Soil Respiration and Carbon Balance Under Cover Crop in a no-Till Tropical Fruit Orchard

Agricultural practices, specifically crop and land management schemes, greatly influence the ability of soil to produce CO2 under varying conditions. A 2-year research study was planned to quantify carbon-dioxide (CO2) emission fluxes and total C (TC) contribution in a no-till tropical soil under carambola with sunn hemp-velvet bean cover cropping (CC) systems. Composted poultry manure (PM) was applied as an additional N source. The treatments were fallow control (F), fallow with PM (FM), sunn hemp (SH), SH with PM (SHM), velvet bean (VB), and VB with PM (VBM). Average daily CO2 emission from VB was 23 and 15% higher than control and SH plots, respectively, during CC growing season. Similarly, CO2 emission after CC termination was highest from VB plots. About 17% higher CO2-C emission was observed from manure applied plots which indicates that additional food sources stimulated microbial activity in the soils and subsequently produced more CO2. However, total C contribution in SH plots were significantly higher than in VB plots and was more apparent when manure was not applied. Soil and air temperature played key roles in CO2 emission, specifically during the CC growing season. Considering both input and output parameters of C in the soil, our results suggest that SH has the better potential in reducing CO2 emission and accumulating more C in the soil than VB in tropical fruit orchard.

"Integrated Farming System: A Profitable Venture for Tribal farmers in Southern Rajasthan"

The present study was conducted to evaluate the improved integrated farming system performance at the fields of 30 selected tribal farmers of three selected villages of Vallabhnagar tehsil of Udaipur district (Rajasthan) during 2018-19 and compared with the benchmark year 2015-16. Various interventions from MPUAT experts were provided regarding inputs and their timely use and the training programs for these farmers. It was concluded that during 2018-19 FS IV (Crop + Dairy + Vegetable) and FS V (Crop + Dairy + Vegetable + Fruit Orchard) were highly efficient as these systems gave the highest returns per rupee of investment. In contrast, FS VIII (Crop + Dairy + Goat + Vegetable + Fruit Orchard) was efficient in terms of employment generation as it leads to the generation of 463 man-days. As a result, higher profitability and productivity with the lesser cost of cultivation of improved integrated farming system were obtained compared to the existing integrated farming system during the benchmark year.

Oviposition Preference of Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae) on Different Fruit in Snake Fruit Orchard

The oriental fruit fly Bactocera dorsalis (Hendel) is an important pest of snake fruit (Salacca zalacca) in Sleman District. Due to the high level of damage by the fruit flies, it is necessary to do. The aim of this research was to find out suitable fruit traps, by testing the oviposition preferences of the fruit flies in the orchard to lay eggs on several types of fruit. The research was done in snake fruit orchard located at Sleman Yogyakarta and owned by farmers, while the Lab works were done at the Laboratory of Entomology, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada. All researches were done between April-June 2019. Guava (Psidium guajava), watery rose apples (Syzygium aqueum), starfruit (Averrhoa carambolae), and snake fruit (Salacca zalacca) were used as trap crops. Each fruit, with the same maturity level, was hung 1.5 m above the ground for 4 days with 12 days total trapping at intervals of 3 times. After the test, each fruit was taken and the insects in it were reared in the laboratory. The number of pupae and flies that emerged from each fruit was counted and compared. The results showed that in the orchard 1 as well as 2, of guava fruit produced the highest number of (151 pupae) followed by salak (94 pupae), star fruit (83 pupae), and water guava (2 pupae). The finding of seeds shows that guava fruit is the most suitable host for the fruit flies to be used in the trapping, followed by star fruit and watery guava.

Irrigation facilities for drip irrigation of soil in inter-rows of wood and fruit plants

Purpose: technical support for drip irrigation of the inter-row root-inhabited soil space in fruit garden plantations. Materials and methods. The object of the study was the irrigation network of perennial tree-fruit orchard plantations. During the research, analysis and variant comparison were carried out, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the structures under consideration. When improving the design of the drip irrigation facility, the methods of exploratory design were used. Results. During the research, the experience of operating the drip irrigation systems of perennial orchards was generalized and the basic requirements for the drip irrigation network in perennial orchards were formed. As an object for further research, partially satisfying these requirements, a constructive diagram of a drip irrigation facility for moistening the soil in the inter-row root-inhabited soil space of tree-fruit orchard plantations, given in RU Patent no. 2713136, was adopted. The disadvantage of this design of a drip irrigation facility is low reliability of the elastic coupling, which should be deformed when the position of the drip console changes, have the necessary rigidity to lift the drip console from the working position to the idle position, and be a sealed conduit connecting the drip console and the tee. As a result of the research, an improved design of the irrigation structure has been proposed, which does not include deformable elements. Conclusions. The proposed design scheme of a drip irrigation facility for perennial fruit plantations meets the requirements of manufacturability, has the ability to automatically operate in the irrigation mode and in the inter-irrigation period, and provides irrigation water supply to certain points of the location of the developed root system of perennial plants, including the inter-row root-inhabited soil space.

Foraging Behaviour of Three Sympatric Babblers (Family: Timaliidae)

We investigated the foraging ecology of three species of babblers in Kampung Gumbang, Kampung Padang Pan and Dered Krian National Park, Bau. Vegetation in Kampung Gumbang include tall trees, shrubs and patches of kerangas. Dered Kerian National Park consists of mixed dipterocarp forest and limestone forest, which is surrounded by orchards and few villages. In Kampung Padang Pan, the vegetation is a mixed fruit orchard and secondary forest. Foraging data were obtained to compare foraging behaviour in three species. From 133 observations, suspended dead leaves was the most frequently used substrate by the three species. Stachyris maculate showed the most general foraging behavior, and it adopted probing strategy. Cyanoderma erythropterum and Mixnornis gularis obtained food items by gleaning. These three babblers utilize different foraging strategies and substrates, irrespective of their resemblances in other characteristics. C. erythropterum and S. maculate forage mainly among dead and curled, twisted leaves in understory vegetation at significantly different heights. M. gularis forages on dead and living leaves and this species can be found abundantly in disturbed forest and plantation or farm habitats. All the three areas were observed never lacked falling leaves and structural complexity required as foraging substrates by those three babbler species. All three babblers occupy different foraging niches, and therefore interspecific competitions among themselves are minimized.