There is a shift in information needs of the farming community with the socio- economic and technological development taking place in India. To withstand and complete the farming community in their occupation, they should adopt modern improved technologies in farming timely to save the cost of production and improve the farm income. Therefore, the ANGRAU, DAATTC, Vizianagaram implemented various information and communication methods viz. IIDS-AKPS for readymade solution to meet the information needs, information sharing with the farmers and line department officers through whats app on pest and disease management, timely good agricultural practices, weather forecasts, market information and extension activities. The information services were provided to the farmers by direct text and voice messages on timely agricultural practices, weather forecasts etc., gathering of feedback while direct interaction with farmer. The data was collected from a random sample of 180 farmers who are the part of this ICT initiative.

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effect of Plant Growth Regulators on pigment content in Cucumis sativus L. Foliar spray of ethrel, CCC and GA3 at 50, 100, 250 and 1000 µg/ml were applied to the seedlings of C. sativus L. which were grown in a separate experimental plot. Pigment content was estimated by UV spectrophotometric method. GA3 250µg/ml, Ethrel 100µg/ml and CCC 250 µg/ml were recorded as optimum for production of maximum pigment contents in Cucumis sativus L. The experiment established that application of Plant Growth Regulators has an immense influence on C. sativus L to boost up pigment contents which is correlated with enhanced fruit production.

This investigation was undertaken to assess the Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) content of soil, feed, fodder and serum in Solapur district of Maharashtra, during different seasons of the year. AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry) was used to estimate the mineral contents of samples. In all tehsils the overall mean content of Cu in soil, feed, fodder and serum samples was above critical value. In this study, overall mean Zn content in soil samples from all tehsils was below critical value whereas overall mean Zn content in animal sera of all tehsils was above critical value. Feed and fodder of Madha, feed from Mohol and feed from Akkalkote showed overall mean Zn values below critical value. The Cu content in soil, feed, fodder and serum samples from different seasons was above critical value. Percent Deficient Samples (PDS) for Cu were 3.96 in soil, 5.30 in feed,10.64 in fodder and 26.39 in serum samples; whereas PDS for Zn were 66.67 in soil, 59.09 feed, 41.84 in fodder, 14.81 in serum samples, respectively. Highest PDS for Cu in serum was seen in Mohol tehsil while highest PDS for Zn in serum was observed in Akkalkote tehsil. To conclude, it is necessary to supplement these area specific minerals depending upon deficiency in order keep animals healthy and maximize their production.

The Assessment of the groundwater resources is very important for maintaining the sustainable groundwater resources of the semi-arid and arid regions. The study was undertaken in the Nagarjuna Sagar Right Canal Command to assess the groundwater resources for sustainable groundwater management. The Nagarjuna Sagar Right Canal (NSRC) Command is located between 15°18΄ - 16°49΄ North latitudes and 79°20΄ - 80°25΄ East longitudes. The area irrigated under Nagarjuna Sagar Right Canal (Jawahar canal) is 4.75 lakh ha covering Guntur district with 2.84 lakh ha and Prakasam district with 1.91 lakh ha. Regional groundwater recharge in the Nagarjuna Sagar Right Canal Command was estimated for planning and monitoring for sustainable groundwater development. Regional groundwater balance study was carried out in the study area using water balance equations. Gross groundwater recharge was estimated from the various sources such as recharge from rainfall, recharge from canal seepage, recharge from storage tanks and return flow from irrigation. The gross groundwater recharge was estimated with the range of 141513.18 ha-m during 2015-16 to 524843.45 ha-m during 2010-11 with an average value of 330089.34 ha-m. The net annual groundwater recharge represents the groundwater resources which can be utilized for future needs. The net annual groundwater recharge was obtained by subtracting the groundwater outflow from the gross groundwater recharge. The estimation of groundwater outflow/inflow of the aquifer system was carried out using hydrological water balance. The components of hydrological water balance equation were estimated and found the ground water outflow from the aquifer system of study area. The groundwater outflow was found during the study period with the range 129283.96 ha-mduring 2016-17 to 605105.58 ha-m during 2008-09 with an average value of 332857.67 ha-m. The groundwater outflow moves along the slope of the study area and travel towards the low-lying areas in eastern and southern side which are locating outside of the study area. Later net annual groundwater recharge was calculated and found negative net groundwater recharge in the study area during study period. The net groundwater recharge was estimated with the range of -226139.77 ha-m during 2011-12 to 254800.20 ha-m during 2014-15 with an average of -2768.32 ha-m. Negative values of net groundwater recharge was indicated that the deficit groundwater resources available. Assessment of groundwater resources revealed that there is a deficit groundwater resource existed and need to implement the artificial recharge methods in the study area for sustainable groundwater management.

The study was conducted with a view to measure the effectiveness of training programmes conducted by Extension Training Centre, Jorhat. A purposive cum random sampling technique was followed for selection of total 120 nos. of respondents. Only 2 districts namely Jorhat and Golaghat were selected for the study. The findings of this study revealed that the effectiveness of training programmes in terms of perceived usefulness, knowledge gained and skill developed as a result of training programme, majority of the trainees (75.83%) opined that the training was moderately useful. On the other hand, 75.00 per cent trainees perceived that there was moderate gain in knowledge as result of the training programme and there were 77.50 per cent of the trainees perceived that the skill was moderately developed. As regards to findings of relational analysis revealed that the correlation of independent variables like age, experience in PRI system, decision making ability were positively and significantly correlated with training effectiveness.

Irrigation is a very important non-physical input in agriculture as the crop production of an area largely depends on the existing irrigation facility. Crop production can be amplified from boosting the arable land, cropping intensity and yield per unit area of cropped land. Hence an attempt has been made in this paper to analyse district wise performance in the intensity of cropping in Manipur and the impact of irrigation on cropping intensity. The data is taken from various issues of Statistical Abstracts of Manipur for the period 1990 to 2017. Appropriate statistical tools i.e. average; compound growth rate, coefficient of variation and simple linear regression are used for the analysis of data. Variations were found among the districts in terms of cropping intensity; compound growth rate (CGR) for cropping intensity is higher in Bishnupur, Ukhrul, Chandel and Senapati, medium in Imphal West, Thoubal and Churachandpur and Imphal East and Tamenglon have a low level. The growth rate of cropping intensity for the overall state is only 1.1 and the total Coefficient of Variation in cropping intensity was 17.94 % which reveals that there exists variation in the net sown area and total cropped area in Manipur.

Heat exchanger is one of the most commonly used equipment for pasteurization, sterilization, and other heating as well as cooling applications. There are many heat exchangers designs available in the market, but many factors need to be considered for selection of a heat exchanger. Among the various designs of heat exchangers, plate heat exchanger offers improved efficiencies when compared to tubular designs. The major advantage of the plate heat exchanger is that higher heat transfer rates can be obtained within small space. Also, it can operate under higher fluid pressures. Considering the importance of a heat exchanger in the food industry and to make readers aware about the stage-wise developments, the designs of the plate heat exchangers have been reviewed.

Water productivity is the amount of water depleted and can be assessed for crops, trees, livestock and fish. The farmers in the selected command areas play an important role in water management and enhancing water productivity. Hence, the perceptions of the farmers in the command areas of Upper Krishna Project, Bhadra and Cauvery basin project regarding enhancing water productivity were documented by collecting primary data from 135 selected farmers and 15 officials involved in irrigation water management. Among the different opinions of the farmers, in-time release of water ranked first, continuous supply of electricity ranked second, cement lining of Field Irrigation Channels to avoid water loses ranked third, need of capacity building programmes regarding efficient water management ranked fourth and good co-operation from the staff ranked fifth. The perceptions documented from the CADA and Irrigation department officers were, installation of water meters at farm gates ranked first, preventing over utilization of water by head region farmers ranked second, collection of water charges on the basis of quantity utilized by the farmers ranked third, proper lining of the FICs to ensure natural flow of water ranked fourth and adequate release of funds from the government for repairs of canal system ranked fifth. The expressed opinions are seems to be very important in increasing the water productivity not only in selected command areas but also in all the command areas of the state and while designing the new irrigation projects in future. Based on the opinion survey it was concluded that timely release of water, adoption of micro irrigation system and collection of water charges based on the quantity of water used by the farmers will enhances the water productivity in the study area.

Visvesvaraya Left Bank Canal from the South region of the Karnataka state was selected for the purpose of analysing the changes in cropping pattern. The time series data on cropping pattern in the selected canal command area was collected for a period of 10 years (2009-10 to 2018-19) and analysed using First Order Markov Chain Approach. In Visvesvaraya command area (VC), during kharif season, acreage under paddy, black gram and sugarcane was stable during the period. The instability in the area under other crops was mainly because of water scarcity and high cost of cultivation of those crops. During rabi season, due to availability of irrigation water the area under sugarcane was stable and when the irrigation water was not available, farmers preferred horse gram crop because water requirement of the horse gram is less and it can be grown on residual moisture also. Therefore, area under sugarcane and horse gram was stable during rabi in VC command area. During summer, area under paddy, black gram and sugarcane was stable because of availability of water farmer preferred paddy and sugarcane otherwise farmers preferred black gram. No significant change was observed in the CAGR of area under other crops in VC command area. The projected area in VC command area for paddy, finger millet, maize, horse gram and sesame for the period 2019 to 2021 has shown an increasing trend whereas the projected area under cowpea, field bean, horse gram shown a decreasing trend. In VC command area the area under major crops was found out to be against the cropping patterns suggested by the CADA, thus the higher deviation from the suggested cropping pattern was found in Garden crops (12.18%) followed by Groundnut (9.99%), Niger (9.53%) and Finger millet (7.71%).This study indicated that there was a violation in the cropping pattern from the recommended pattern in VC command area which was mainly due to farmers allocated more area under water intensive crops such as paddy and sugarcane. Hence, there is a need to bring the discipline among the farmers of the study area through proper training and guidance in order to make them not only to strictly follow the recommended cropping pattern but also in the optimum use of water.

An experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Sriganganagar, (SKRAU, Bikaner) to evaluate the bio-efficacy of new molecules for managing the important sucking pests of cotton viz., jassid, whitefly and thrips during the Kharif, 2014 and 2015. The insecticides viz., spirotetramat 150 OD (Movento 150 OD) @ 500, 600- & 700-ml ha-1, imidacloprid 17.8 % SL (Confidor 17.8 SL) 125 ml ha-1 and spiromesifen 240 SC (Oberon 240 SC) @ 600 ml ha-1 were applied two times at ETL during both the seasons. Among all the treatments, spirotetramat 150 OD @ 700 ml ha-1 was found most effective to control the jassid, whitefly and thrips while, imidacloprid 17.8 % SL @ 125 ml ha-1 was least effective. The order of bioefficacy on the basis of percent reduction of jassid, whitefly and thrips over control was: spirotetramat > spiromesifen > imidacloprid. The highest seed cotton yield of 22.42 and 19.32 q ha-1 was obtained from the treatment of spirotetramat 150 OD @ 700 ml ha-1 during Kharif, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Lentil is an important rabi crop of India, which is being grown in about 6.13 lakh ha area in Madhya Pradesh. In the last three decades, the area under lentil has increased by 85%, production by 151% and productivity by 34 %. Though it is prone to root diseases and frost during winters which reduce its production tremendously. Several high yielding varieties resistant to wilt and rust have been released for Madhya Pradesh and Central India. Nowadays this crop is gaining attention of researchers and work is being done on developing the strategies for enhancement of domestic production of lentil. It is also envisaged to broaden the genetic base of cultivated species of Lentil crop by strengthening pre-breeding, harnessing potential of hybrid breeding. This review paper intends to provide detailed overview of lentil's production, nutritional composition and constraints of lentil production.

The case report dealt with a rare case of free martin co-twin with male fetus delivered by caesarean section in a pleuriparous non-descript cow.

The present study was undertaken with the main objectives viz; to assess the temporal changes in cost and return and problems faced by the farmers. The study was conducted in Junagadh and Rajkot districts of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Total 120 sesamum growers. i.e. 60 kharif and 60 summer sesamum growers were selected for the study. The secondary data were collected for the period 1995-96 to 2018-19 and 2010-11 to 2018-19 for analysis of growth rate of kharif and summer sesamum, respectively. The compound growth rate and Garrett’s ranking technique were used to analyzed the collected data. The trend in input use and return from kharif and summer sesamum revealed that use of family labour declined significantly over a period in quantity in kharif as well as summer sesamum, while in value term, significant increase was observed only in kharif sesamum. The average net profit observed more than double in case of summer sesamum when compared with kharif sesamum. In Junagadh district, the major problems faced by farmers in cultivation of kharif and summer sesamum were; the lack of irrigation facilities in summer, lack of new technology and extension support and lack of availability of quality seeds. In case of Rajkot district, the lack of new technology and extension support and lack of availability of quality seeds were common problems faced by farmers in cultivation of kharif and summer sesamum.

The study on was undertaken with the main objectives viz; to assess the compound growth rate and instability, acreage response and factors considered by the famers for acreage allocation. The study was conducted in Junagadh and Rajkot districts of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the two districts of Saurashtra region. Total 120 sesamum growers. i.e. 60 kharif and 60 summer sesamum growers were selected for the study. The secondary data were collected for the period 1995-96 to 2018-19 and 2010-11 to 2018-19 for analysis of acreage response of kharif and summer sesamum, respectively. The compound growth rate, coefficient of variation, Nerlovian model and Garrett’s ranking technique were used to analyzed the collected data. The results revealed that the compound growth rates of the area, production and yield of kharif sesamum showed declining trend in Junagadh and Rajkot districts. The compound growth rates of productivity of summer and total sesamum increased significantly in both of the districts. In general, instability in area and production found higher than that in yield. The study on acreage response of kharif sesamum, revealed that, one year the lagged area was found to be positively influential factors in the farmers regarding area allocation to kharif sesamum in all the models of Junagadh and Rajkot districts. The kharif sesamum growers of Junagadh district are traditional in nature, they have not responded to the price and non price factors too. Whereas, farmers of Rajkot district exhibited rational behaviour to price factors and non price factors i.e. negative response to area under competing crop, lagged price and yield risk. In both the districts, summer sesamum growers consider the factors like area and price of competing crop, lagged yield and total rainfall. The positive and significant impact of total rainfall was found on summer sesamum acreage because it needs assured irrigation facility. The higher value of long run elasticity (LR) indicated that the farmers were relatively market oriented in their decision in the long run than in short run in respect to the sesamum in Junagadh and Rajkot districts. According to farmers opinions, for kharif sesamum, the low cost of cultivation of sesamum and price of sesamum during last year were the common factors considered by farmers while acreage allocation in both of the districts. In the summer sesamum the low cost of cultivation of sesamum was found common factor while acreage allocation in both of the districts.

The present investigation was under taken on garlic (Allium sativum L.) cv. Phule Nilima to study the effect of silicon, at “All India Coordinated Research Project on Vegetable Crops”, Department of Horticulture, MPKV, Rahuri, Dist. Ahmednagar in rabi season of 2017-18, by using different sources and levels of silicon on chemical properties of soil and nutrient availability in the soil related to growth and quality characters in garlic. Fifteen treatment combinations formed by three sources of silicon fertilizers (viz., diatomaceous earth (DE), Calcium silicate (CS) and bagasse ash (BA)) with five levels of silicon (viz., 0,100,150, 200 and 250 kg ha-1) and one absolute control, were tried and each replicated for three times. The source A2 (CS) and level Si @ 250 kg ha-1 (B5) was recorded significantly the maximum plant height, number of leaves per plant, polar diameter and equatorial diameter. However, the source A3 (BA) and level Si @ 250 kg ha-1 (B5) recorded maximum TSS at harvest. The interaction effect of sources and levels of silicon (A2B5) was non-significant for all characters except TSS (°B) and was for A3B5 under study. However, the treatment combinations of A2B5 recorded highest plant height (58.53 cm), highest number of leaves (11.67) per plant, highest polar diameter (4.68cm), highest equatorial diameter (5.03 cm) at harvest and the treatment combination of (A3B5) recorded highest (38.52ºB) TSS (º B) at harvest. All characters viz. plant height, number of leaves per plant, polar diameter, equatorial diameter, and total soluble solids (TSS°B) were shown significant increase with treated over control.

The indigenous technological knowledge (ITK) possessed by farmers has received great attention and looking its potential in solving pest problem a study was carried out, six randomly selected villages from two blocks, one from each of Bhiwani and Mahendergarh districts of Haryana state. To explore indigenous technological knowledge (ITKs) 180 farmers with 10 years of experience were selected randomly from 6 villages. For testing innovative characteristics of each explored ITK, 40 agricultural scientists were selected purposively from two KVKs i.e., Bhiwani and Mahendergarh, Department of Agronomy, Entomology and Plant Pathology of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana. Data pertaining to study were taken by using personal interview method with open- ended and objective types of questions. Results indicated that 15 of ITKs were explored from farmers which are used against different insect pest management of various crops. Out of identified indigenous plant protection practices, farmers reported that 7 practices were highly profitable and practicable and 10 were considered highly simple and 12 were identified as highly sustainable. Whereas, the identified practices which were having low level of profitability, practicability, simplicity and sustainability were 5, 6, 3 and 3, respectively. Scientists found that 9 practices were highly profitable and practicable, 12 were considered highly simple and 13 were identified as highly sustainable. However, 3, 5 and 1 practice had low level of profitability, practicability and sustainability, respectively. We could observe that majority of plant protection practices are rated as highly profitable, practical and sustainable by the scientists. Soaking of pearl millet seeds in salt solution to control the ergot disease was perceived less profitable by farmers while scientists perceived it highly profitable but farmers did not accept it as an effective method to control disease. This might be due to farmer’s misconception regarding salt solution that it reduces the seed germination. It could be inferred that there was very less gap in weighting the sustainability of explored ITKs by farmers and agricultural scientists both.

Marigold is one of the important annual flowers grown for commercial purpose all over the world. Non availability of high-quality seeds of marigold is one of the major constraints in its cultivation. Priming of Marigold seeds plays crucial role in its germination, shoot length and root length. Hence a laboratory study was carried out to investigate the influence of various priming treatments on shoot and root length of French marigold seeds. This study was carried out on marigold seeds of four lines and nine treatments. Seeds treated with 0.5% KNO3 exhibited significantly higher shoot length (10.950cm) during 0 month storage. In 2, 4, 6, 8- and 10-months storage duration, significantly maximum shoot length was observed in T4 (9.217cm, 7.225 cm, 6.500 cm, 4.758 cm and 3.458 cm) respectively. Maximum shoot length was recorded in G-4(9.36cm) which was followed by G-1 (8.40 cm) and G-3 (7.85cm) during 0-month storage. In 2, 4, 6, 8- and 10-months storage duration, significantly maximum shoot length was observed in G-4 (8.03cm, 6.763cm, 5.752cm, 4.785cm and 2.956cm) respectively. Seeds treated with 0.5% KNO3 exhibited significantly higher root length (4.625cm) over the other treatments during 0-month storage. In 2, 4, 6, 8- and 10-months storage duration, significantly maximum root length was observed in T4 (4.175cm, 3.908 cm, 3.275 cm, 2.158 cm and 0.983 cm) respectively. Maximum root length was recorded in G-4(4.877cm) which was followed by G-1 (4.709 cm) and G-3 (4.350 cm) during 0-month storage. In 2, 4, 6, 8- and 10-months storage duration, significantly maximum root length was observed in G-4 (3.933 cm, 3.315 cm, 2.644cm, 1.959 cm and 0.937 cm) respectively.

This study aimed at assessing the participation of rural youth in agriculture and livestock management activities. The study was conducted in 9 villages of Vaniyambadi Taluk, Alangayam block of Vellore district. A count of 10 respondents were selected from 9 villages to make a group of 90 respondents. From the analysis, the results revealed that highest participation was observed in harvesting (68.90%), irrigation management (52.20%), manure and fertilizer application (47.80%) and least participation was observed in marketing (93.30%) and seed processing (92.20%). The participation of rural youth in livestock management activities were classified as independent participation, joint participation and no participation. Independent participation was found to be high in watering the animals (90.00%) and disposal of cow dung (90.00%) followed by cleaning of animal shed (80.00%). Joint participation was found to be high in sale of milk and milk products (62.00%) followed by mixing green fodder with roughages (37.00%) and they did not have any participation in maintaining of dairy record (60.00%) followed by taking animals for artificial insemination(40.00%).

An experiment was conducted at Mon district Nagaland, during 2017-18 to study the effect of tillage and paddy straw mulching on growth, yield attributes of rapeseed (Brassica compestris L.) variety TS 38. Minimum tillage with paddy straw mulching increased the plant height, number of seeds per siliqua, number of siliqua per plant, seed yield and moisture content of rapeseed crop. Among all the practices zero tillage with paddy straw mulching gave similar results and maximum cost: benefit ratio followed by zero tillage.

The present investigation was conducted to assess on the taxonomic community growth on five different substrates in low saline ground water with 5 gL-1 salinity. The study was conducted for a period of 60 days in 5 ton circular tanks. Split bamboo (4 cm width), Green shade net (10 cm), HDPE sheet (10 cm), LDPE sheet (10 cm) and PVC pipes (1 inch) were used as substrate. The taxonomic community recorded in this study was limited to 3 groups (Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae and Euglenophyceae) comprising of 5 genera. The results on taxonomic community were comparatively less in low saline water to that of fresh water periphyton composition reported in other studies. Water quality parameters were observed to be optimal levels throughout the trial, Temperature, alkalinity, hardness, calcium and magnesium were recorded at minimum maximum values of 25±0.03 and 25±0.03°C, 160±9.9 and 176±9.8 mgl-1 as CaCO3, 370±2.8 and 385±2.6 mgl-1 as CaCO3, 112±13.8 and 155±14.1 mgl-1 and 285±11.5 and 321±12.1 mgl-1 respectively.

A front line demonstration was conducted at five farmers field comprising of 0.20 ha each in Korea district of Chhattisgarh during Kharif 2015-16 to 2018-19 to demonstrate the improved package of practice of Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). There were two treatments in which one was local check and second was cultivation of turmeric with full package of practice with drip and fertigation. Field diagnostic visits, regular surveys, farmer meetings and training programmes ensured application of balanced and optimum doses of nutrients through fertigation and timely plant protection measures. The result revealed that local check gives a yield of 10.34 t/ha. While turmeric cultivation with full package of practices along with drip and fertigation gives a yield of 24.59 t/ha. which shows that by adopting package of practices there were 138.09 % increase in turmeric yield. Similarly, net return was also calculated which shows that local check gives a net income of Rs. 186005/ ha with a B:C ratio of 1.06 against a net income of Rs. 523638/ha with B:C ratio of 1.56 in demonstration field. With frontline demonstration (FLD) of proven technology revealed that yield potential and net income from turmeric cultivation could be enhanced to a great extent resulting in higher income to the farming community.

Large cardamom was harvested when the seeds of top most capsules turn brown. As soon as the said colour appears and to enhance maturity bearing tillers were cut at a height of 30 – 40 cm from ground and left for another 10-15 days for full maturity. The spikes were harvested by using special knives known as “Cardamom-knife” (Elaichi chhuri). Harvesting begins early in the lower altitudes, during August-September and was as late as November-December at higher altitudes. The average yield was 400 kg/ha under organic cultivation. The quality of large cardamom was governed by its external appearance, which was influenced by colour, uniformity of size, shape, consistency and texture and flavour, which ascertains taste and odour and was affected by composition of aromatic compounds. Appearance provides a visual perception of co-uniformity in size, shape, consistency. Cardamom was cured (i.e., dehydration of the fruits over low sustained heat) in a curing furnace, the heat invariably coming from burning of wood fuel. Traditionally, locally made furnace, the “Bhatti”, crude and primitive in operation, was a stone-mud structure, cheap to erect and moderately efficient where capsules are dried by direct heating. Considerable loss of quality characteristics is seen with the bhatties, yet, they are common in the entire cardamom belt. The colour of the capsules turned to black due to direct heating and smoke. Improved curing techniques were available in which cardamom is processed to give quality and appearance. One such method was ICRI Bhatti curing system developed by Indian Cardamom Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Tadong were cardamom was dried through indirect heating. The system was available in 200 and 400 kg (fresh capsules capacities, cost was estimated as Rs. 48,000/- and 70,000/-, respectively. This Bhatti had been popularized by the Spices Board Regional Office at Gangtok and Zonal Offices in Sikkim and Kalimpong in West Bengal through subsidized development scheme. In this cardamom was dried by indirect heating at 50-55°C. Curing was done till moisture content of the produce was brought down to 10-12 percent and gives metallic sound while shuffling. Farmers were not used to do any grading but in practice there were two grades used to mention chota dana and bada dana. Grading was mainly done by the trader for their marketing purpose. Trader use different sieves to grade their produce which was not having any uniformity. Indian Cardamom Research Institute, Regional Station, Tadong, Spices Board developed four sieve standardizing the grades for large cardamom. Accordingly, five grades of large cardamom based on sieves size were standardized. The properly dried capsules should be allowed to cool and then packed in polythene lined jute bags. The bags may be stored on wooden platform away from sidewall to avoid absorption of moisture and thereby to avoid fungal growth on the stored produce. The marketing of large cardamom was controlled by traders. Around 10 % of the large cardamom was exported. Major importing countries include Pakistan and several countries of Middle East Asia. A crop calendar was also worked out under Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Harvesting, curing, grading, packaging and marketing aspect of large cardamom is presented in this paper.

Though micro irrigation has many potential benefits, it has certain limitations such as high initial cost, problems related to clogging and salt accumulation, periodic maintenance including daily attention etc. With the objective of solving these limitations, a user-friendly irrigation method namely “wick irrigation” was developed by Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) for vegetable cultivation in homesteads, especially for terrace cultivation. This method of irrigation is cheap and efficient. The scientific principle behind this irrigation method is the uptake of water by the wick through capillary action. During past many years glass wool is being used as the wick material in wick irrigation. The availability of glass wool for making the wick is very difficult and also it is reported to have some allergic problems to the operator. In this context, a field study was conducted to evaluate the performance evaluation of different types of wicks viz. glass wool, cotton and silk wool for the wick irrigation system. The performance was compared on the basis of water uptake rate, soil moisture content, biometric observations of the crop etc. From the study, it was concluded that wick made up of glass wool has better performance in terms of biometric and yield parameters, water uptake rate and soil moisture content. It was also observed that the wick made up of cotton is on par with the glass wool wick. Considering the easiness of availability, eco-friendly nature and cost effectiveness, cotton wick can be used as a viable alternative for glass wool in wick irrigation

The present investigation was carried out at Agronomy farm, College of Agriculture, Dapoli, Dist. Ratnagiri during Kharif season of 2018. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with replicated thricely. Growth observations of rice were noted periodically from 40 DAS till at the harvest at an interval of 30 days and yield contributing characters and yield were recorded at harvest to evaluate the treatment effects. The experimental results revealed that the transplanting of 10 days old seedlings produced higher growth attributes as well as higher number of panicles hill-1, number of filled grains panicle-1. While 20 cm x 15 cm recorded significantly taller plants, significantly higher number of unfilled grains panicle-1 and higher grain and straw yield. In case of growth attributing and yield attributing characters, the spray of nano P + nano K recorded predominantly maximum values than rest of the treatments. Due to higher growth attributing and yield attributing values, the grain and straw yield was higher under spray of nano P + nano K. Regarding the nutrient content, the spray of nano P + nano K showed significantly higher N content in grain and straw, spray of nano P showed higher P content in grain and straw, spray of nano K showed higher K content in grain and straw. The spray of nano P + nano K showed significantly higher grain, straw and total uptake. The spray of nano P recorded significantly higher grain and total P uptake. While in case of P uptake in straw spray of nano P and spray of nano P + nano K were at par with each other and significantly higher than spray of nano K.