Quantifying the Nitrogen Requirement of Castor Cultivars in Post Monsoon Season on Alfisols

Aim: The experiment is aimed at quantifying the nitrogen requirement and identifying suitable hybrids and varieties of castor to be grown during post monsoon season on Alfisols in Telangana Study Design: Split plot design. Place and Duration of Study: Regional Agricultural Research Station, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Palem, Telangana state, India during post monsoon season of 2010-11 and 2011-12. Methodology: The study consisted of four N levels (0, 40, 80 kg and 120 kg N ha-1) in main plots and five cultivars (DCH-177, PCH-111, GCH-4, Haritha and 48-1)in sub plots. The growth parameters, yield attributes, seed yield, water use efficiency, economic returns, correlation and regression were studied. Results: The pooled data indicated that significantly taller plants with more no. of branchesplant-1, longer and effective spikes thus seed yield of castor were observed due to application of 80 kg Nha-1 and 120 kg Nha-1. However, application of 120 kg N ha-1 resulted in greater net returns (USD 1049 ha-1) and also returns per rupee invested (1.66). The results further showed that the castor hybrids PCH-111 (1900 kg/ha) and DCH-177 (1809 kg/ha) produced similar yield, but, both significantly outyielded over other cultivars. The performance of hybrids was superior to the varieties. A highly significant positive correlation was observed for seed yield with no. of branches/plant, total and effective spike length. Conclusion: The cultivation of castor hybrids either PCH-111 or DCH-177 under N supply of 120 kg N ha-1 would help to realize higher yields, water use efficiency and income from post monsoon season castor on Alfisols.

Curly lettuce development, nutrient absorption and salinization tolerance in response to an aerobic biofertilizer produced from agro-industrial residues

Biofertilizers stimulate natural processes to increase and benefit nutrient absorption, abiotic stress tolerance and increased yield when applied to plants. The production of biofertilizers from organic residues is a sustainable way to reduce these materials through recycling. The aim of this work was to define the biofertilization management based on concentrations and doses using a non-commercial aerobic biofertilizer on three newly emerged Brazilian lettuce cultivars. Consequently, this study will help to improve organic lettuces yields in the country. The experiments were conducted in a greenhouse. The soil used for cultivation was a clayey Rhodic Ferralsol. Due to the high electrical conductivity (EC) observed in the biofertilizer a first experiment was conducted to determine the optimum concentration (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 100%) for the three lettuce cultivars (BRS Leila, BRS Lélia and BRS Mediterrânea). After finding the best concentration, a second experiment was developed to estimate the optimum dose of the biofertilizer based on the nitrogen requirement (N) for this crop (0 kg ha-1 of N, 50 kg ha-1 of N, 100 kg ha-1 N, 150 kg ha-1 N and 200 kg ha-1 N). The experimental design was completely randomized (DIC) with a factorial scheme. The results showed that 5% concentration of biofertilizer presented better results for the development of BRS Mediterrânea and BRS Lélia. BRS Leila presented better development when fertilized with the 10% biofertilizer concentration. The dose of 150 kg ha-1 of N allowed a better development of lettuce and greater supply of nutrients to the plants.