kodo husk and forest grass produced highest yieldby 498.75 and 406.25 g/2Kg wet substrate, respectivelywith maximum 55 fruits. All interactions of treatments wereat par in view of length and width of mushroom fruits. P.flabellatus on wheat straw, P. flabellatus on pine leavesproduced highest amount of crude protein measuringbetween 31-32 %. However, P. ostreatus on paddy strawand P. flabellatus on forest grass were superior incarbohydrate (61.76 %) and fat (2.04 %) contentrespectively. Among the species, outstandingperformance of P. flabellatus was recorded with yield(327.3 g), numbers (55.75), length (6.7 cm), width (5.58cm), protein (24.88 %) and fat (1.11 %) but P. ostreatuswas stood with highest carbohydrate content (45.29 %).Out of five substrates, kodo husk for yield (308.41g) andprotein (26.26 %); forest grass for numbers (41.08), width(6.38 %) and fat (1.44 %) and paddy straw for length (6.61cm) and carbohydrate (55.53 %) were commendable. Thesubstrate of pine leaves was inferior in all respects.

KEYWORDS Pleurotus species, substrates andproximate composition

Mishra SK Singh Omveer Tiwari AKVir Chandra Singh Garhwali College of Horticulture, GB PantUniversity of Agriculture and Technology, Bharsar, PauriGarhwal, Uttarakhand-246 123, IndiaSK MishraE mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTI ON

Pleurotus spp. of mushroom is a lignocellulolyticand cosmopolitan in nature and produces fruits of highquality protein and carbohydrates (Thakur 1990,Upadhyay 1990). Out of 40 known species about a dozenare commercially cultivated over a variety of agriculturalwastes and organic produces with preference of a variousranges of temperature varying from 10-300C (Jandaik 1997,Vijay 1990). P. flabellatus, P. sajor saju, P. sapidus and P.membranaceus require higher temperature for their spawnrun and fruiting emergence in comparison to P. ostreatus,P. florida, P. fossulatus, P. eryngii (Upadhyay 1990). Manyof agricultural wastes have been found suitable to growmushroom including paddy straw (Dhanda et al. 1996,Mathew et al. 1996), wheat straw, banana leaves, stalkand leaves of sorghum (Dwivedi and Singh 1994), ragihusk (Vijay 1990), wild grass (Das et al. 2000) and pineneedle (Jain and Vyas 2002). However, the performanceof various Pleurotus species with different substratesvaries due to inherent characters of species influencedby the substrates and prevailing temperature. Therefore,the present investigation was laid out to evaluatesynergistic and solitary effects of eight Pleurotus species(i.e. P. eryngii, P. flabellatus, P. florida, P. fossulatus, P.membranaceus, P. ostreatus, P. sajor saju and P. sapidus)and waste organic substrates of forest and agriculturalorigin (i.e. paddy straw, wheat straw, forest grass, pineleaves and kodo husk) which are available in abundancein mid and high altitude of Uttarakhand.


Collection of germplasmThe germplasm of P. eryngii, P. flabellatus, P. florida,

P. fossulatus, P. membranaceus, P. ostreatus, P. sajor sajuand P. sapidus were procured from Directorate ofMushroom Research, Chambaghat, Solan, Himachal


Effect of time of planting and planting densities on growth, yield andeconomic production of broccoli [Brassica oleracea (L.) var. italicaPlenck] cv. Pusa broccoli KTS-1

BR SAIKIA DB PHOOKAN SANCHITA BRAHMA

Received: Aug 12, 2010; Revised: Nov 03, 2010; Accepted: Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT The present investigation was conductedat Assam agricultural University, Jorhat with a view tofind out optimum sowing time and planting density foryield and quality of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var.italica). The experiment was laid out in Randomized BlockDesign with three replications. Seeds of broccoli varietyPusa Broccoli KTS-1 were sown on six different dates at15 days intervals starting form September 15 to November30, maintaining six planting distances viz. 30 cm x 30 cm,45 cm x 30 cm, 45 cm x 45 cm, 45 cm x 60 cm, 60cm x 60cm,and 75cm x 60 cm. The results revealed that sowing on15th October recorded the highest total yield of 46.83 q/hafollowed by sowing on 30th September (41.83 q/ha). Amongplanting densities 45cm x 45cm planting recorded thehighest head yield of 40.78 q/ha followed by 60cm x 45cm(39.49 q/ha). Study on economics of cultivation revealedthat sowing on 15th October and planting at a spacing of45cm x 45cm was the most efficient treatment with a costbenefit ratio of 1:2.35. Therefore, it can be concluded thatfor profitable cultivation of broccoli var. ‘Pusa BroccoliKTS1’ sowing on middle part of October by maintaining aplanting distance of 45cm x 45cm between and withinrows is most favourable under the climatic conditions ofJorhat (Assam).

KEYWORDS Broccoli, leaf size index, head yield, cullhead, economics

Saikia BR Phookan DB Brahma SanchitaDepartment of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University,Jorhat, Assam-785 013, India

DB Phookan ( )E mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) isan important member of family Brassicaceae. It is one ofthe popular cole crops in Europe, USA and Australia.However, it is still a fancy and new vegetable in all partsof India including Assam. But of late, there has been agrowing consciousness among the consumers andgrowers regarding its palatability, nutritive value, anticarcinogenic property and high market value. Its demandis increasing near big cities, luxury hotels and touristresorts day by day.

Though, there is an immense potentiality forcommercial cultivation of broccoli in Assam, however dueto lack of awareness and available information such asright choice of varieties, optimum time of planting, properplanting distance etc. commercial cultivation of the cropis restricted to a limited scale. Adjustment of properplanting time and spacing are the important non-monetaryinput for realizing potential yield of a particular cropbesides adopting improved production technology.Keeping in view the above facts, the present investigationwas carried out to standardize optimum time of plantingand spacing for head production of broccoli under theclimatic conditions of Jorhat, Assam.


The field experiment was conducted during rabiseason at the experimental farm, Department ofHorticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assamlocated at 86.8 m above mean sea level. The soil of theexperimental field is sandy loam in texture, medium inavailable nitrogen (282.24 Kg/ha) and availablephosphorus (55 Kg/ha) and low in potassium (97.44 Kg/


KVK trainings for the farmers in hilly areas of Poonch district –identifying need of the hour

NEERJA SHARMA RK ARORA SANJAY KHER

Received: Aug 12, 2010; Revised: Nov 12, 2010; Accepted Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT To conduct variety of trainings for thebenefit of farmers and rural youth of their district is themandate of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). KVK trainingprogramme starts with identification of training needs,the most important step in organization of any trainingprogramme. The present study on training needs analysisof the farmers and rural youth was conducted by KVKPoonch. A list of major components/ thematic areas wasprepared. Under each major component, specific andrelevant training need items were collected andsystematically incorporated into an interview scheduleand administered in terms of frequency of trainingimparted. The results revealed that farmers soughtmaximum trainings on off-season vegetable cultivation,nursery management and cultivation of fruit crops underhorticulture followed by integrated farming systems, watermanagement, fodder production and technologies for soiland water conservation. Income and employmentgenerating activities for empowerment of rural women,training on small scale preservation, processing, valueaddition and rural craft were also in high demand.

KEYWORDS Farmers, rural youth, training needanalysis, KVK

INTRODUCTION

Trainings have major role to play in the advancementof human performance in a given situation. Trainingsprovide a systematic improvement of knowledge andskills which helps the trainees to function effectively and

Sharma Neerja Arora RK Kher SanjayKrishi Vigyan Kendra Sher-e-Kashmir University ofAgricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Poonch,Jammu and Kashmir -185101, IndiaNeerja Sharma ( )E-mail: [email protected]

efficiently in their given task on completion of the training.Training is a process of acquiring new skills, attitude andknowledge and preparing an individual for entry into avocation for improving ones productivity in anorganization or enterprise. Effective trainings depict howthe trainees use knowledge after training in place ofexisting local practices. Farmers trainings are step towardsimproving their job efficiency in farming. Training consistslargely of well organized opportunities for participants toacquire necessary understanding and skill (Lynton andPareek 1990). In KVKs, trainings are formulated andconducted at various levels for which the programmesare designed as per the problems and needs of thefarmers. The KVKs are responsible for vocational training,on-farm research and demonstration of the improvedtechnologies. Through these KVK’s rural youths aretrained in the areas of poultry, dairying, piggery, bee-keeping, fisheries, fruit and vegetable preservation,maintenance and repairing of farm machinery and tools,and hybrid seed production. These youths can be trainedin the applications of ICT for rural development throughwhich farmers can benefit using the digital technology(Anon 2005). Venkatasubramanian et al. (2009) reportedthat normally KVKs conduct training for farmers (On andOff Campus), training for rural youth (On and OffCampus),training for extension personnel (On and OffCampus), sponsored training programmes (On and OffCampus) - for farmers, rural youth and extension personneland vocational training programmes (On and Off Campus)- for farmers and rural youth. Based on duration, the KVKtrainings can be classified to short duration trainings (1-7 days), medium duration trainings (8-14 days) and longduration trainings (3-4 weeks).

KVK scientists, as mandatory has to communicatethe research findings, new innovations and technologiesto the farmers and needy people. It involves conductingOn Farm Trials and Front Line Demonstrations of the newtechnologies as well as training the technology users for


Genetic variability, characters association and path analysis in exoticlines of cabbage under mid hill, sub-humid conditions ofHimachal Pradesh

KC SHARMA

Received: June 01, 2010; Revised: June 22, 2010; Accepted: July 10, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT Twenty-five genetically diverse lines ofcabbage were studied for the assessment of variabilityand inter-association of phenotypic characters.Significant differences were observed among thegenotypes for all the characters. The genotypic correlationcoefficients were higher in magnitude than thecorresponding phenotypic ones, thereby suggestingstrong inherent association between various charactersstudied. The marketable head yield had positive andsignificant association with gross weight per plant, netweight of head, non-wrapper leaves and compactness ofhead thereby indicating that these traits had certaininherent relationships with yield. The net weight of headhad the highest direct effect on head yield followed bycompactness, marketable head (%), stalk length and non-wrapper leaves while, gross weight and head shapecontributed indirectly towards head yield via net weightand gross weight, respectively. Thus, the present studysuggests that net weight of head should be given utmostimportance in selection programme aimed at breeding highyielding cabbage varieties. Due importance must also begiven to head compactness, marketable head (%), non-wrapper leaves and gross weight in the selectionprogramme.

KEYWORDS Cabbage, variability, correlation, selection

Sharma KCHill Agricultural Research and Extension Centre, CSK HimachalPradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Bajaura, Kullu, HimachalPradesh - 175 125, India


INTRODUCTION

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) is oneof the most important vegetables in the world. It occupiesthe pride place among cole crops due to its delicioustaste, flavour and nutritive value. In Himachal Pradesh,cabbage is a major off-season vegetable covering an areaof about 2195 ha with the production of 66,311 tonnes(Anon 2008). Cabbage grown as an off-season vegetablein mid and high hills of the state during summer monthsgenerally brings lucrative returns to the farmers. The majorconstraints in increasing and stabilizing cabbageproduction and prices are the lack of high yielding andcompact headed varieties. At present only four cultivarsof cabbage viz. ‘Golden Acre’, ‘Pusa Mukta’, ‘Pride ofIndia’ and ‘Pusa Drum Head’ are on the recommended listfor cultivation not only in Himachal Pradesh butthroughout the country since long and these have atendency to produce loose and unmarketable heads inlarge proportion during summer months in the hills. Inspite of its economic importance, only a limited researchon varietal development has been carried out in India onaccount of breeding and seed production possible in thehigh hills only. The presence of sufficient geneticvariability is the basic requirement in the success of abreeding programme. It is equally imperative to assessthe relative proportion of genetic and environmentalcomponents of variability, nature and extent of associationbetween different yield attributes and relative importanceof direct and indirect influence of each of the componenttraits on yield so as to improve the plant as a whole ratherthan the individual traits. Therefore, an attempt was madeto generate information in respect of genetic parametersof some exotic lines in cabbage under mid hill sub humidconditions of Himachal Pradesh.


Seed maturity indicators in Himalayan Cedar[Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G.Don]

SUNNY VERMA TARA CHAND RK NAYITAL NARESH KUMAR

Received: June 29, 2010; Revised: Nov 15, 2010; Accepted: Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT The cones of deodar were collected fromtrees having diameter 50-60, 60-70 and 70-80cm,respectively at fortnightly interval starting from secondfortnight of September to October from Tutu ForestRange, district Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The optimumtime of cone harvest of deodar was found to be secondfortnight of October. Change in cone as well as seed colourrelated well with other fairly reliable indices of maturitysuch as moisture content, specific gravity, total, non-reducing, reducing sugars, total phenols and oilpercentage. For optimum maturity, cone should be pickedat greyish orange colour with dark shade stage, whentheir cone and seed have moisture content of 24.76 and14.00 %, respectively. At this stage the seed exhibited themaximum viability 74.44 % and germination 68.00 %, whenthe seed have total, non-reducing, reducing sugars andtotal phenol contents of 62.98, 39.63, 21.26 and36.74 mg/g, respectively. Seed picked during secondfortnight of October not only gave maximum germinationbut also produced oil to the tune of 42.97 %.

KEYWORDS Maturity indices, specific gravity,germination, moisture content

INTRODUCTION

Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G.Don commonly known asHimalayan Cedar is the most important timber species ofHimachal Pradesh. The species is widely distributed

Verma Sunny1 Chand Tara2

Nayital RK1 Kumar Naresh3

1Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, Dr Y S ParmarUniversity of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, HimachalPradesh - 173 230, India, 2Biotechnology and Genetics Division,Rain Forest Research Institute, Deovan, Jorhat, Assam – 785001,India, 3College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central AgriculturalUniversity, Passighat, Arunachal Pradesh - 791 102, IndiaTara Chand ( )E mail: [email protected]

through Himalayan region at an altitude of 4000 to 8500ft. Poor natural regeneration coupled with long intervalof good seed year necessitates collection of seed in largequantity for artificial regeneration.

For better production of forests, the seed quality aswell as quantity is the most important aspect. The anxietyto collect large quantity of cones before seed dispersal ingood seed year sometimes results in collection of immaturecones, thus yielding poor quality of seeds. Keeping inview the lack of information on maturity of cones andimportance of species, the present study was undertakento find out the optimum maturity stage of Himalayan cedarseed.


The investigation was carried out in the departmentof Silviculture and Agroforestry, Dr. Y.S.Parmar Universityof Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP). Thenatural stand of deodar forest at Forest D- 207 Talgirinear Summer Hill in Tutu Forest Range of district Shimlain Himachal Pradesh was used for investigation during2005-06. Plot of 60×60m was made and three diameterclasses viz. 50-60(D1), 60-70 (D2) and 70-80 cm (D3) wereselected at random and numbered to maintain theiridentity. Cones were collected from each diameter classat fortnightly interval (C1, C2, C3 and C4) commencing fromSeptember 15 to October 30. The cones from each diameterclass were kept in separate bags and brought to laboratoryfor physico-chemical as well as for germination studies.The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Designwith three replications.

The cone and seed were carefully observed for thechange in colour, moisture and specific gravity. Colour ofthe cone and seed were matched with Royal HorticulturalSociety colour chart. For determination of moisture


Relative susceptibility of okra varieties and hybrids to blister beetles(Mylabris spp.) in Himachal Pradesh

ADITI BADIYALA

Received: July 21, 2010; Revised: Sept 14, 2010; Accepted: Sept 23, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT Ten varieties and hybrids of okra viz. ArkaAnamika, Harbhajan, P-8, Panchaali, Parbhani Kranti, PusaMakhmali, Shagun, Tulsi, Varsha Uphar and Pusa Sawaniwere evaluated for their relative susceptibility to blisterbeetle (Mylabris spp.) at two locations in Kangra valleyof Himachal Pradesh during 2005 and 2006. Resultsrevealed that during both the years, Varsha Uphar (3.80-3.93 and 4.20-4.80 beetles/10 plants) and Tulsi (4.07-4.60and 4.93-5.87 beetles/10 plants) were least susceptible tothe pest whereas, the most susceptible variety observedwas Pusa Sawani (14.60-17.67 and 17.80-24.13beetles/10 plants) at Palampur and Kachhiari, respectively.The varieties followed parallel trend for flower damage(%) by the pest.

KEYWORDS Susceptibility, Okra, Blister Beetle,Mylabris spp., Varsha Uphar, Tulsi

INTRODUCTION

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench),frequently known as lady’s finger or bhendi belonging tofamily Malvaceae, is an important warm season vegetablecrop cultivated comprehensively in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is a short duration croppropagated through seeds, cherished for its tender andscrumptious green fruits used in curries, soups or incanned, dehydrated or frozen forms for off-seasonconsumption (Neeraja et al. 2004). Okra fruits have highnutritive value containing proteins, calcium, phosphorus,

Badiyala AditiDepartment of Entomology, Chaudhary Sarwan KumarHimachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, HimachalPradesh -176 062, India


iron, carotene and vitamins A, B and C (Singh 1970) whichare very useful against genito-urinary disorders,spermatorrhoea and chronic dysentery.

In India, okra is cultivated in an area of 0.38 millionhectare with an annual production of 3.68 million tonnes(Anon 2006). In Himachal Pradesh, the crop is grownduring summer and rainy seasons in low and mid hillsoccupying an area of 1792 thousand hectare with anannual production of 22474 thousand metric tonnes(Anon 2008) which is lower in comparison to many othernorthern states. One of the major reasons for low yield isthat the crop suffers extensive damage due to leafhopper,Amrasca biguttula (Ishida), shoot and fruit borer, Eariasvittella (Fabricius), E. insulana (Boisduval) and whiteflytransmitted yellow vein mosaic disease during kharifseason (Prasad et al. 1993, Mandal et al. 2006a). Recently,blister beetles, (Mylabris spp.) have also been observedto cause considerable damage to okra crop in mid hills ofHimachal Pradesh especially in Kangra valley. Thenymphs and adult beetles feed on floral parts of okraplants causing reduction in flowering and eventually thefruit yield of the crop (Barwal and Rao 1988).

At present, schedule based application of variousinsecticides are recommended for the management ofdifferent insect-pests. But, the injudicious use ofsynthetic chemicals to manage these pests is fraught withthe tribulations of resistance, resurgence, secondaryinfestation, phyto-toxicity, toxicity to beneficial organisms,residues in food beyond the tolerance limits posingunwarranted health hazards to the consumers (Mandal etal. 2006b). Although use of insecticides cannot bealtogether omitted as they form the mainstay of pestmanagement strategies, yet their role can indubitably belimited by utilizing safer techniques of pest managementsuch as growing of pest tolerant/ resistant varieties.


Effect of different levels of potassium on growth, yield and fruit qualityof apple (Malus domestica Borkh)

NS KAITH DK MEHTA USHA SHARMA

Received: June 22, 2010; Revised: Aug 30, 2010; Accepted Sept 23, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT A study was conducted to find out theeffect of different levels of potassium on growth yieldand fruit quality of apple cv. Starking Delicious. Thetreatment consisted of seven levels of potassium i.e. 400,500, 600, 700, 800, 900 and 1000 g K2O tree-1year-1. All thetrees received uniform dose of 700 g N tree-1year-1 asCAN and 350 g P2O5 tree-1year-1 as basal dose. Fruit yieldincreased up to 800 g K2O during the year 2007 and up to700 g K2O during the year 2008 and the result was foundto be significant. Maximum extension growth i.e. 23.6cmand 26.9cm was obtained with 700g K2O tree-1year-1,whereas non- significant difference was found in othergrowth characters at different levels of potassium. Ontotal soluble solids and fruit firmness, application ofpotassium at different levels had significant effect. TSScontent was found maximum at 1000g K2O tree-1 and fruitweight was maximum i.e. 156g with 700g and 157g with800g K2O tree-1, respectively during 2007 and 2008.

KEYWORDS Apple, potassium levels, fruit yield, qualityparameters and growth characters

INTRODUCTION

Potassium is one of the most important major nutrientelements required by the plants for optimum growth andproduction. Its role for the synthesis and translocationof photosynthates, regulation of stomata and activationof pyruvate kinase, starch synthase and 6-

Kaith NS Mehta DK1 Sharma Usha

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Rohru, District- Shimla, HimachalPradesh- 171207, India; 1Seed Technology and ProductionCentre, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry,Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh-173230 India

NS Kaith ( )Email: [email protected]

phosphofructokinase enzyme is well established. It is alsoassociated with the quality of fruits and imparts resistanceagainst the diseases.

The yearly growth of plants and production of fruitsdeplete the soil of its macro and micro-nutrient reservesresulting in reduction of native fertility of the soil, whichneeds to be supplemented with the application of chemicalfertilizers and organic manures. There exists a directrelationship between level of specific nutrient supply andgrowth or yield of plants within certain limits. The levelof nutrient supply at which the maximum yield is obtainedreflects the optimum requirements of particular nutrientelements. Further, increase in nutrient supply which doesnot affect the plant growth reflects luxury consumption.

For uptake of nutrients from soil, topography playsan important role in determining the nutrient requirement.In Himachal Pradesh, all the apple orchards are locatedon the sloppy land and most of the soil is sandy loam toclay loam. There are vast possibilities for potassium toleach down below root zone and also to get lost in therunning water. Moreover, elite dominating clay mineralpresent in the soil of Himachal Pradesh is also responsiblefor fixation of considerable amount of K soon after itsapplication. As such, response to K application is eitherinsignificant or exhibits anomalous behavior even ifmassive application is made. However, precise informationon these interactions is lacking. In apple plantation, treebasins are gradually extended in proportion to the statureof the tree, but the basin can not be extended beyond acertain stage and therefore, root system of the plantcannot be fully exploited during the placement of thefertilizer. Keeping in view the importance of potassium anexperiment was laid out in the farmer’s field to evaluatethe different doses of K alongwith fixed level of N andP2O5 on plant growth, yield and fruit quality attributes ofapple.


Performance of various cultivars of pear in Kullu valley ofHimachal Pradesh

JAYANT KUMAR JS CHANDEL

Received: Aug 12, 2010; Revised: Oct 13, 2010; Accepted Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT Twelve varieties of pear viz. WilliamsBartlett, Flaming Beauty, Kieffer, Anjou, Kashmir Pear,Flemish, Hangel, Country Pear, Clapps Favorite, ChinaPear, Red Bartlett and Junska Jalato grafted on kainthwild pear (Pyrus pashia L.) rootstock planted in 1986 at 6x 6 m distance in randomized block design in Kullu valleyof Himachal Pradesh were selected for present study. Thecv. Country Pear was first to open its flower, show fullbloom and petal fall, where as Clapp’s Favorite was lastto do so. The cv. Junska Jalato was first to ripen on 28th

May followed by China Pear. Red Bartlett ripened around12th July and William’s Bartlett on 5th August. The highesttrunk girth and shoot length was recorded with JunskaJalato and the lowest with Kieffer. The highest yield wasrecorded with Hangel and the lowest with Junska Jalato.Red Bartlett and William’s Bartlett were medium in growthand yield. Cultivar Red Bartlett, which is early ripening,has red blushed fruits and sweet taste and William’sBartlett, which is late ripening cultivar, has good tasteand keeping quality may be recommended for commercialcultivation in Himachal Pradesh.

KEYWORDS Pear, growth, yield, cultivars, Kullu

INTRODUCTION

Pear has long been considered a highly treasuredfruit in both east and west and is an important temperate

Kumar Jayant1 Chandel J S2

1Regional Horticultural Research Station, Bajaura, Kullu,Himachal Pradesh - 175 125, India, 2Department of Pomology,Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni,Solan, Himachal Pradesh – 173 230, IndiaJayant Kumar ( )E mail: [email protected]

fruit after apple in the world. The common pear (Pyruscommunis L.) is apparently originated from the many peartypes in Afghanistan. In Himachal Pradesh they wereprobably introduced along with apples by EnglishMissionaries and officers who planted them at Kullu andShimla. However, in Kashmir many local cultivars existed.Many of these varieties were introduced from England,France, Italy and Japan (Gautam 2002).

Pears are consumed both as fresh and processed asjams, preserves and dried forms. A good portion of thecrop is crushed to produce juice, beverages and wines.Dried pears are good source of pectin and also containgood amounts of sugars and thiamine. These are reportedto help in maintaining a desirable acid/base balance inhuman body and have been recommended for patientssuffering from diabetes because of their low sugar content(Gautam 2002)

The pear industry remained unattended tillindependence and even in later decades due to muchattraction towards apple. There are only few pear orchardsin the state and area under pear in Himachal Pradesh is7561 ha and production was 15450 m tones during 2008-2009 (Anon 2009). Mostly it is grown as a intercrop in theapple orchards. But in recent times with increase in appleproduction problems, its cultivation in the form of compactorchards is getting attention. There is vast scope ofmaximizing pear cultivation in Himachal Pradesh as it is agood fruit crop for diversification in hill horticulture. Themajor problems faced by the growers are selection ofsuitable cultivar for planting an orchard. The systematicand complete information about the performance ofdifferent cultivars in Himachal Pradesh and some hillregions of the country is scanty in literature Therefore,twelve varieties were introduced from Shimla, Kullu and


An analytical study on economics of saffron cultivation in Jammu andKashmir

SUDHAKAR DWIVEDI TARUNVIR SINGH

Received: October 17, 2010; Revised: Nov 21, 2010; Accepted: December 01, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT Indian saffron is cultivated on a large scalein Jammu and Kashmir valley where the cool dry climateand rich soil with excellent drainage and organic contentmake the area ideal for this spice. India exported 5.5 MTof saffron, the world’s costliest spice (saffron). The Jammuand Kashmir state enjoys a virtual monopoly in thecultivation of saffron and contributes almost 99 % of thenational production of saffron. Keeping in this view, anattempt was made to analyze the cost and return structureof saffron crop in Kashmir valley. For the present studypurposive and random sampling techniques were adoptedto select the districts, block, villages and farmers fromdistrict Pulwama, as it had the highest area and productionof saffron cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir. The overallcost of cultivation was estimated Rs 263138.82 per ha for9 years and net returns comes to Rs 412709.83 per harespectively. The per ha overall farm business incomecomes to Rs 628397.81 in 9 years from this crop, whilefamily labour income was calculated to Rs 423836.47. Theoverall benefit-cost ratio comes to 1:2.57 on sample farmsunder study.

KEYWORDS Cost-return, family labour income, farminvestment income, farm business income, benefit-costratio

Dwivedi Sudhakar Singh TarunvirDivision of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology,(J),FOA, Chatha, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir -180 009, India

Sudhakar Dwivedi ( )E mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture and livestock is the mainstay of thepeople of Kashmir Valley, employing about 64 % of thetotal workforce and contributes about 33.05 % of the stateincome (Anon 2009). The role of cash crops cannot beunderestimated since they provide basic infrastructuresetup by way of earning foreign exchange. On an average,the commercial crops give three times more output ascompared to food grains in terms of area and production,but occupy less than 10 % of gross cultivated area of thecountry. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is world’s expensivespice having value between Rs 1,20,000/ Kg. India ranksfirst in area and second in production only after Spain(Anon 2008, IAI 2010). Jammu and Kashmir state enjoysa monopoly in the cultivation of saffron in the sub-continent and contributes almost 99 % of the nationalproduction of saffron. The cultivation of saffron in Indiais mostly confined to Jammu and Kashmir State where itis adapted to a Mediterranean type of climate. Indiaexported 5.5 MT of the world’s costliest spice (saffron)during 2008-09 (Anon 2009, KF 2010). Saffron is cultivatedon large scale in Kashmir and Kistwar district of Jammudivision. In Jammu and Kashmir presently 2,928 ha area isunder saffron cultivation with 48.49 q of production,however, the supremacy goes into the lap of potentialarea of Pampore tehsil of district Pulwama, where about2,389 ha of land is under saffron cultivation with about30.56 q of production (Anon 2009, Indiamart 2010). Onekg of good quality of dried saffron is obtained from nearly80-85 kg of fresh flowers, corresponding to about 1.15-1.50 lakh flowers The Kashmir saffron can compete in theworld market provided the rates are good because it isbelieved that the Kashmir saffron is top class among allthe saffron grown and traded in the world. Consideringall the above facts, the present investigation was done towork out the cost and return structure of saffron crop inJammu and Kashmir.


Studies on heterobeltiosis in bittergourd (Momordica charantia L.)under mid hill condition of Uttrakhand

ML KUSHWAHA RP MAURYA

Received: Aug 24, 2010; Revised: Oct 07, 2010; Accepted: Nov 16, 2010


RESEARCH PAPER

ABSTRACT In a study conducted at VCSG College ofHorticulture, GB Pant University of Agriculture andTechnology, Bharsar, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand during2005 and 2006. Heterobeltiosis were estimated for eightquantitative traits in 15 hybrids involving 6 diverseparents (BBIG-1, BBIG-2, BBIG-3, BBIG-4, BBIG-5 andKalyanpur Sona) of bittergourd. The hybrids and theirparents were evaluated under RBD with thee replications.The results exhibited highly significant differences amonggenotypes comprising parents and their crosses for alltraits studied. Cross BBIG-3 x BBIG-5 exhibited highlysignificant and maximum heterobeltiosis for fruit weight,number of fruits per plant and fruit yield per plant. Thehighest better parent heterosis for earliness in terms ofdays to anthesis first male flower, days to anthesis firstfemale flower and days to first harvest showed by BBIG-1 x Kalyanpur Sona, while BBIG-2 x Kalyanpur Sonadepicted highest significant and positive heterobeltiosisfor fruit length. Thus, the cross combination BBIG-3 xBBIG-5 and BBIG-1xKalyanpur Sona emerged as best forhigh yield and early harvest, respectively and may beconsidered to develop the short duration high yieldinggenotype/ hybrid for high hilly areas.

KEYWORDS Bittergourd, yield, weight, heterobeltiosis,anthesis

Kushwaha ML Maurya RP

VCSG College of Horticulture, GB Pant University ofAgriculture and Technology, Bharsar, Pauri Garhwal,Uttrakhand – 246 123, India.

ML Kushwaha ( )E mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

The bittergourd (Mamordica charantia L) is one ofthe most nutritive and commercially important cucurbitsgrown extensively throughout India as well as in countriesof south-east Asia. The fruits are rich in several mineralsand vitamins. Its each and every plant parts is nutritiveand has some medicinal values (Julia 1967). Although,heterosis for yield and yield contributing characters hasbeen reported in bittergourd by early workers but onlyfew commercial F1 hybrids have been released so far. Itwas therefore, felt necessary to make an effort in thisdirection with a view to evolve high yielding quality of F1hybrids through heterosis breeding.


The present experiment was undertaken involving15 F1 and 6 parental lines of indigenous strain of bittergourd on the basis of evaluation in a randomized blockdesign in three replications for two seasons, namely, 2005and 2006 at VCSG College of Horticulture, G. B. PantUniversity of Agriculture and Technology, Bharsar, PauriGarhwal, Uttrakhand India. It is situated at 30.03° Nlatitude, 78.59°E longitude and at an altitude of 1900-2300m above the mean sea level. The climatic condition ofBharsar is temperate to semi- temperate with minimumand maximum temperature -20 C and 300C, respectively.The parental genotypes were BBIG-1, BBIG-2, BBIG-3,BBIG-4, BBIG-5 and Kalyanpur Sona.

Sowing was done with a spacing of 60 cm betweenthe plants and 150 cm between the channels.Recommended agronomic practices (Fageria et al. 2003)and plant protection measures were followed to raise agood crop. 21 genotypes were evaluated and observationswere recorded for days to anthesis first male flower, daysto anthesis first female flower, days to first harvest, fruitdiameter, fruit length, fruit weight, number of fruits/plant


Effect of organic manures and biofertilizers on growth and yield oftomato and french bean under mid hills of Himachal Pradesh

KS THAKUR DHARMINDER KUMAR AMIT VIKRAM AK THAKUR DK MEHTA

Received: June 10, 2010; Revised: Sept 28, 2010; Accepted: Nov 16, 2010


SHORT COMMUNICATOIN

ABSTRACT Tomato and French bean are the main cashcrops grown in mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh duringsummer season. In this regard, field experiments wereconducted to evaluate different organic manures andbiofertilisers on these vegetables during kharif season2008. There were nine treatments viz. FYM, Vermicompost,Biofertilizers (Azotobactor, PSB and Rhizobium), FYM +Biofertlizers, Vermicompost + Biofertilizers, Organophos,Fertimine, Conventional and Untreated Control. Thetreatments for both the crops were same exceptbiofertilizers, which were crop specific. The study revealedthat amongst all the treatments, combined application ofvermicompost and biofertilizers increased the growth andyield in both the crops in comparison to untreated control.This treatment was followed by organophos application.It was also observed that the conventional treatmentregistered the highest yields in both the crops; however,this was at par with the best treatment in organic plots i.e(Vermicompost+ Biofertilizers) with respect to growth andyield of tomato and french bean.

KEYWORDS Organic manure, biofertilizers, growth,yield, tomato, french bean

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) and frenchbean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are the most important cashcrops grown during summer season in mid hills ofHimachal Pradesh. With the increasing health

Thakur KS1 Kumar Dharminder1

Vikram Amit2 Thakur

AK3 Mehta DK3

1Department of Vegetable Science, 2Regional HorticulturalResearch Sub-Station, Tabo- Spiti 3Seed Technology andProduction Center, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticultureand Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh-173230, India

KS Thakur ( )Email: [email protected]

consciousness in consumers the significance of varioustypes of organic manures in increasing crop yields is welldocumented (Shukla et al. 2009). Recently, the use oforganic manures and biofertilizers and their potential forreducing the requirement of chemical fertilizers hasbecome a subject of active research. Favourable responseof Azotobacter, Phosphorous solubilizing bacteria andRhizobium culture has been noticed by many workers invegetable crops (Jenson 1987, Sharma and Thakur 2001,Shukla et al. 2009). However, reports are scanty onevaluation of response of organic manures andbiofertilizers on plant growth and development of thesevegetables in this region. Keeping these points in view,the present study was undertaken to evaluate the effectof organic manures and biofertilizers on growthcharacteristics and yield of tomato and french bean undermid hills of Himachal Pradesh.

Field experiments were conducted during kharifseason 2008 at the experimental farm of Department ofVegetable Science, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University ofHorticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, HimachalPradesh, India on well drained sandy loam soil. Theexperiment was laid out in randomized block design havingthree replications in a plot size of 10 m x 4 m. There werenine treatment viz. T1 (FYM), T2 (Vermicompost), T3(Biofertilizers), T4(FYM+Biofertilizer), T5 (Vermicompost+Biofertilizer), T6 (Organophos), T7 (Fertimine), T8(Conventional) and T9 (Untreated Control) for both tomatoand french bean. Tomato cv. Solan Vajr was transplantedduring first week of April, 2008, at a spacing of 90 cm x 30cm. French bean cv. Contender was sown during 2nd weekof April, 2008 in 30 cm x 15 cm spacing. Conventional plotwas kept on separate piece of land.

In tomato maximum plant height (158.40 cm), morenumber of fruits per plant (23.18), maximum average fruitweight (77.99 g), fruit yield per plant (1807.00 g) and perhectare (46.86 t/ha) was recorded in conventional


Correlation and path analysis in strawberry(Fragaria x ananassa Duch.)

VK RAO BHARAT LAL VK YADAV SK SHARMA

Received: Aug 21, 2010; Revised: Sept 14, 2010; Accepted Sept 23, 2010


SHORT COMMUNICATOIN

ABSTRACT Seventeen genotypes of strawberry wereevaluated to determine the nature of association amongdifferent yield contributing attributes and their direct andindirect contribution towards yield. Maximum positivesignificant correlation of yield was observed with berrywidth followed by number of achenes per fruit, berry lengthand number of flowers per plant. Path coefficient analysisrevealed that fruit width had highest direct positivecontribution towards fruit yield per plant followed bynumber of flowers per plant. These important traits maybe considered in selection programme for the furtherimprovement of yield in strawberry.

KEYWORDS Strawberry, correlation, path coefficient

Strawberry is one of the most attractive andacceptable soft fruits of the world, which belongs to thefamily Rosaceae and is a native to America. It is in highdemand for table purpose as well as jam making, canningand ice cream preparations. It is preferred by the growersbecause of its high returns per unit area, and low cost ofcultivation. In India, it is cultivated to a limited extent inplains and sub-mountainous areas of Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka,Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, where irrigationfacilities are available. The improvement of any crop plantis intimately related to the amount of genetic variabilitypresent in the population among the genotypes. Studies

Rao VK Lal Bharat Yadav VK Sharma SKDepartment of Horticulture, College of Forestry and HillAgriculture, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture andTechnology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri-Tehri-Garhwal,Uttarakhand- 249199, India

VK Rao ( )E mail: [email protected]

on strawberry indicate presence of adequate amount ofgenetic variability and scope of improvement throughselection. Fruit yield in strawberry depends upon manyyield components, as yield is complex polygenic character.Correlations are often misleading as they measure theassociation between two characters and may not givecomplete picture of yield. The correlations between anytwo characters, which is being measured, do not exist bythem alone, but are parts of complicated path way of yield,in which indirect effect of other traits will also exist. Thepath coefficient analysis provides an effective means offinding out direct and indirect causes of association andpermits a critical examination of given correlation andmeasures the relative importance of each factor. In thepresent study, an attempt was made, to evaluate theassociation of yield and its components in strawberrythrough path coefficient analysis.

The present investigation was carried out at ResearchBlock of the Department of Horticulture, College ofForestry and Hill Agriculture, G.B. Pant University ofAgriculture and Technology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri,Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India, during the year 2006-07. Runners of seventeen genotypes of strawberry wereprocured from Sher-e- Kashmir University of AgriculturalSciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar Campus,Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Experiment was laid out inRandomized Block Design (RBD) with three replicationsat 1843 m above mean sea level under mid hill conditionsof Central Himalaya. The runners were planted on raised(15 cm) double rowed beds in third week of October, usingblack polythene mulch. Twenty plants of each of theseventeen cultivars were planted in 3m x 1.2 m raised bedfor investigation. Individual rows were spaced at 60 cmand plant to plant distance was kept at 30 cm. During thecourse of study, uniform cultural practices were followed.Vegetative characters like plant height, plant spread,number of leaves per plant, leaf area per plant, petiole


Standardization of feed rate and vacuum pressure for processing ofseeds of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

DK MEHTA HS KANWAR AK THAKUR

Received: June 04, 2010; Revised: June 09, 2010; Accepted: Sept 23, 2010


SHORT COMMUNICATOIN

ABSTRACT Seed processing plays the most importantrole in determining the final quality of seeds. Mechanicalmethods of seed processing are precise, fast, accurateand cost effective if they are calibrated, standardized andfine tuned to do so. In these studies, Wall MountedVacuum Separator is evaluated at different vacuumpressure and feed rates for processing seeds of bell peppercv. California Wonder. The studies showed that a feederrate of 6 (20 kg seeds/ hour) and vacuum pressure of 38.0lbs/ hour is optimum for the processing of seeds of bellpepper. The combination has resulted in significantimprovement of seed quality in terms of physical purity,1000 seed weight, germination and vigour index with agood seed recovery of 95.2 %.

KEYWORDS Seed processing, wall mounted vacuumseparator, seed weight, vigour, recovery, feed rate, vacuumpressure

Bell pepper is one of the important commercial cropsof the hills because the environmental conditions hereare very conducive for producing excellent quality fruits.The genetic and physical qualities of seeds are theimportant factors determining the productivity of a crop.Although seed crop is produced under intensive carebut harvested seed generally contains various types ofunwanted material. Seed processing performs thefunction of upgrading seed quality to the desired level

Mehta DK Kanwar HS Thakur AKSeed Technology & Production Centre, Dr YS ParmarUniversity of Horticulture & Forestry, Nauni, Solan,173230 Himachal Pradesh

DK Mehta ( )Email: [email protected]

and prepares seed for distribution. The main objective ofseed processing is to improve and maintain various qualityparameters such as physical purity, germination, vigourand storability (Kanwar et al. 2010). For this, seedprocessing machines are designed on the basis of physicalcharacteristics of seed like seed size, shape, weight,specific gravity, colour etc. The wall mounted vacuumseparators use air to separate the seed from undesiredmaterial. The machines utilize the terminal velocity of seedto affect separation. It creates vacuum (negative pressure)within the machine and extra air rushes in to fill the vacuum.This creates a stream of air which is used to separate theseed. The seeds whose terminal velocity is equal to orless than that of the air stream will be lifted and thosewhose terminal velocity is higher than that of air streamwill fall down. Hence, the determining factors are weightof individual seed in relation to their air resistance.

In the present study Wall Mounted Vacuum Separator(STS-WM2 LAB from Seed Tech Systems, USA) wasused. Seeds of bell pepper cv California Wonder producedby Seed Technology and Production Centre, Dr YS ParmarUniversity of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, HPduring Kharif 2009 was used for the study. Afterconducting preliminary trials it was found that a minimumof 35 lbs/ hour vacuum was required for separation ofvery light material and dust from seed sample. Similarly, afeeder rate of 5 i.e.10 kg seeds/ hour was required to movethe seed into the separation column. This vacuumpressure and feeder rate was used as initial treatment tostart the experiment. Five hundred gram unprocessedseeds per treatment were subjected to various vacuumpressure i.e. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45 lbs/hour and feeder rate i.e. 5 (10 kg seeds/ hour), 6 (20 kgseeds/ hour) and 7 (30 kg seeds/ hour) to optimize themachine for the processing of bell pepper seed. In allthirty three combinations of vacuum pressure and feederrate were replicated thrice. The seed recovery was


Integrated nutrient management studies in grain amaranth(Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.)

TEJ PRATAP MANORANJAN DUTTA

Received: June 10, 2010; Revised: Aug 13, 2010; Accepted: Sept 23, 2010


SHORT COMMUNICATOIN

ABSTRACT Grain amaranth is an important cash cropof the mid and high altitude areas of Himalayan region.To standardize the integrated nutrient management withcombination of both organic and inorganic fertilizers, afield experiment was conducted on silty clay loam soil ofG.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, HillCampus, Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Indiaduring kharif 2002-03 and 2003-04, under rainfed mid hillcondition. Recommended dose of fertilizer i.e. 40 Kg Nand 20 Kg P ha 1 along with FYM @ 5 t ha-1 gavesignificantly higher grain yields of 1.08 and 0.92 t/ haduring 2002-03 and 2003-04 respectively over all thetreatments followed by FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + 75 % RDFwhich was at par with FYM @ 5 t ha-1 + 75 % RDF duringboth the years. Net monetary returns and benefit: costratio were higher with the application of FYM @ 5t ha-1 +100 % RDF (Rs 3237.5 and 792.5, 1.24 and 1.06 during2002-03 and 2003-04, respectively) compared to othertreatments. The study suggests that application of organicfertilizer in combination with inorganic ones is essentialto get maximum production in grain amaranth.

KEYWORDS Integrated, nutrient management, grainamaranth, traditional crop, yield and economics

Grain amaranth an ancient crop originating in theAmericas, can be used as a high- protein grain or as a

Pratap Tej1 Dutta Manoranjan2

1Department of Agronomy, GB Pant University of Agricultureand Technology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri, Tehri GarhwalUttarakhand – 249 199, India, 2Evaluation Division, NationalBureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Pusa,New Delhi - 110 012, India

Tej Pratap ( )E mail: [email protected],

leafy vegetable, and has potential as a forage crop. InIndia, it is cultivated in the hilly regions as well as in theplains, covering the entire Himalayan region, southernIndia and in some parts of a Gujrat, Maharashtra, Orissaand Eastern UP (Bhag 1994). Amaranth grain is reportedto have high levels of lysine, a nutritionally critical aminoacid ranging from 0.73 to 0.84 % of the total protein content(Bressani et al. 1987) and could be a potential supplementwith traditional cereals. The grain is high in fiber and lowin saturated fats, which enables its use by the healthfood market in a big way. In irrigated areas, amaranthprovides an alternative for farmers who seek to reduceirrigation costs, as well as to reduce the potential for sodsalinization (Weber et al. 1988). In mid and higherHimalayan region the crop is cultivated widely by theresource poor farmers with very little inputs. The crop istraditionally grown as broadcast and yield obtained thusis very low. Henderson (1993) has, therefore, emphasizedfor the adoption of scientific cultivation practicesincluding proper plant population by adopting suitableplant spacing, use of FYM, N, P, K etc. for getting higheryield.

The information on integrated package of practicesis very scanty on amaranth species, particularly for theHimalayan region where it is grown as a major cash crop.Traditionally, amaranth was bartered for salt but now ithas good demand in the market and gets 2-3 times of riceand wheat grains in exchange. The present study wastherefore, undertaken to find out an optimum fertilizerrequirement of the crop under rainfed mid hill conditionof Garhwal Himalaya.

The field experiment was conducted during Kharifseason of 2002-03 and 2003-04 at G.B. Pant University ofAgriculture and Technology, Hill Campus, Ranichauri,Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India under rainfed condition.The soil was silty clay loam in texture, low in available


Effect of organic manures and biofertilizers on growth and fruit yield oftomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

KS THAKUR RAJESH THAKUR YR SHUKLA DK MEHTA AK THAKUR

Received: June 10, 2010; Revised: Sept 10, 2010; Accepted: Sept 23, 2010


SHORT COMMUNICATOIN

ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted at VegetableResearch Farm, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh duringsummer 2008, in order to find out effect of organic manuresand biofertilizers on different growth parameters and fruityield of tomato. Non significant effects regarding numberof primary branches and days to first picking wereobserved while, plant height, harvest duration and fruityield were significantly affected. Maximum yield andlongest harvest duration were observed with NPKapplication while, maximum plant height was obtainedthrough Azotobacter application.

KEYWORDS Tomato, organic manures, biofertilizers,yield

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), member of familysolanaceae having its origin in Peru, Equador and Boliviais one of the most important vegetable crops grownworldwide under open as well as protected conditions.Fruits are eaten raw, cooked or processed as ketchup,puree, paste, soup, juice, preserves etc. In HimachalPradesh, tomato is cultivated over an area of 9,400 hectareswith 31,77,00 metric tonnes of production and productivityof 33.79 metric tonnes per hectare (Anon 2007). It is anexhaustive crop in terms of fertilizer requirement.Application of chemical fertilizers alone supplies one ortwo nutrients to the crop in question but their continuoussupply for many years is causing soil health problems

Thakur KS1 Thakur Rajesh1

Shukla YR1 Mehta DK2

Thakur A K2

1Department of Vegetable Science, 2Seed Technology andProduction Centre, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticultureand Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh- 173230, India

KS Thakur ( )Email: [email protected]

and environmental pollution, which has become aninternational concern. Use of organic growing media offersa valuable alternative over commercial fertilizers due totheir good water holding capacity, proper aeration andnutrient absorption. Biofertilizers help in improvingbiological activities of desired microorganisms in the soiland help to improve plant growth and yield. Therefore,their use in soils of low fertility and for those areas andsystems that use low amount of fertilizers is more relevant.

Biofertilizers are also useful in sustainable agricultureand organic farming. Hence, application of organicmanures and biofertilizers becomes mutually exclusiveevent. Therefore, the present study was conducted toevaluate the effect of organic manures and biofertilizerson growth and yield of tomato under midhill conditionsof Himachal Pradesh.

The present investigation was conducted at theVegetable Research Farm of the Department of VegetableScience, during summer season of 2008 at Dr. Y.S. ParmarUniversity of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni-Solan,Himachal Pradesh, India, located at an attitude of 1270 mamsl with latitude of 35.5°N and longitude of 77.8°E. Thesoil of experimental field was sandy loam in texture withpH of 7.42 , EC of 0.284 dSm-1and organic carbon of 1.24%. The available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumcontents were 318.2, 56.4 and 298.4 kg/ha, respectively.Climate is generally sub-humid, sub temperate with coolwinters. January and February are the coldest monthswhile May and June are the hottest. The experimentcomprised of 10 treatments viz., T1 (FYM @ 25 t/ha), T2(Vermicompost equivalent to N content of FYM (@10 t/ha), T3 (Poultry manure equivalent to N content of FYM(@ 12 t/ha), T4 (Green manuring with cowpea), T5(Azotobacter as soil application @ 5kg/ha), T6(Azospirillum as soil application @ 5kg/ha), T7 (PSB assoil application @ 5kg/ha), T8 (Mycorrhiza as soilapplication @ 12.kg/ha), T9(NPK @100:75:55 kg/ha), and


Manifestation of heterosis for quantitative traits in bacterial wiltresistant lines of brinjal (Solanum melongena L)

VK SHARMA

Received: June 03, 2010; Revised: Aug 25, 2010; Accepted: Sept 23, 2010


SHORT COMMUNICATOIN

ABSTRACT Thirty F1 hybrids of brinjal involving 13parents (10 lines x 13 testers were studied to work out theextent of heterosis for fruit yield and its contributingattributes during summer- rainy season. Appreciableheterosis was found over better parent and standardvariety for all the traits studied. In order of merit F1 hybrid,CHES-309 x Hissar Syamal, Punjab Barasati x Hissar Syamaland Pusa Anupam x Pusa Purple Cluster were observedas the best performer for yield, as they recorded significantheterosis to the tune of 68.57, 60.90 %; 52.35; 45.45 %and 47.61, 40.91 % over better parent and standard variety,respectively. The best heterotic hybrid CHES-309 x HissarShyamal may be recommended for commercial cultivationafter multi location testing.

KEYWORDS Solanum melongena, eggplant heterosis,wilt resistance

Brinjal or eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is oneof the most important vegetable crops of Indian sub-continent and rich variability exists both in cultivatedtype and its wild species. It is grown for its immaturefruits which are cooked and eaten as vegetable in a varietyof ways. In commercial brinjal growing areas of HimachalPradesh, bacterial wilt has become a serious limiting factor.Some times the attack is so severe that the entire crop isdestroyed. The chemical control measure is also notsuccessful. The only alternative left is to identify ordevelop resistant varieties/hybrids possessing highyielding potential and other good horticultural attributes.Hybrid vigour in brinjal was probably first reported byNagai and Kida (1926) in a cross combination of some

Sharma VK1Institute of Plant Sciences, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan,Israel,


Japanese varieties of brinjal. To obtain high yield per unitarea, exploitation of hybrid vigour is one of the best way,particularly in vegetable like brinjal, where more numberof seeds per fruit are obtained. Therefore, the presentinvestigation was carried out to study the extent ofheterosis in F1 hybrids over better parent and standardvariety in line x tester mating design as proposed byKempthorne (1957).

The present investigation was undertaken to studythe extent of heterosis involving 10 lines with diversegenetic background viz., Arka Keshav, Arka Neelkanth,Pusa Anumpam, Punjab Barsati (BP), SM-6-7, SM-141,CHES- 243, CHES-309, DBLV-4, BB-13-1 and three testersviz, Arka Nidhi, Pusa Purple Cluster (SV) and HissarShyamal. All these genotypes used in the study wereresistant to bacterial wilt. Thirty crosses developed byfollowing line (10) x tester (3) mating design alongwithparents were evaluated during Feb-Sept 2002, inrandomized block design with three replication at CSKHimachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Research Sub-Station, Akrot, Himachal Pradesh, India. The experimentalsite Research Sub-Station, Akrot (Una) is situated at about450m above mean sea level with 31038’ N latitude and 760

9’ E longitude. Agronomically, the location represents low-hill sub-tropical zone of Himachal Pradesh, having averagerainfall of 125cm. The soil of this location is sandy loamwith neutral to slightly alkaline reaction (pH 7.5- 8.0). Theseedlings were transplanted with intra row spacing of60 cm x 45 cm. Observations were recorded on 10 randomlyselected plants in each treatment over replication forquantitative traits viz, marketable fruit yield per plant (g),average fruit weight (g), fruit length (cm), fruit diameter(cm), number of marketable fruits per plant, number ofprimary branches per plant and plant height (cm).Heterosis was calculated as percentage of F1 performancein desirable direction over better parent and standardvariety for each treatment.


Stability for green pod yield in bush type french bean (Phaseolusvulgaris L.) under north-western Himalayas

KC SHARMA

Received: June 01, 2010; Revised: June 22, 2010; Accepted: July 10, 2010


SHORT COMMUNICATOIN

ABSTRACT Fifteen genotypes / varieties of french bean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were evaluated during 2004-2007for stability of green pod yield. Pooled analysis ofvariance revealed significant differences amongstgenotypes and substantial genotype x environmentinteraction effect on green pod yield. The results revealedthat the genotypes viz., IIHR-909, DPFBBS-1, HAFB-1,Contender, HAFB-2 and MFB-3 possessed specificadaptability for better/rich/favourable environments andcould be cultivated under rich environments createdthrough better/ well management practices with respectto fertilizer application, irrigation, weed control etc. Inaddition to these, genotypes IVFB-1 and IVFB-2 werehighly stable and expected to perform in a stable mannerover the fluctuating environmental conditions. So, thesegenotypes might play a significant role as promisingparents in the future breeding programmes of bush typeFrench bean or as such can be recommended for thecultivation under north-western Himalayan region.

KEYWORDS French bean, genotypes, Phaseolusvulgaris L., environment, stability

French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of thecommercial off-season vegetables grown in the hillyregions of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir andUttarakhand. It is grown for immature delicate tender greenpods. In Himachal Pradesh, it occupies an area of about

Sharma KCHill Agricultural Research and Extension Centre, CSK HimachalPradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Bajaura, Kullu, HimachalPradesh - 175 125, India


2,444 ha with the annual production of 27,202 tonnes(Anon 2008). Major chunk of area is covered duringsummer season by growing bush type cultivars as off-season vegetable crop, thereby giving lucrative returnsto the hill farmers. The performance of genotype variesconsiderably with the change in the environments.Presence of G x E interaction in any genetical study simplyleads to overestimation of genetical and statisticalparameters. Thus, G x E interaction plays an importantrole in the scientific crop improvement programme relatedto stability of genotype/variety. Therefore, an attemptwas made to identify superior genotypes of French bean(bush type) with stable performance of green pod yieldunder north-western Himalayas.

Fifteen diverse genotypes of bush bean viz., IVFB-1,IVFB-2, IVRFB-1, MFB-1, MFB-2, MFB-3, MFB-4, MFB-5, KPV-2, DPFBBS-1, HAFB-1, HAFB-2, IIHR-909, JFB-97-1 including check ‘Contender’ were grown for fouryears (2004-2007) at the Hill Agricultural Research andExtension Centre, CSK Himachal Pradesh KrishiVishvavidyalaya, Bajaura, Kullu (H.P.) truly representingthe mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh (32.2O N, 77O

E and 1090 m amsl) in a randomized block design with 3replications during summer seasons. Each genotype wasplanted in a plot of 3 m x 1.35 m with a spacing of 45 cmand 15 cm between and within rows, respectively.Recommended dose of fertilizer @ 50:100:50 kg/ha (N:P2O5:K2O) was applied and normal package of practiceswere followed to raise the good crop. The observationswere recorded on ten plants from each plot for green podyield (q/ha). For computation of stability parameters,namely bi and S2di, pooled analysis over environmentswas carried out following regression approach of Eberhartand Russel (1966). In addition, genotypic mean (gi) was

AWARDS OF ISHA

The society shall recognize excellence in scientific research anddevelopment by conferring various awards to suitable life members.

1. Fellows will be nominated / selected from among those whohave been Life Members of the society and based on theircontributions for the society and / or his / her overallprofessional achievements.

2. Nominations for fellowship shall be made by fellows of theSociety and / or Executive Council. Fellows will be inductedafter evaluation of their R&D contributions as per guidelinesto be prescribed by the Executive Council of the Society.

3. Life members of the society up to the age of 65 years will onlybe eligible for induction and continuation as fellows of thesociety.

4. The maximum number of Fellows at any time shall not exceed200. Each year a maximum of 6 Fellows (excluding recipientsof the awards made by Indian Society of Hill Agriculture) maybe selected from among various sub-disciplines in agricultureand allied sciences i.e

a. Plant Improvement with reference to genetics, plant breeding,production, cytogenetics, physiology, biotechnology andbiochemistry of various crops including fruits, vegetables,flowers, medicinal plants and forest plants.

b. Plant Protection including entomology, plant pathology,nematology, microbiology and agro-chemicals

c. Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences including NaturalResource Management, Soil Sciences, Water Management,Environmental Sciences, Agronomy, Seed Science,Meteorology and Agroforestry.

d. Animal Sciences including Veterinary Science and Fishery

e. Agricultural Engineering including Farm machinery, Soil &Water Conservation Engineering, Energy Management,Postharvest Technology, Food Technology and DairyProcessing

f. Social Sciences including Statistics, Economics, Extension,Home Sciences, Nutrition, Research Management

Types of Awards

The following awards shall be given annually

I. LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

This award shall be given each year for an eminent individualscientist who has made a remarkable contribution for thedevelopment of agriculture especially in the hills as evidenced bypublications in scientific journals of repute/products andtechnologies developed etc. The awardees for Life TimeAchievement Award shall be selected and nominated by the

Executive Council of the Society. Each award shall consist of acitation and a Momemto.

II. RECOGNITION AWARD

These awards shall be given for significant contributions to theadvancement of knowledge/technologies in the relevant scientificdisciplines of the particular area of hill agriculture. The researchcontributions should be based on work carried out preferably inhills, as evidenced by publications in scientific journals of repute/products and technologies developed. The period of assessing thecontributions shall be upto the year of nomination. The awardsshall be made to distinguished scientists, in the age group of > 40years, who are Fellows of Indian Society of Hill Agriculture in theabove six sub-disciplines of agriculture. Each award shall consistof a citation and a Momemto.

III. YOUNG SCIENTISTS AWARD

Young Scientists awards shall be initiated with primary objectiveof distinguishing young scientists of promise and creativity throughtheir contributions to agricultural sciences after obtaining Ph.D.degree. Scientists below the age of 40 years are eligible for thisaward. There will be six awards, one in the above six sub-disciplinesof agriculture. Each award shall consist of a citation and aMomemto.

IV. BEST STUDENT AWARD

The Best Student Award shall be given to students having excellentacademic record right from matric to Master’s level supplementedby good quality postgraduate research work. The maximum age ofeligibility for this award shall be 25 years. Each award shall consistof a certificate and a momemto.

V. BEST PAPER AWARD

The Best Paper Award shall be given to the best quality researchpaper of real significance and value to the development ofagriculture in hills published in the year of consideration in Journalof Hill Agriculture. All the published papers shall be scrutinized bya committee constituted by the Executive Council for the purpose.Each award shall consist of a certificate and a citation.

The Executive Council may also decide to give cash prizesto the awardees based on the availability of funds in the societyand to alter the number and types of categories of Fellowships andawards each year. The society also encourages sponsored medalsand awards to students, scientists, teachers in recognition of theirservices and achievements. Society wish more sponsors to comeforward for the same. The Year for consideration of all fellowshipsand awards shall be from 1st January to 31st December of aparticular year.

The deadlines for submission of applications for theISHA awards (2010) shall be March 31st, 2011. Details areavailable on ISHA’s website www.isharanichauri.com.

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REFEREES OF JOURNAL OF HILLAGRICULTURE 2010 Vol 1(2)

Dr AK Pandey, GBPUAT, Hill Campus Ranichauri,Uttarakhand

Dr Amit Vikram, Dr YS Parmar Univ. Horticulture andForestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh

Dr Anchal Das, Indian Agricultural ResearchInstitute, New Delhi

Dr Ashok Thakur, Dr YS Parmar Univ. Horticultureand Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh

Dr B M Pandey, VPKAS Almora, Uttarakhand Dr B S Meena, NDRI Karnal, Haryana Dr Bhim Singh, CHF, MPUAT, Jhalawar, Rajsthan Dr Bhupinder Thakur, CSKHPKVV, Kullu, Himachal

Pradesh Dr D Mandal, Central Soil Water Conservation

Research Training Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand Dr J S Chandel, Dr YS Parmar Univ. Horticulture and

Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh Dr K Murli, ZARS, UAS Bengaluru Dr KC Sharma, CSKHPKVV, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh Dr KPS Kushwaha, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand Dr Kuldeep Thakur, Dr YS Parmar Univ. Horticulture

and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh Dr P D Ghosh, Kalyani University Kalyani, West

Bengal

Dr P J Handique, Assam Agricultural University,Guwahati, Assam

Dr Pankaj Panwar, Central Soil Water ConservationResearch Training Institute, Regional Centre,Chandigarh

Dr R S Jariyal, RHRS Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh Dr Rajesh Kaushal, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar,

Uttarakhand Dr Ramesh K Rana, HPKVV Palampur, Himachal

Pradesh Dr Rameshwar S Rattan, IHBP Palampur, Himachal

Pradesh Dr Rupam Borgohain, Assam Agricultural University,

Assam Dr S C Singh, CSA Univ. Agriculture and Technology,

KVK, Belatal, Distt Mahoba, UP Dr Sanjeev Sharma, Central Potato Research Institute,

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Dr T Subramanian, Central Research Institute for Jute

and Allied Fibres, Barrackpore, Kolkata, WB Dr V K Rao, GBPUAT, Hill Campus Ranichauri,

Uttarakhand. Dr V K Sharma, GBPUAT, Hill Campus Ranichauri,

Uttarakhand Dr V K Yadav, GBPUAT, Hill Campus Ranichauri,

Uttarakhand Dr Vikas K Sharma, Dr YS Parmar Univ. Horticulture

and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh

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GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORSJournal of Hill Agriculture (JHA) is an international journal and an official publication of Indian Society of Hill Agriculture (ISHA).

It publishes the original research in all branches of agriculture and allied science (as mentioned below) that is of primary interest to theagricultural development, especially in hill and mountain regions of the world. The publication is open to the members of Indian Societyof Hill Agriculture but it also accepts papers from non-members if all authors become the annual/life member when a paper is submitted/ accepted for publication. The journal publishes four types of articles, i.e. (i) Strategy / Policy paper (exclusively by invitation fromthe personalities of eminence), (ii) Review papers, (iii) Research papers and (iv) Short communications. The manuscripts should besubmitted to the Editor-in-Chief (JHA) by E-mail as attached file saved in MS Word to [email protected] or by onlinesubmission after performing registration and login on our website www.isharanichauri.com. The status of manuscripts can also bechecked online. Each manuscript must be typed doubled spaced on one side of an A4 size page. Clearness, brevity and conciseness areessential in form, style, punctuation, spelling and use of English language. Manuscripts should conform to the S.I. system for numericaldata and data should be subjected to appropriate statistical analysis. On receipt of an article at the Editorial Office, an acknowledgementgiving the manuscript number is sent to the corresponding author. This number should be quoted while making any future enquiry aboutits status.

MAJOR FIELDS/SUBJECTS COVERED UNDER JHAa) Plant Improvement with reference to genetics, plant breeding, production, cytogenetics, physiology, biotechnology and

biochemistry of various crops including fruits, vegetables, flowers, medicinal plants and forest plants.b) Plant Protection including entomology, plant pathology, nematology, microbiology and agro-chemicalsc) Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences including Natural Resource Management, Soil Sciences, Water Management,

Environmental Sciences, Agronomy, Seed Science, Meteorology and Agroforestry.d) Animal Sciences including Veterinary Science and Fisherye) Agricultural Engineering including Farm machinery, Soil & Water Conservation Engineering, Energy Management, Postharvest

Technology, Food Technology and Dairy Processingf) Social Sciences including Statistics, Economics, Extension, Home Sciences, Nutrition, Research Management

TYPES OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JHA

a. Strategy paper. These papers are invited exclusively by invitation from the personalities of eminence to give their opinion on thetrends of agricultural development and future of various sectors of agriculture and allied disciplines and related development issues allover the world especially in hill and mountain regions.b. Review paper It should be comprehensive, critical and updated on a recent topic of importance. The maximum page limit is of 14double spaced typed pages including Tables and Figures. It should cite latest references and identify some gaps for future. It should havea specific Title followed by the Name(s) of the author(s), Affiliation, Abstract, Key words, main text with subheadings, Acknowledgements(wherever applicable) and References.c. Research paper. The paper should describe a new and confirmed findings. Should not generally exceed 12 typed pages includingTables/Figures etc. A paper has the following features. Please consult previous issues of JHA for your reference and help.

Title followed by author (s) and affiliation: address of the institution (s) where the research was undertaken and e mail address ofcorresponding author.

Abstract: Entire work along with the highlights of the findings must be given concisely in 200 to 300 words. Key words: About 5- 6 keywords to be indicated. Introduction: This must highlight importance of the problem and its relevance to hill agriculture including pervious work done and

gaps thereof. Materials and Methods: Describe the materials used in the experiments, year of experimentation, site etc. Describe the methods

employed for collection and analysis of data in short. Results and Discussion: This segment should focus on the fulfillment of stated objectives as given in the introduction and contain

findings presented in Tables, Figures and photographs. Data should be statistically analyzed following suitable experimental design.Same data should not be presented in the table and figure form. Avoid use of numerical values in findings, rather mention the trendsand discuss with the available literatures. At the end give short conclusion.

Acknowledgements: (wherever applicable). References: Reference to literature should be arranged alphabetically as per author’s names, should be placed at the end of the

article. Each reference should contain the names of the author with initials, the year of the publication, title of the article, theabbreviated title of the publication according to the World List of Scientific Periodicals, volume and page(s). In the text, thereference should be indicated by authors’ name and year of publication in brackets. eg. (Smith 1979, Sharma and Nautiyal 2009,Raghav et al. 2010). If there are more than two or more references mentioned together in one bracket they should be written inchronological order.

d. Short communication: The text including Table(s) and Figure(s) should not exceed 5 pages. It should have a short title, followedby name of author(s) and affiliation and References. There should be no subheadings, i.e. Introduction, Materials and Methods etc. Themanuscript should be in paragraphs mentioning the brief introduction of the of the topic and relevance of the work, followed by a shortdescription of the materials and the methods employed, results and discussion based on the data presented in 1 or 2 table(s)/figure(s) anda short conclusion at the end. References should be maximum seven at the end.

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STANDARD REFERENCE WRITING PATTERN FOR JHA

Research and Review PapersSharma KD, Kumar R, Kaushal BBL 2004. Mass transfer characteristics, yield and quality of five varieties of osmotically dehydrated

apricot. J Food Sci Tech 41(3): 264-274.Ponnuswami V, Kumar AR 2009. Crop improvement and management strategies in paprika – a review. Asian J Hort 3(2): 460-466.

Books and Book ChaptersSharma SK 2010. Postharvest Management and Processing of Fruits and Vegetables – Instant Notes. New India Pub Agency, New Delhi, 395p.Babu A, Gupta HS 2006. Approaches to improvement in maize. In: Sustainable Production from Agricultural Watersheds. Gupta HS,

Srivastava AK, Bhatt JC (eds). Vivekanand Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, Uttaranchal, pp 124-138.

Symposium / Seminar/ Conference PublicationsDhillon BS, Rana JC 2004. Temperate fruits genetic resources management in India – issues and strategies. In: Proceedings of the

Seventh International Symposium on Temperate Zone Fruits in the Tropics and Subtropics. Jindal KK, Sharma RC, Rehalia AS(eds), International Society of Horticultural Sciences, Belgium, pp 139-146.

Mohsin F, Singh O 2010. Studies in intercropping of cash crops in Populus deltoides plantation. National Symposium on ConservationHorticulture (21-23 March, 2010, Dehradun, India), Book of Abstracts, pp 131.

Arora VPS 2010. Indian horticulture – marketing and export issues. National Symposium on Conservation Horticulture (21-23 March,2010, Dehradun, India), Souvenir, Singh SS, Singhal V, Pant K, Dwivedi SK, Kamal S, Singh P (eds), pp 80-87.

PatentSchmidt GR, Means WJ 1986. Process of preparing algin/calcium gel-structured meat products. US Patent 4 603 054.

ThesisBisht R 2007. Studies on the multiplication and utilization of Seabuckthorn (Hippophae salicifolia D.Don), M Sc Thesis, GB Pant

University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, US Nagar, Uttarakhand, India.

Webs i teKumar S 2009. Rearing rabbits in the mid hills of Himalaya. http://www.rabbitrearing.com/. website visited on March 10, 2009.General instructions to the authors Manuscript should be typed double spaced on one side of A4 size paper with proper margin of 1 inch on all 4 sides. Generic & specific names should be italicized throughout manuscript. Similarly, the vernacular/ local names are to be italicized. Tables should be typed on separate sheets, each with a heading. Tables should be typed with the first letter (T) only capital. All

Tables and Figures should be properly numbered. All measurements should be in metric units. Each illustration must be referred to in the text. On the first page address of the corresponding author and E-mail Id. etc. may be specified. Revised manuscript is acceptable only as soft copy (attached file in MS Word) of the corrected version through e mal sent to

Editor-in-Chief. The paper after publication shall be sent as pdf file version of the whole issue of the journal to the authors. Article forwarded to the Editor-in-Chief for publication is understood to be offered to Journal of Hill Agriculture exclusively. It is also understood that the authors have obtained a prior approval of their Department, Faculty or Institute in case where such

approval is a necessary. Acceptance of a manuscript for publication in Journal of Hill Agriculture shall automatically mean transfer of copyright to the

Indian Society of Hill Agriculture. The authors shall also have to provide a copy of the Copyright Transfer Statement duly signedby all or the corresponding author on behalf of all the authors.

The Editorial Board takes no responsibility for the fact or the opinion expressed in the Journal, which rests entirely with theauthor(s) thereof.

All the authors of a paper have to become annual/life member of the ISHA for publication of paper. All papers should be sent to Editor-in-Chief, JHA, through e mail as attached file to [email protected] or through

online mode of paper submission, the stepwise instructions for which may be downloaded from ISHA website.Check List1. Complete manuscript in MS Word format2 . Names and details (including complete postal address alongwith Phone No. and e mail) of at least three potential referees who

might be interested to review your paper. The format for the same may be downloaded from ISHA website.3 . Copyright transfer statement on separate page.4 . Membership Number (if fee is paid already)/ Membership fee.

COPYRIGHT TRANSFER STATEMENTJournal Name: Journal of Hill AgricultureManuscript Title : ………………….……………………………………………………………………….Author(s): ….…………………………………………………….…………………………………………I/We hereby confirm the assignment of all copyrights in and to the manuscript named above in all forms and media to the publishers ofthe journal namely, Indian Society of Hill Agriculture, effective if and when it is accepted for publication by the Editor--in-Chief of thejournal.Date: Authors / Corresponding author’s Name and signature

v i

INDIAN SOCIETY OF HILL AGRICULTUREG. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology,

Hill Campus Ranichauri, Distt Tehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand - 249 199 , IndiaPhone: +91 1376 252651, 252650, 252138, Fax: +91 1376 252128

Website: www.isharanichauri.com

MEMBERSHIP FORM

1. Name (in CAPITAL letters) : Dr/ Mr/ Ms ……………………………………….......................................2. Date of Birth..................................................................................... ..................................................

3. Designation / Job Title: …………………………………………………………………….......................................................................4. Specialization: ………………………………………………………………………………........................................................................

5. Institute / Organization where employed: ……………………………………………............................................................................................................................................................................... .............................................................................................

6. Address for Correspondence: …………………………………………………………................................................................................................................................................…………………………………………………………Pin……………………………………...

Phone: .................................………………………… Fax:…………………………......................E mail: ……………………................7. Permanent Home Address: …………………………………………....................................................................................................

..................................................................……………………………………….........................Pin…….…………………..................Phone: …………………………................................. Fax:…………………………......................E mail: ……………………................

8. Academic and Professional Qualifications:

9. Category of membership (please tick)Life member Annual member Organization/ Subscriber member

10. Payment of membership fee in (Rs) ……………………………By cash / Demand DraftNo. …………............. dated: …………………………. in favour of Indian Society of Hill Agriculture payable at Chamba, DisttTehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

Note: Interested members may send their demand drafts by registered post only. Drafts sent by ordinary post are liable to be lostduring postage.

DECLARATION

I wish to become the life/ annual/ subscriber member of the Indian Society of Hill Agriculture and if enrolled agree to abide by therules and regulations of the society.

Date: ………………………. Signature:………………………………….

Place: …………………… Name: (…………………………………)

Passport SizePhotograph of

the Member

Degree Name of University Year Major Field of Study


vii

MEMBERSHIP OF INDIAN SOCIETY OF HILL AGRICULTURE

Membership of the society shall be open to individuals from all nations and shall consists of the following categories of memberswith qualifying criteria as indicated against each. Membership can be obtained by filling a membersh ip form and sending it [email protected] alongwith membership fee as detailed ahead

(i) Ordinary Members (annual Membership)

This membership shall be offered to the individuals interested in promotion of Hill Agriculture and its allied branches. This shall also bethe minimum fee to be deposited per author for getting a paper published, in case it is accepted for publication. There shall be an annualfee of Rs. 500/- for individuals from all SAARC countries including India and US $ 30 for individuals from rest of the nations. Year shallbe counted w.e.f. January 1 to December 31 of each year. If somebody deposits fee in October 2010 it shall be counted only for that yeari.e. 2010.

(ii) Life Members (continuing Membership)

There shall be a one time life membership fee Rs. 3000/- for individuals from all SAARC countries including India and US $ 200 forindividuals from rest of the nations.

(iii) Patrons (continuing Membership)

Any individual or institution making a payment of a substantial sum (as may be prescribed by the Executive Council from time to time).

(iv) SubscribersAny corporate body / institution / library / association of persons can subscribe Journal of Hill Agriculture by making an annual paymentof Rs. 1500/- for all SAARC countries including India and US $ 100 for rest of the nations.

Summ ary

Type of membership Fee for SAARC countries Fee for rest of the nations

Annual member Rs 500/- per year US $ 30 per year

Life member Rs 3,000/- (one time) US $ 200 (one time)

Subscriber (organization) member Rs 1,500/- per year US $ 100 per year

The membership fee can be deposited by any of the two methods as detailed below:

1. Through Bank Draft : May remitted through demand draft drawn in favour of INDIAN SOCIETY OF HILL AGRICULTURE payableat SBI Branch CHAMBA (Uttarakhand), Branch Code : 6534. The draft may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief Journal of Hill Agriculturethrough registered post only alongwith duly filled membership form which can be downloaded from our website.

2. By Direct Deposit into ISHA’s Bank Account: Membership fee i.e. Rs 3000/- or Rs 500/- or Rs 1500/- as the case may be, plusRs 30/- (as bank charges) amounting to Rs 3030/- or Rs 530/- or Rs 1530/- respectively, may also be directly deposited into the BankAccount of Indian Society of Hill Agriculture. The details are given as follows

Name of Bank : State Bank of India

Name of Branch: Chamba (Uttarakhand)

Branch Code: 6534

For NEFT/ RTGS Transfer IFSC Code SBIN 000 6534

Name of Account Holder : Indian Society of Hill Agriculture

Account No. : 3119 0343 798

Important Note: If you directly deposit the fee into ISHA’s account please do not forget to send your duly filled (i) duly signed membershipform, (ii) bank transaction Id (iii) scanned copy of stamped deposit slip (counter foil). The information may be sent by e mail [email protected]

The above revised fee of ISHA membership shall be applicable w.e.f. 1st January, 2011

(Satish Kumar Sharma)Editor-in-Chief, JHA

[email protected]

Printed at SHIVA OFFSET PRESS, Dehradun Ph. 0135-2715748

Documents

Journal of Hill Agriculture 2010 Vol 1(2)