RELATIVE TOXICITY OF SOME CHEMICAL PESTICIDES AGAINST JUTE HAIRY CATERPILLAR (SPILOSOMA OBLIQUA W.) IN TOSSA JUTE (CORCHORUS OLITORIUS L.)

Pesticides have been a major contributor to the growth of agricultural productivity and food supply. Pesticides were a key factor in significant agricultural productivity growth during the last century and continue to be a critical factor in reducing crop damage. Fifteen insecticides were investigated to select their effective and economic doses against Hairy caterpillar in a Tossa Jute variety during April-October’ 2020 at the Department of Entomology, Manikganj and Narayanganj, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Bangladesh following Randomized Completely Block Design with three replications. All new insecticides with a standard were found effective for controlling jute hairy caterpillar giving 95.38, 94.55, 95.19, 92.85, 93.59, 94.22, 93.49, 93.62, 89.84, 95.72, 93.56, 93.38, 94.42, 95.39, 91.34 and 95.41 % at Manikganj; 95.78, 93.32, 93.97, 93.18, 92.09, 92.49, 93.74, 92.93, 92.29, 93.69, 93.95, 93.17, 95.31, 94.99, 92.11 and 94.53 % reduction of infestation at Narayanganj at 5th day after spray over control plot respectively. In Manikganj, the highest fibre yield (3.66 t/ha) was found in the plot treated with Rock 20 EC and the lowest (2.96t/ha) was found in Reset 20WDG treated plot. In case of Narayanganj, the highest fibre yield (3.85 t/ha) was found in the plot treated with Proxy 20 EC and the lowest (2.79t/ha) was found in Daman treated plot. These insecticides can be recommended for the farmer’s use to control jute hairy caterpillar.

EFFECT OF VARIETIES AND DIFFERENT SOURCES OF NITROGEN FERTILIZER ON YIELD AND YIELD CONTRIBUTING CHARACTERS OF BABY CORN

Maize as well as baby corn is an exhaustive crop in terms of nutrient and water uptake from soil hence soil health become deteriorate easily and as different amounts and forms of nutrient supply in baby corn affect the productivity of baby corn so combination of organic and inorganic sources of nutrient is beneficial for soil heath and to maximize the productivity of baby corn thus an experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during November 2017 to February 2018 to investigate the effect of varieties and sources of nitrogen fertilizer on yield and yield contributing characters of baby corn. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The experiment consisted of two varieties viz., BARI Sweet corn-1(V1), Baby star (V2) and five sources of nitrogen fertilizer viz.,100% recommended N from urea(N1),75% N from urea + 25% N from cowdung (N2), 50% N from urea + 50% N from cowdung (N3), 75% N from urea + 25% N from poultry manure(N4),50% N from urea + 50% N from poultry manure(N5).Yield and yield contributing characters of baby corn were significantly influenced by variety, sources of nitrogen fertilizer and their interactions. The highest number of cob plant-1 (1.67), cob length (13.50 cm), cob girth(3.84 cm), cob yield with husk (14.66 t ha-1), cob yield without husk (3.52 t ha-1), and fresh fodder yield (42.50 t ha-1) were recorded when Baby star was fertilized with N2 (75% N from urea + 25% N from cowdung) treatment. Therefore, it may be concluded that Baby star is the promising baby corn variety when coupled with (75% N from urea + 25% N from cowdung) for maximizing baby corn production and improving soil health.

EFFECT OF SEED PRIMING ON GERMINATION OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus var. Arka Anamika)

Seed priming is an effective, eco-friendly method to promote seed germination and seedling vigor of okra to overcome the reduced and delayed germination in fresh or stored okra seeds caused by seed hardness. An experiment was carried to evaluate the effects of different priming on okra seeds germination and seedling vigor using Arka Anamika variety at Horticulture lab of Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal. Investigation was carried out with 6 treatments (T1: seed priming with tap water, T2: seed priming with 200ppm NAA solution, T3: seed priming with 10% PEG-200 solution, T4: seed priming with 200ppm GA3 solution, T5: seed priming with 5% Trichoderma solution and T6 no priming) with 4 replications in Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Seeds primed with T1 to T5 were soaked for 24 hours and shade dried for 6 hours before sowing. Priming with T4 was found to be best in terms of maximum seed germination (60.12%), seed vigor index (5772.68 cm), mean germination rate (7.53 seeds per day). The highest shoot length (81.40 mm) was observed at T1 whereas enhancement of root length occurred with the priming with T3. All treatments had a significant positive effect on all the germination parameters in comparison to control. The study concluded that GA3 priming enhanced germination as well as seed vigor in okra and hydro priming and tricho-priming can be used as an alternative to GA3 priming among farmers in Nepal.

OPTIMIZATION OF A CLAY-SLATE FLUIDIZED BED DRYER FOR PRODUCTION OF FISH FEED

For feed producers who suffer from high intolerance to production costs, the only way to cope with the condition is to avoid devices that drive up costs. Extruded feed processed from a clay-slate dryer through a fluidized bed could be used to make fish feed. The aim of the study was optimise the process conditions on the clay-slate fluidized bed dryer operating at a commercial production of fish feed using the response surface methodology. The fish feed composition were processed at bed height (50-200 mm), drying air temperature (60–120°C), airflow velocity (0.66-0.70 m/s), drying time (10–90 min) and extrudates size (4–8 mm). Product quality parameters such as moisture ratio and dryer efficiency were determined and analyzed. Second-order polynomial equations, containing all the process variables, were used to measured process. Moisture ratio was influenced mostly by linear relationship temperature and drying time. The temperature and the quadratic temperature conditions significantly affected the efficiency of the dryer. For the fluidized bed drying of extruded fish feed, optimal conditions were set for the bed height of 185.76 mm, a temperature of 97.2°C, an air flow rate of 0.67, a drying time of 65.36 min and an extrudate size of 7.40 mm recommended. At these conditions the moisture ratio and efficiency were 0.86 and 74.39, respectively. The influence of the various components of the fluidized bed dryer on the drying rate must be better understood so that control systems can be developed to take full advantage of this technology.

EVALUATION OF SOIL NUTRIENT STATUS IN APPLE ORCHARDS LOCATED IN DIFFERENT ALTITUDES IN KALIKOT DISTRICT, NEPAL

This study was conducted to assess the fertility status of different altitude of apple orchard and their effect upon soil nutrients and to study the relationship between different altitude and their availability. Seven different orchards located in 2800, 2700 2600, 2500, 2400, 2300 and 2200 at Apple Zone, Raskot, Kalikot were selected as treatments. They were replicated three times in Randomized Complete Block Design. Composite soil samples were collected in each study site from 0-3 ft soil depth in ‘W’ pattern from each plot. Analyses of soil samples were done in regional soil testing laboratory, Surkhet for chemical properties. There was a significant effect (p<0.05) of altitude on soil macronutrients except available potassium level. Maximum amounts of soil organic matter, acidic and soil rich in nitrogen and phosphorus were found in 2800 masl whereas more basic soil , poor soil organic matter and soil poor in nitrogen and phosphorus were found in 2200 masl. Result showed that in altitude of 2200 masl has poor soil nutrients compared to apple orchards in higher altitude. Kalikot is the top producer of apple in Nepal. This assessment will helps apple growers for adopting better nutrient management plan in their orchards according to the altitude in the district. Further, it is recommended to conduct soil nutrient assessments for all other apple growing regions in the country.

SOIL ORGANIC MATTER (SOM): STATUS, TARGET AND CHALLENGES IN NEPAL

Changes in soil organic matter (SOM) are slow and difficult to monitor, usually apparent after few decades. Recent changes in the agriculture had its influence on soil, including the soil organic matter content. About 60% of soil in Nepal now have low organic matter content. Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) was focused more on the concept of green revolution to increase the chemical fertilizer inputs, however, the scenario is changing. Use of organic fertilizers is promoted extensively by government and different organizations with a target of increasing SOM content from 1.92% in 2015 to 4% by 2035. This paper aims at analysing the current status, targeted goal and the challenges faced in the augmentation of the soil organic matter using data available. Achieving this target requires an addition of extra 2.244 ton/ha of organic matter on a yearly basis for 20 years. The average amount of organic matter (2.5-3 ton/ha) applied is lesser than a single season grain harvest. 4.69% of sites had high soil organic matter in fiscal year 075/76 which slipped to 2.64% in 2076/77. The sites with low soil organic matter increased from 12.73% to 15.31%. The causes behind the SOM decline varies according to different agro-ecological zones like soil erosion, residue burning, imbalanced fertilizer use, defective FYM production etc. Findings suggest precise technologies required to be adopted to tackle with the different niche specific causes of soil fertility decline. Despite the complete nutrient content, bulky nature of organic fertilizers sets a major drawback regarding their transportation, distribution and commercialization. Government of Nepal is promoting organic fertilizer use by subsidizing their production cost by 50%. Following integrated nutrient management (INM) techniques, sustainable soil management practices (SSMP) and promotion of use of locally available resources can play a huge role in making the technology sustainable to the farmers.

EFFECT OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION OF GARLIC AND GINGER IN DIFFERENT COMBINATION ON FEED INTAKE AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN COMMERCIAL BROILERS

A study was conducted at AFU livestock farm, Rampur, Chitwan in 2017-18 to determine the effect of dietary supplementation of garlic and ginger in different combination on feed intake, growth performance and economics by using commercial Cobb 500 broilers. A total of two hundred, 11-day-old chicks were allocated randomly to five different treatments. The experiment was designed in a Completely Randomized Design, each treatment with four replication and each replication had 10 birds. They were fed isoproteinous and isocaloric Basal diet (BD) and BD supplemented with four different levels of garlic and ginger such as T1 (BD only), T2 (BD + 1% garlic); T3 (BD + 1.0% ginger); T4 (BD + 0.5% garlic and 0.5% ginger) and T5 (BD + 1% garlic and 1% ginger). Weekly average body weight, weight gain, feed consumption, and feed efficiency were recorded up to sixth week of age. All data were statistical analyzed using Completely Randomized Design. The results showed that overall feed consumption was significantly (P≤0.05) higher for broiler fed diet supplemented with 0.5% garlic and 0.5% ginger (T4) followed by T5 (basal diet with 1% garlic and 1% ginger). On the other hand significantly higher (P≤0.01) cumulative weekly live body weight and body weight gain (g/bird) was found for the treatment with supplemented 1% garlic powder (T2), followed by broiler fed diet supplemented with 0.5% garlic and 0.5% ginger powder (T4). Similarly, feed conversion ratio was significantly (P≤0.01) better in broiler fed basal diet with supplementation of 1% garlic (T2) followed by basal diet with supplementation of 0.5% garlic and 0.5% ginger (T4). The maximum benefit was obtained from the broiler fed basal diet with supplementation of 1% garlic (T2). The findings revealed that broiler fed basal diet with supplementation of 1% garlic powder had helped as a growth promoter contributing to the better growth performance, feed efficiency and higher benefit: cost ratio. Thus, addition of 1% garlic powder can be safely recommended as a growth promoter in broilers.

FARM SIZE EFFICIENCY DIFFERENTIALS OF BIO-FORTIFIED CASSAVA PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA: A STOCHASTIC FRONTIER ANALYSIS APPROACH

The study specifically investigated farm size efficiency differentials of bio-fortified cassava production in Nigeria. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of bio-fortified cassava producers in Nigeria. The estimated coefficients of the parameters of production variables for small scale bio-fortified cassava farm size (land, herbicide and fertilizer) played a major role in bio-fortified cassava production on a small scale in Nigeria. For the medium and large scale bio-fortified cassava farm size, production variables (land, labor and fertilizer) and (land, labor, herbicide and fertilizer) respectively played a major role in bio-fortified cassava production. The average economic efficiency of the small, medium and large scale bio-fortified cassava producers was 42%, 54% and 63% respectively. Policies intended to increase the popularization and cultivation of bio-fortified cassava in Nigeria should be targeted toward the small and medium scale cassava farmers since they carried the majority of the producer of bio-fortified cassava in Nigeria.

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND FUTURE FARM SIZE PROJECTION OF BIO-FORTIFIED CASSAVA PRODUCTION IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the costs and returns to bio-fortified cassava production and forecast the future farm size of bio-fortified cassava production in Oyo State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select our respondents. Primary data were used for the study which were collected through a well-structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive, Markov chain, and budgetary analysis. The result of the study showed that TMS 01/0593, TMS 01/0539 and TMS 01/0220 were the mostly grown varies of bio-fortified cassava varieties in Oyo State, Nigeria. The result of the budgetary analysis showed that the average net return (net farm income) from the production of bio-fortified cassava was ₦196710.95 with RORI of 224.95%. The result revealed that at 35% increase in cost of production, the rate of return on investment dropped to 140.70% in which the investment will not be viable. The bio-fortified cassava farmers have a great potential to boost production through increases in farm sizes of the bio-fortified cassava famers until the year 2026 when equilibrium would be attained at about 2.85ha. In order to adequately achieve these goals, more improved varieties of bio-fortified cassava should be provided. Consequently, infrastructures should be put in place to help boost farmers moral in their cause of production.

NUTRIENT COMBINATION WITH BIOCHAR: IMPROVING YIELD AND QUALITY OF JUTE SEED

Plants are naturally growing on the soil without hampering the eco-friendly environment. Intensive cultivation of crops with high yielding verities (HYV) hampering the soil health resulting unfertile soil. In addition, frequent uses of chemicals as well as overdose of synthetic fertilizer creating hazardous environment for the living things. However, to meet up the demand of foods as well as other basic requirements of increasing population of the world crop cultivation techniques need to be modernized. To overcome this situation, application of organic fertilizer need to apply regularly. Biochar can be a good source of organic fertilizer and it is currently using to improve the soil health globally. To examine the effect of biochar on jute growth and yield an experiment was set up in two different locations (Jute Agriculture Experimental Station (JAES), Manikganj, and Jute Research Sub Station (JRSS), Jashore of Bangladesh) during the period from August to December, 2019. Results revealed that location (JAES) had significant and positive effect on jute physiology and seed yield and as well as seed quality. Among fourteen treatments, treatment T2 (Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF)) showed the highest plant height (163.5 cm), base diameter (7.44 mm) and pod per plant (16.5) compare to the rest treatments. Treatment T6 (RDF 75% + 25%[email protected]) showed the best seed weight (2.13 g) and seed yield/ plant (3.98 g) among all treatments. Interaction among treatments and locations, T2 x L2 affected seed germination (99%) and field emergence (92.33%) positively. From this research it was cleared that biochar alone may not enough but combination is required for improving jute seed yield and quality.