Research Trends In Agriculture Sciences

Research Trends In Agriculture Sciences Volume - 7

Chief Editor Dr. R. K. Naresh Professor, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Univ. of Agri & Tech, Meerut-250110, Uttar Pradesh, India

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© AkiNik Publications Pages: 163 ISBN: 978-93-88112-13-0 Price: ` 510/Book DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18

Contents Chapters 1.

Nanotechnologies in Agriculture: New Tools

Page No. 01-16

(Ankita Trivedi)

2.

Response of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties under Integrated Nutrient Management and Crop Geometry in SRI Technique.

17-42

(Harikesh and Sanjay Kumar)

3.

Direct Seeded Rice: Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices

43-70

(Sanjay Kumar and Harikesh)

4.

Leucas lavandulifolia Smith (Labiatae): A green Pesticide for Red Spider Mite Management in Tea

71-92

(Purnima Das, Lakshmi Kanta Hazarika, Surajit Kalita, Bikash Jyoti Gharphalia and Partha Jyoti Borah)

5.

WhatsApp Groups: A Powerful Tool and Farming Solution for Sustainable Agricultural Development

93-110

(I Isaac Devanand and I Merlin Kamala)

6.

Soil Groups of India

111-119

(Parveen Rathi, Naveen Rathi and Gaurav Kant)

7.

The Utility of Food Consumption and Utilization Indices in the Management of Lepidopteran Insect Pests

121-130

(Pradeep Kumar Dalal and Mandeep Rathee)

8.

Mineral Nutrients and Their Interaction in Plants

131-144

(Nidhi Kamboj)

9.

Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) 145-163 On Agriculture (Rupender Kumar and Manjeet)

Chapter - 1 Nanotechnologies in Agriculture: New Tools DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a01

Authors Ankita Trivedi Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Modipuram, Meerut-250110, Uttar Pradesh, India Shivanshu Dwivedi Department of Biotechnology, Chattarpati Sahuji Maharaj University, Kanpur-208024, Uttar Pradesh, India Prafull Kumar Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Modipuram, Meerut-250110, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Chapter - 1 Nanotechnologies in Agriculture: New Tools Ankita Trivedi, Shivanshu Dwivedi and Prafull Kumar DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a01

Abstract Nanotechnology: Coming to a Supermarket or Farm Near You, has a great potential to enhance the quality of life through its applications in various fields like agriculture and the food system. It has become the future of any nation around the world. But any new technology to be introduced sould be used very carefully regarding its possible unforeseen related risks that may come through its positive potential. The potential benefits of nanotechnology in agriculture are significant, producing greater quantities of food with lower cost, energy, and waste. A robust literature assessing the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials to terrestrial\agricultural plant species has begun to develop. However, now a systems-level approach is needed investigating more subtle yet potentially more significant impacts of nanomaterial exposure in agricultural systems, including the use of a range of more sensitive endpoints that can mechanistically characterize toxicity. National economy has been significantly contributed by agriculture sector and S&T has played a significant role in increasing agricultural productivity over the years. An agricultural research system with a government policy and widespread extension machinery and has enabled the agriculture sector to respond to the increasing demand for agricultural produce. The potential of nanotechnology to revolutionize the health care, textile, materials, information and communication technology, and energy sectors has been well publicized. The application of nanotechnology to agriculture and food industries is also getting attention nowadays. This chapter deals with the basis of nanotechnology and balance between nanotechnology applications and implications in agriculture and food production. Introduction European Commission recognizes Nanotechnology as one of its six ‘‘Key Enabling Technologies’’ that contribute to sustainable competitiveness and growth in several fields of industrial application. Nanoscale particles have new chemical and/or physical properties which provide Page | 3

useful functions that are being rapidly exploited in medicine, biotechnology, electronics, material science and energy sectors, among others. The agriculture sector is also an area of concern with these promising developments of nano-science, in which continuous innovation is strongly needed because of increasing global food security and climate change challenges. In the past, many different technological innovations benefited agriculture, including synthetic chemicals, hybrid varieties and biotechnology, but now researchers are seeking in nanotechnology as a new source of agricultural improvements. Its contribution towards agricultural sector is still unknown but food industry can be seen benefited clearly especially food processing, distribution, packaging and functional food. Research on various applications of Nanotechnology in agriculture has been going for a decade now, researchers found it as an efficient solution for agricultural and environmental challenges i.e; improved varities, sustainaibility and increased productivity. Agricultural Nanotechnology includes nanomaterials that aims to reduce the amount of sprayed chemical products by smart delivery of active ingredients, minimise nutrient losses in fertilisation and increase yields through optimised water and nutrient management. Nanotechnology derived devices are also being explored in the field of plant breeding and genetic transformation. Additionally, bionanocomposites can be used in agriculture for bio-industrial purposes with enhanced physical—mechanical properties based on traditionally harvested materials, like wheat straw and soy hulls. Recent scientific data on nanotechnology indicates that it has the potential to minimize the adverse problems of agricultural practices on environment and human health, impact the agrifood sector, improve food security and productivity (as required by the predicted rise in global population), while promoting social and economic equity. Nanoscale science and nanotechnology have been demonstrated to have great potential in providing novel and improved solutions to many grand challenges facing agriculture and society today and in the future. Nanotechnology has wide array of opportunities in various fields like pharmaceuticals, electronics, medicine, and agriculture. Nanotechnology enabled delivery of agriculture chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, plant growth regulators etc.). One of the advantages of nanoscale delivery vehicles in agriculture field applications is its improved stability of the payloads against degradation in the environment, hence maintain its effectiveness and reduce application quantity. The nanoscale delivery Page | 4

vehicles may be designed to anchor on the plant roots or the surrounding soil structure and organic matters. Controlled release mechanisms allow the effective up take of ingredients slowly. Hence, to avoid temporal overdose, reduction in the amount of agricultural chemicals used, and minimization of the input and waste is needed. By applying precision farming environmental pollution is kept to a minimum.

Fig 1: Applications of Nanotechnology in various fields

Fig 2: Potentials of Nanotechnology Page | 5

The problems related to conventional farming technologies that they would neither be able to increase productivity any further nor restore ecosystems damaged by existing technologies, pushed the agricultural sector to bring nanotechnology in use. After the Industrial Revolution of Mid 1700s, Nuclear Energy Revolution of the 1940s, The Green Revolution of 1960s, Information Technology Revolution of 1980s and Biotechnology Revolution of the 1990s, the sixth revolutionary technology emerging in the current era is nanotechnology. What Is Nanotechnology? Big Things in Small Packages Nanotechnology is working with smallest possible particles which raise hopes for improving agricultural productivity through encountering problems unsolved conventionally. Improvement of crops in agriculture is a continuous process. Breeding varieties to suit the growing needs done through conventional breeding and biotechnical means. Recently, scientists have started using nanotechnology to deliver the genes to specific sites at cellular levels and rearrange the atoms in the DNA of the same organism to get expression of desired character, thus skipping the time consuming process of transferring the gene rom the foreign organisms. Understanding and control of matter at nanoscale is defined as Nanotechnology, where a unique phenomenon enables novel applications. Efforts are being made to increase the efficiency of applied fetrilizer, in the aspects of management with the help of nano clays and zeolites. Restoration of soil fertility is done by releasing fixed nutrients. In addition to these research on smart seeds are encouraging where seeds are programmed to germinate under favourable conditions with coating of nanoploymer. Agriculture and precision farming input requirement of crops, in the controlled environment are diagnosed based on needs and delivered in the required quantities in the right time at right place with the help of nanobiosensor and satellite system. To deal with the problem in prennial weed, Nanoherbicides are being developed. Remediation of environmental contamination of industrial waste and agricultural chemicals like pesticides and herbicide residues are possible through metal nanoparticles.

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Fig 3: Comparison of Nanoparticles

The US Environmental Protection Agency defines Nanotechnology as the science of understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1–100 nm, where novel applications possible by using unique physical properties. Nanoparticles from the agriculture point of view include “particulate (simultaneously colloidal particulate) between 10 and 1,000 nm in size dimensions” (Nakache et al., 1999). Nanotechnology is the science of self-assembly or manipulation of individual atoms, molecules, or molecular clusters into structures that develops materials and devices with new or vastly different properties. Nanotechnology works from the top down (which means reducing the size of the smallest structures to the nanoscale e.g. photonics applications in electronics and nanoengineering) and the bottom up (which involves manipulating individual atoms and molecules into nanostructures and more closely resembles chemistry or biology). The word nanotechnology comes from the the Greek word “nano” meaning “dwarf”, in technical terms, which means 10-9, or one billionth of something. Nanoparticles are generally used when referring to materials with the size of 0.1 to 100 nanometres, materials should display different properties from bulk (or micrometric and larger) materials as a result of their size. The different properties include electrical conductance, magnetism, physical strength, chemical reactivity, and optical effects. Nanotechnology is such a recent technology that is going to affect human life in near future in such a big way that we can say that we are moving towards nano age. There are some nanoparticles which are biological in nature on the basis of their natural occurrence, such as, tomato carotenoid lycopene, nanoclay, Page | 7

many chemicals derived from soil organic matter, magnetosomes, viruses, lipoproteins, exosomes, ferritin. They have diverse reproducible structures with wideranging biological roles and are Biocompatible. Various potential biomedical applications of natural and modified biological nanoparticles have been reported.

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Indian Agriculture Scientists are facing a wide spectrum of agricultural challenges such as low nutrient use efficiency, shrinking arable land and water availability, stagnation in crop yields, multi-nutrient deficiencies, declining soil organic matter,climate change, and shortage of labor besides exodus of people from farming. If Indian agriculture aims to attain its national goal of sustainable agriculture growth of over 4%, there is a need to explore one of the frontier technologies such as ‘Nanotechnology’ to the agricultural total production– consumption system, across the entire agricultural value chain and precisely detect and deliver the correct quantity of nutrients and pesticides that promote productivity while ensuring environmental safety and higher use efficiency. This would require focusing on technologies that increase agricultural productivities, product quality and resource–use efficiencies that reduce on–farm costs, raise the value of production, and increase farm income; as well as on conserving and enhancing the quality of the natural resource base. India’s agriculture has grown rapidly enough in recent decades to save the country from the serve food crises of the early 1960s as even the population grew the 424 million between 1963 and 1993. Despite national food surpluses, the two main problems: widespread poverty and hunger sustains because growth of agriculture and national economy has not adequately benefitted the poor. Moreover, with strong growth of income and Page | 8

the population projected to grow 1.5 billion by 2040, the cereal demand in India is projected as 300 to 350 million metric tonnes. Hence, food grain production needs to increase at around 1.5% per annum. Increase in production and productivity of crops was successfully accomplished in India due to the introduction of high yielding varieties during early period of green revolution. Without much improvement in management technologies the crop yielded their potential due to inherent high fertility status of the soil in the initial years. Continuous and intensive cultivation led to degradation of natural resource base (soil, water and climate) of agriculture. Nearly two–third of the farm lands are in some measure either degraded or sick. The difficult situation in Indian Agriculture is increasingly ascribed to a ‘technology fatigue’. During 1980’s focus was shifted from high yield varieties to improved management strategies like soil health, nutrient management, soil moisture conservation, weed management, pest and disease control and value addition of harvested produce. Nanotechnology in Agriculture Nanotechnology, a multidisciplinary field has the enormous potential to boost agricultural research and can be can be exploited in the value chain of entire agriculture production system. Material science at the nanometer scale has emerged as one of the most promising subject recently. Surface characteristics and novel materials might be utilized to enhance agricultural productivity and production. Nanotechnology use in agriculture has created a great interest, offering the potential for significantly enhanced agricultural productivity and efficiency with lower cost and less waste (Scott and Chen, 2013; Kah, 2015). It should be noted importantly that, the emergence of these applications in agriculture and other sectors has also raised safety concerns over human and environmental health; the resulting field of nanotoxicology has developed in an effort to answer critical questions of hazard, exposure and ultimate risk. Nanotechnology in agriculture can be used as a tool in better understanding of various mechanisms regulating important gronomic traits, cellular processes, and development of genotypes tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses. Technique offers better products and improved means of production. Applications of nanotechnology in agriculture include various techniques such as bio-analytical nanosensors, nucleic acid bioengineering, nano-coating, nano-material and bio-selective surface etc. Development of low cost diagnostics sensor can detect the presence of agriculturally important and food borne pathogens, filtering undesirable compounds from Page | 9

food and drinks. Agricultural production is affected majorly by nutrient deficiency and toxicity. Nano-particles can be used to study soil nutrient status as well as micro flora and fauna. In the past, agriculture was benefited from many different technological innovations, such as synthetic chemicals, hybrid varieties, and biotechnology, whereas, researchers are now seeking nanotechnology as a new source of agricultural improvement. Nanomaterials application in agriculture aims in particular to reduce implications of plant protection products, minimize nutrient losses in fertilzation, and increase yields through optimized nutrient management. Despite these potential advantages, the agricultural sector is still comparably marginal and has not yet made it to the market to any larger extent in comparison with other sectors of nanotechnology application. Nanocapsules, nanoparticles and even viral capsids are some of the nanotechnology devices and tools which are used for the enhancement of nutrients absorption by plants, the detection and treatment of diseases, the delivery of active ingredients to specific sites and water treatment processes. Target-specific nanoparticles use can reduce the damage to non-target plant tissues and the amount of chemicals released into the environment. Nanotechnology derived devices are also explored in the field of plant breeding and genetic transformation. The potential of nanotechnology in agriculture is large, but a few issues are still to be addressed.

Fig 5: Nanotechnology in Agriculture

Crop Improvement Nanotechnology has also shown its ability in modifying the genetic constitution of the crop plants thereby helping in further improvement. Page | 10

Mutations both natural and induced have played an important role in crop improvement since long time back. Instead of using certain chemical compounds like EMS, MMS and physical mutagens like X–ray, gamma ray, etc. for conventionally induced mutation studies, nanotechnology has showed a new dimension in mutation research. Nono–Fertilizers for Balanced Crop Nutrition Fertilizers play a pivotal role in agricultural production. It has been unequivocally demonstrated that fertilizer contributes to the 35-40% of the productivity of any crops. Without the fertilizer input, it is hardly possible to sustain agricultural productivity of our country. Considering its importance, the Government of India is heavily subsidizing the cost of fertilizers, particularly urea to encourage farmers to use them to promote productivity of crops. This resulted in imbalanced fertilization and occurrence of nitrate pollution in ground waters. A very few nano-fertilizer formulation have been synthesized in China, Germany and USA and are being tested under laboratory conditions. This process increases the nutrient-use efficiencies, besides preventing environmental hazard. Carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) are nanomaterial’s widely used in biological and material sciences. Single and multiwalled carbon nanotube are commercially available to carry out smart delivery of water, nutrients and medicines etc. Since CNT carries extensive surface area, they have the potential to regulate the moisture under constraints of irrigation or drought conditions. The approaches include nano-sensors, nano-barocodes, use of nanomagnetic particles for aerial seeding etc. In India, fertilizers, along with quality seed and irrigation, are mainly responsible for enhanced food grain production. This has resulted in imbalanced fertilization and occurrence in some areas, nitrate pollution of ground waters due to excessive nitrogen application. In the past few decades, use efficiencies of N, P and K fertilizers have remained constant as 30-35%, 18-20% and 35-40%, respectively, leaving a major portion of added fertilizers to accumulate in the soil or enter into aquatic system causing eutrophication. In order to address issues of imbalanced fertilization, low fertilizer use efficiency, decline of soil organic matter, multinutrient deficiencies and it is important to evolve a nano-based fertilizer formulation with multiple functions. In order to regulate the release of nutrients depending on the requirements of the crops, nanofertilizers are synthesized. It is also reported that nanofertilizers are more efficient than ordinary fertilizer (Liu et al., 2006a). Nanofertilizers could allow selective release linked to time or environmental condition and could be used to reduce nitrogen loss due to leaching, emissions, and long-term incorporation Page | 11

by soil microorganisms. Slow and controlled release of fertilizers may also improve soil by decreasing toxic effects associated with fertilizer overapplication (Suman et al., 2010). Impact of nano-fertilizer products on morphological, physiological, nutritional and biochemical changes in plants as well as on rhizosphere microorganisms and biogeochemical cycles of nutrients are some potential areas yet to be addressed properly.

Fig 6: Nanofertilizers in agriculture

Nanotechnology and Food Systems Since food systems encompass food availability, access and utilization, the scope of application of nanotechnology for enhancing food security must encompass entire agricultural production- consumption systems. Further, in a rapidly globalizing economy, increasing access to food and its utilization in rural area will be determined primarily source of increasing rural incomes has been recognized as value addition across the different links in the agricultural production–consumption chain. These links include farm inputs, farm production systems, post-harvest management and processing and finally markets and consumers. From the food security perspective, it is therefore necessary that application of nanotechnology be nit limited to the farm production level, but be extended across all the links of the agricultural productivies, product quality, consumer acceptance and resource use efficiencies. This will help to reduce farm costmaries be value of production, increase rural incomes and enhance the quality of the natural resource base Page | 12

of agricultural production systems. In doing so it is important to view nanotechnology as and enabling technology that can complement conventional technologies and biotechnology. Considering the concerns on biosafety and consumer acceptance emerging after agro biotechnology based–products have entered the market place during last two decades, it is also essential that integrating and developing new technologies like nanotechnology in agricultural and food systems be made after understanding the various societal and environmental implications. Nanotechnology is being used to create better packaging and healthier foods in the food industry. For example, researchers are working on creating food packages embedded with tiny materials specifically designed to alert consumers that a product is no longer safe to eat. Food scientists are also creating nanomaterials whose small size gives the ability to deliver powerful nutrients to human cells where they previously could not reach. In addition, scientists believe nanomaterials can be designed to block certain substances in food, such as harmful cholesterol or food allergens, from reaching certain parts of the body. Today, many of the world’s leading food companies— including H.J. Heinz, Nestlé, Hershey, Unilever, and Kraft—are investing heavily in nanotechnology applications. Farm applications of nanotechnology are also commanding attention. Nanomaterials are being developed that offer the opportunity to more efficiently and safely administer pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers by controlling precisely when and where they are released. For example, an environmentally friendly pesticide is in development that uses nanomaterials to release its pestkilling properties only when it is inside the targeted insect. For livestock, the ability of certain nanomaterials to control dosage could reduce the amount of growth hormones needed to boost livestock production. There also are nanomaterials in the late stages of development that can detect and neutralize animal pathogens in livestock before they reach consumers.

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Nanotechnology and Soil Science Nanotechnology (NT) is being visualized as a rapidly evolving field that has potential to revolutionize agriculture and food systems and improve the conditions of the poor. Nanotechnology when applied as a tool in tandem with other measures, can seek to address some of the world’s most critical sustainable development problems in the areas of water, energy, health and environment, agriculture and biodiversity and ecosystem management. These five areas, collectively known as WEHAB, where identified in the 2002 United Nations Johannesburg summit on Sustainable Development (Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002). A UN Survey on potential applications of nanotechnology in developing countries identified agricultural productivity enhancement as the second most critical area of application for attaining the millennium development goals while energy conversion and storage was ranked first and water treatment as the third areas needing focus. Similar, to the water–saving nanomembranes, along with zeolites and hydrogels, there are other applications of nanotechnology to soil science. There are also new analytical techniques for characterization of soil properties. Notable among these are nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry and nano–microscopy to study physical infra–structure of micro–aggregates of 10–15 in scale. Nanotechnology for Seed Germination Most important input determining productivity of any crop is Seed and conventionally, seeds are tested for germination and distributed to farmers for sowing. In spite of the fact that seed testing is done in well-equipped laboratories, it is hardly reproduced in the field due to the inadequate moisture under rainfed conditions. More than 60% of the net area sown in India is rainfed; hence, it is quite appropriate to develop technologies for rainfed agriculture. A group of researchers is currently working on metal oxide nano-particles and carbon nanotube to improve the germination of rainfed crops. Technology developed nano particles play considerable role in seed germination. Black gram and tomato seeds germination with ZnO nano particles has been found to increase from 10- 15% to 80-85%. Khodakovskaya et al. (2009) have reported that the carbon nanotube could Page | 14

be used for improving the germination of tomato seeds through better permeation of moisture. Data of their research shows that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) serve as new pores for water permeation by penetration of seed coat and act as a passage to channelize the water from the substrate into the seeds. Processes facilitate germination which can be exploited in rainfed agricultural system. Nanopesticides in Agriculture Pesticides persistence in the initial stage of crop growth brings down the pest population below the economic threshold level and to have an effective control for a longer period. Hence, to control insect pests, the use of active ingredients in the applied surface remains one of the most cost-effective and versatile means. A Nanotechnology approach, namely “nano-encapsulation” can be used to improve the insecticidal value and protect the active ingredient from the adverse environmental conditions and to promote persistence. Nanoencapsulation is a process through which chemicals like insecticides are slowly but efficiently released to a particular host plant for insect pest control. Nanoparticles nanoencapsulation in the form of pesticides allows proper absorption of the chemicals into the plants (Scrinis and Lyons, 2007). This process can also deliver other desired chemicals and DNA into plant tissues for protection of host plants against insect pests (Torney, 2009). Various release mechanisms of nanoencapsulation include diffusion, dissolution, biodegradation and osmotic pressure with specific pH. Neem based micro emulsion has been developed and found effective in controlling sucking pests such as thrips, aphids and mites (Gunasekaran, 2011). Nanoencapsulation is currently the most promising technology for protection of host plants against insect pests. Now, most leading chemical companies focus on formulation of nanoscale pesticides for delivery into the target host tissue through nanoencapsulation. Summary The role of nanotechnology in soil science is being perceived as the most potential area in the world of the agriculture. Nanotechnology has found applications in controlling release of nitrogen, characterization of soil minerals, studies of weathering of soil minerals and soil development, micro–morphology of soils, nature of soil rhizosphere, nutrient ion transport in soil–plant system, emission of dusts and aerosols from agricultural soil and their nature, zeoponics and precision water farming. In its stride, nanotechnology convergaes soil mineralogy converges soil mineralogy with imaging techniques, artificial intelligence, and encompasses bio molecules and polymers with microscopic atoms and molecules, and macroscopic Page | 15

properties (thermodynamics) with microscopic properties (kinetics, wave theory, uncertainty principles etc.), to name a few. Nanotechnology will play a vital role in the development of the agricultural sector, as it is capable of monitoring plant growth and detect diseases and being used in agricultural products that protect plants and monitor. New applications of nanotechnology in agriculture and the food industry are being explored by various scientists - if these discoveries are applied sensibly, many sectors including the environment, the agricultural sector and the food industry will indeed see tremendous changes for the better in the coming years. References 1.

Gunasekaran S, Renganayaki V. Spectroscopic and Chromatographic Analysis of Some Commercial Samples of Neem Oil. Asian Journal of Chemistry. 2011; 23(2):755-761. 2. Kah M. Nanopesticides and nanofertilizers: Emerging contaminants or opportunities for risk mitigation? Front. Chem. 2015; 3:1-6. 3. Khodakovskaya M, Dervishi E, Mahmood M, Yang Xu, Zhongrui Li, Watanabe F, et al. Carbon nanotubes are able to penetrate plant seed coat and dramatically affect seed germination and plant growth. ACS Nano. 2009; 3:3221-3227. 4. Liu X, Feng Z, Zhang S, Zhang J, Xiao Q, Wang Y. Preparation and testing of cementing nano-subnano composites of slow-or controlled release of fertilizers. Scientia Agricultura Sinica. 2006; 39:1598-1604. 5. Nakache E, Poulain N, Candau F, Orecchioni AM, Irache JM. Biopolymer and polymer nanoparticles and their biomedical applications. In: Nalwa HS, editor. Handbook of Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology. New York, NY, USA: Academic Press, 1999. 6. Scott N, Chen H. Nanoscale science and engineering for agriculture and food systems. Ind. Biotechnol. 2013; 9:17-18. 7. Scrinis G, Lyons K. The emerging nano corporate paradigm: nanotechnology and the transformation of nature, food and agri-food systems. Int. J Sociol. Food Agric. 2007; 15:22-44. 8. Subramanian KS, Tarafdar JC. Prospects of nanotechnology in Indian farming. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 2011; 81:887-893. 9. Suman PR, Jain VK, Varma A. Role of nanomaterials in symbiotic fungus growth enhancement. Curr. Sci. 2010; 99:1189-1191. 10. Torney F. Nanoparticle mediated plant transformation. Emerging technologies in plant science research. Interdepartmental Plant Physiology Major Fall Seminar Series. Phys, 2009, 696. Page | 16

Chapter - 2 Response of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties under Integrated Nutrient Management and Crop Geometry in SRI Technique. DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a02

Authors Harikesh Department of Agronomy, NDUAT, Kumarganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India Sanjay Kumar Department of Agronomy, NDUAT, Kumarganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Chapter - 2 Response of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties under Integrated Nutrient Management and Crop Geometry in SRI Technique. Harikesh and Sanjay Kumar DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a02

Introduction Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a member of poaceae family chromosome number 24 (2n) and most important staple food crop for millions of mankind from dawn of civilization. Among the cereal crops, it serves as the principal source of nourishment for over half of the global population. The total area of rice crop in India is 44.11 m ha, production is 104.79 million tonnes and average productivity is 2.38 tha-1 (D.O.E.S., 2015). Uttar Pradesh is an important rice growing state in the country. The area and production of rice in this state is about 5.86 million hectares and production 15.30 million tonnes with an average productivity of 2.57 tonnes per hectare, respectively (D.O.E.S., 2015). Rice is grown in 114 countries across the world on an area about 150 million hectares with annual production of over 525 million tonnes, constituting nearly 11 per cent of the world’s cultivated land. More than 90 per cent of the world’s rice is produced and consumed in Asia where it is an integral part of culture and tradition. It occupies an area of about 155.2mhawith the production of 432.41 mt. in the world (Anonymous, 2008).Rice crop is being traditionally cultivated under continuous submerged conditions, some alternate methods have to be searched to minimize the water requirement of rice crop. System of rice intensification (SRI) is a recent breakthrough in rice production technology. This is a new method of rice (Oryza sativa L.) culture. This is an environment and ecologically benign method that increases productivity and resource-use efficiency of irrigated rice by changing the way of managing soil, plants, water and nutrients. The system of rice intensification was developed by a Jesuit agriculturist Fr. Henri De Laulanie (1993) and Madagascar colleagues working with him in 1980 and the 1990, and they studied ways to increase the low yields of Page | 19

Madagascar farmers. From Madagascar’s poor soils which yielded usually an average of 2 tonnes per hectare. SRI system coaxed yield of 6, 8 and even 10 tonnes per hectare, while reducing the farmers’ cost for water, seeds and external inputs. In 1990, Fr. De Laulanie and his colleagues set up an NGO called Association Tefy Saina (‘to improve the mind’) to develop SRI further and to promote it among Madagascar farmers. SRI system of cultivation is slowly gaining momentum all over the world including India. There is ample scope to increase productivity of rice by altering the environmental conditions that modify microclimate and soil conditions, which ultimately reflect phenotypic expression with the Genotype x Environment interactions. One of the sound principles of SRI is, wider spacing of plants leading to greater root growth and better tillering potential. The crop geometry and spatial configuration exploit the initial vigour of the genotypes, enhances soil aeration and provides congenial condition for better establishment. Early transplanting of rice seedlings assumes special significance and principal means in obtaining higher yields in SRI cultivation. Rice seedlings lose much of their growth potential if they are transplanted more than 15 days after they emerge in their nursery. Rajesh et al. (2003) reported that seedling planted at wider spacing of 30 x 30 cm got sufficient space to grow and also utilized resource in a better way. Therefore, younger seedlings planted at wider spacing was congenial for higher yield of both hybrid (PHB- 71) and non -hybrid (NDR- 359) rice cultivation. Long duration varieties perform better with wider spacing than short duration varieties (Baloch et al., 2002; Stoop 2005).Which allows a greater realization of tillering potential of rice plants and wide spacing on a square pattern which gives the roots more space to grow and get more sunlight and air (Uphooff and Kassam, 2002). System Rice Intensification (SRI) as defined by Uphoffet al., (2002) Seedlings should be transplanted before the fourth phyllochron begins to preserve the tillering potential (Rafaralahy, 2002). The INM primarily related to combined application of different sources of plant nutrients for sustainable crop production without degrading the natural resources. The practices are based on a number of sound agronomic principles. The work synergistically with others in order to achieve higher grain yield and improves physiological activities of the plant and provides better environmental condition. Integrated nutrient management provides an approach for feeding rice plant with nutrients as and when needed. An INM plays a vital role in sustaining both the soil health and crop production on long term basis (Singh et al., 2004). The productivity and

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quality of rice crop can be possible by adopting better agronomic practices and replacing conventional varieties with high yielding improved varieties, which have the potential to fit in the current cropping system, particular location and soil types. Proponents of SRI recommend the use of organic fertilization (compost) instead of chemical fertilizer. Organic resources are largely biological in origin and they have several nutrients in their composition which on decomposition are released in to soil. Application of vermicompost in combination with NPK fertilizers results in higher content of total Nitrogen compared to FYM in combination with NPK fertilizers are control. It also resulted in higher content of phosphorus significantly (Kale et al., 1992). The casting by Earthworms was seen to improve, the soil organic matter and nutrient status by recycling available nutrients especially N, P, K, Ca and Mg. Vermicompost are materials that improve the porosity aeration drainage and water holding capacity of soil. They have a vast surface area producing strong absorbability and retention of nutrient. Vermicompost contain nutrients that can be readily taken up by the plants as nutrient, exchangeable phosphorus and soluble K, Ca and Mg (Garg and Gupta, 2006). FYM contains 0.5% N, 0.2% P2O5 and 0.5% K2O. It supplies all major nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S) necessary for plant growth, as well as micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn). Vermicompost and FYM application leads to a better environment for root development also improves soil water holding capacity, the fact that the use of organic fertilizers improves soil structure, nutrient exchange and maintains soil health has raised interests in INM or organic farming. On the other hand, continuous application of organic fertilizer alone on rice field resulting low yield and low N and K content at the mid-tillering stage of rice plant (Javier et al., 2004). This implies that the need of integrated nutrient management for rice production. Therefore the combined use of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers help in maintaining yield stability through correction of marginal deficiencies of secondary and micronutrients, enhancing efficiency of applied nutrients and providing favourable soil physical conditions (Gill and Walia, 2014). Integrating nutrient management aims for efficient and judicious use of all the major sources of plant nutrients in an integrated manner (Farouque and Takeya, 2007). Nitrogen has the quickest and most pronounced effect on cereal production. It increased size and number of grains per panicle and protein percentage. It also improves the utilization of phosphorus and potassium to an Page | 21

appreciable extent (Brady, 1999). Inadequate nutrition, especially limitation of nitrogen, is one of the major bottlenecks of rice production in the world where about one third of the total N applied to crop is used for rice (Raun and Johnson, 1991).Rice is very responsive to N fertilization and high yield potential of modern varieties cannot be realized without N supply to the plant during the entire growing season. In association with this most of the scientist concluded that 50% organic sources and 50% from inorganic sources and 50% from inorganic sources is the best combination in rice based cropping system to improve soil physicochemical properties, yield and nutrient uptake capacity of rice (Wolie and Admassu, 2016 and Sharma, 2013). Integrated use of organic and inorganic sources of nitrogen in SRI system not only improves the soil fertility, yield and quality of rice, but also improves the soil health for sustainable production. The necessity of increasing food production to meet the demand of the ever increasing population in India hardly requires any over emphasis. Estimates suggest that at the current level of production (263 million tones, mt.) additional 5 mt. food grain has to be added each year to the national food basket for the next decade or so to feed the increasing population. The total area under cultivation remained more or less constant (at 140- 142 mha) over the past several decades, and these indicate that the agricultural lands are gradually being diverted to accommodate increased urbanization and industrialization. It is unlikely that sizable additional area will be brought in cultivation in the near future. Therefore, there is no other viable option than increasing crop productivity per unit area, to meet the future production goals. The idea is to capitalize on the biological resources and organic matter in the compost and to maintain optimum biological activity of the soil. This organic fertilization is thought to improve the soil structure and the continual release of nutrients. One of the major factors contributing to high yield of rice is mineral nutrition. Since organic manures are difficult to procure integrated nutrient management (INM), using both inorganic and organic manures, is currently recommended. Evaluating alternative combinations of organic and inorganic fertilization can thus help determine whether some optimization is possible. Such a study should not be done as a single factor assessment because there can be strong interaction effects among practices, as seen for water management alternatives and plant spacing. Optimum plant density per unit area is an important factor needed for realizing higher yields. Under SRI technique, transplanting in wider spacing in square geometry has generally Page | 22

been recommended; therefore, the optimum planting geometry under varied fertility regimes needs to be worked out to exploit the genetic potential of a genotype. Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management treatments Nutrient is the fundamental basis of life. Growth of plant is controlled by rates of cell division, their enlargement and by the supply of organic and inorganic compounds required for the synthesis of new protoplasm and cell wall. Cell enlargement is particularly dependent on least minimum degree of cell turgor. Stem and leaf elongation is quickly checked by nutrient. Thus decreasing nutrient content is accompanied by loss of turgor and wilting, cessation of cell enlargement, closure of stomata, reduction in photosynthesis and interference with many basic metabolic processes. Integrated Nutrient Management did not change initial plant population significantly because there was uniform nutrient at the time of planting which lead proper standing of crop. This was mainly due to the effect of initial plant population was counted as 5 days of transplanting and nutrient treatments were applied up to this period. This might be due to no application of differential irrigation up to this stage (Rath et al., 2010) and (Shekara et al., 2011). Different integrated nutrient management showed significant effect on growth characters viz., plant height and number of shoots m-2 as well as leaf area index at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest stage. The plant height showed variation significantly due to different nutrient management at growth stage (30 DAT) because variable nutrient was received at this stage under different integrated nutrient management, the maximum plant height was recorded with the application of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost which, was significantly superior to the control, RDF (120:60:60), 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM and 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest. It was statistically at par with treatment 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. However, the minimum plant height was observed in control at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest. Significant reduction in plant height due to decrease in nutrient availability was also reported by Das et al., (2002), Dutt & Chauhan (2010), Gautam et al., (2012) and Kumar et al.,(2012). The maximum effect of nutrients level on number of shoots was recorded with the application of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost which, was significantly higher than control, RDF (120:60:60), 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM and 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost. It was statistically at par with treatment 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. However, the minimum number of shoots was observed in control at 30, 60, Page | 23

90 DAT and at harvest. Similar result was also reported by Rathe and Narine (1990), Das et al. (2002), Mirza et al. (2005), Dutt & Chauhan (2010) and Kumar et al. (2012). In general number of shoots was lowest for initial crop growth period which increased with the increasing crop age. The number of shoots was maximum, during 60-90 DAT and more after it decline gradually (Dutt and Chauhan, 2010). The dry matter accumulation recorded maximum with the application of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost which, was significantly higher dry matter accumulation than rest of other INM treatments except treatment 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM). It was statistically at par with treatment 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. However, the minimum dry matter accumulation was observed in control at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest, respectively Vanaja and Raju (2002), Shekhara et al., 2011. The leaf area index was increased very slowly over a fairly long period (60 DAS) and ushered in a period of rapid expansion possibly because of increased light absorption and high photosynthetic activities. As leaf area increases, light absorption and rate of dry matter production increased till the foliage became sufficiently dense to cause mutual shading resulting in reduced photosynthetic activity of lower leaves. Leaf area index was also significantly influenced by nutrient management at30, 60 and 90 DAT. Significantly higher leaf area index was observed with the application of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost which was significantly higher than control. It was statistically at par with RDF (120:60:60), 75 % RDF + 25 % N- through Vermicompost, 50% RDF+50 % N- through FY Mand 75% RDF+25 % N- through FYM. Increase in leaf area index with increasing nutrient availability might be due to the fact that nutrient supply contributed towards to more number of green leaves, which attributed to high leaf area and leaf area index. The lowest leaf area index was recorded under in control. The results were in proximity to those of Sharma and Mitra (1992) and (Shankar and Laware, 2011). Days taken to 50% heading and maturity were influenced significantly by different nutrient management. More days to 50% heading and maturity were recorded under the application of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost which was significantly higher than rest of other INM treatments except treatment 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. It was statistically at par with 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. The increase in days taken to 50% heading and maturity with increase in nutrient availability might be due to excess Page | 24

nutrient, which increased vegetative growth reported by (Vananja and Raju 2002) and (Kumar et al., 2012). Yield attributes which determine yield, is the resultant of the vegetative development of the plant. All the attributes of yield viz., effective shoots (m2 ), number of fertile spikeletspanicle-1, length of panicle (cm), number of grains panicle-1, and 1000-grain weight (g) were influenced significantly due to different nutrient management. Number of effective shoots, number of fertile spikelets, length of panicle (cm), number of grains panicle-1 and 1000grain weight (g) were recorded maximum under 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost followed by 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. Owing to favorable vegetative growth and development because it received adequate nutrient during entire period of growth. Under adequate nutrient, the plant height, leaf area index were highest which contributed to highest yield attributes thereby increasing photosynthetic activity of leaves. Besides increased translocation of photo synthates from source to sink under wettest condition through higher uptake of potassium led more yield attributes. Minimum yield attributes were recorded with control, because plant were unable to extract more nutrients under control condition which resulted in poor growth and yield attributes during 2015,2016. This result is close proximity to those obtained by Singh and Azad and Laharia (2001) and Hassan Uzzaman et al. (2010). Yield is the result of coordinated inter play of growth characters and yield attributes. Grain and straw yield were significantly influenced by the different nutrient management. Highest grain yield was recorded with INM treatment of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost followed by 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. The maximum improvement of yield 25.53% with the application of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost followed by 19.41 % with the application of 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM,13.29 with the application 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost and 8.35% with the application of 75% RDF+25 % N- through FYM over RDF-120:60:60 in pooled analysis. This might be due to adequate nutrient availability, which contributed to better growth parameters and yield attributes. Productivity of crop collectively determined by vigor of the vegetative growth and yield attributes. Better vegetative growth coupled with higher yield attributes resulted in higher grain and straw yields. Lowest grain yield was recorded under control due to poor nutrient supply during the period of growth. Poor nutrient supply during the critical stages reduced the yield attributes and resulted in poor grain and straw yields during 2015 and 2016. The similar results were reported by Gupta & Singh (1992), Das et al., (2002), Raju and Page | 25

Devi (2005), Zaidi et al. (2006) and Sujata et al. (2014). Harvest index is a function of grain and straw yield. Highest harvest index was noted fewer than50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost followed by 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM. But harvest index was not significantly influenced by different nutrient levels during 2015 and 2016. This might be due to the fact that adequate nutrient under the higher nutrient availability increased the grain yield than that of biological yield obtained by Bhat et al (2005). The uptake of nutrient N by rice crop was significantly influenced by integrated nutrient management. The translocation of nutrient from soil to the plant was recorded more at the sufficient nutrient content. Uptake of nutrients was recorded more under 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost followed by 50 % RDF + 50 % N through FYM due to favourable growth and development at vegetative stage while minimum uptake of N was recorded under control 2015and 2016years. Similarly the protein content in rice grain was recorded maximum under 50% RDF + 50% N through vermincompost and lowest with control INM. The similar results were reported by Naser et al. (2000) and Singh and Singh (2013). Effect of Variety Plant growth and yield are governed by the combined effects of inherited genetic potential and environment in which plants are grown. There is vital role of selection of cultivar in paddy crop because of the fact that variation in the duration, photo-sensitiveness, thermo-sensitiveness and vegetative lag period of the variety. A variety of short duration completes their life cycle with in short period with less effect of photoperiod and low temperature. Longer duration varieties and photo and thermo sensitive varieties may perform better under favorable conditions. The significant difference was not found in the initial plant population among the varieties. While significant differences in plant height, number of shoot m-2, LAI and dry matter accumulation were recorded with variety NDR359 at all the growth stage of crops. Similarly another growth characteristics and yield attributing characters showed the significant differences among the varieties. The variation in growth development and yield of varieties might be due to their genetic characteristics. Similar finding in respect to varieties were also reported by (Dey et al., 2006), Islam et.al.(2008), Limochi (2012) and Tyeb et.al. (2013). Harvest index is the function of grain and straw yield which was significantly equal in both the varieties. Page | 26

Among the cultivars of wheat included in experiment, NDR-359 has been found more promising in comparison to Sarju-52 to provide higher values of nutrient uptake as well as quality (protein content) during both of years. The plant height recorded at all the stages of observations of crop was significantly higher in rice cultivar NDR-359 than the Sarju-52 cultivars. The taller plant in cultivar NDR-359 might be due to better utilization of available growth resources like light and temperature which may result in more nitrogen absorption for the synthesis of protoplasm responsible for rapid cell division consequently increasing the plant in shape and size or may be due to vigour of the cultivar (Dass and Chandra (2012). Similar findings have also beenr eported by Dey et al., (2006) Singh and Singh (2008) and Awasthe et al., (2011). The higher number of total tillers m-2were recorded in cultivar NDR359which might be due to ability of effective utilization of plant growth resources viz. photoperiod, dry matter production and increase in tillers with advancement of life cycle. The findings have also been supported by Singh and Singh (2008) and Dey et al., (2006) The dry matter accumulation m-1 running row recorded at all the stages of observations of crop was significantly higher in cultivar NDR-359 than sarju52. The higher dry matter accumulation m-1 running row in cultivar NDR-359 might be due significantly higher dry matter production m-1 running row at all the stages of observations. The rice cultivar NDR-359 recorded significantly higher LAI at all the stages of observations than the rest of the Sarju-52 cultivar. The higher LAI recorded in cultivar NDR-359 might be due to more number of leaves m-2. The findings have also been supported by Singh and Singh (2008). At 90 DAT leaf area index of NDR-359 was not increased as high as Sarju-52 because it was a short duration crop and number of leaves m-2 were decreased at 90 DAS but leaf size increased. Thus leaf area index slightly increased reported by Dey et al. (2006). Cultivar NDR-359 took significantly higher days to maturity as compared to Sarju-52. All these observations were due to the fact that number of days taken by cultivars for various phenological stages is a genetic characteristic of genotypes. The higher number of effective shoots m-2was recorded in cultivar NDR359 might be due to better development of early initiation of tillers before start of reproductive growth. Number of filled spikelets per panicle and panicle length higher in cultivar NDR-359than the Sarju-52 cultivars but 1000-grain Page | 27

weight were significantly higher the in Sarju-52 cultivars which might be due to ability of rice cultivar of better growth which may result in the better development of yield attributing characters. The higher values of growth and yield attributes recorded by NDR-359 over Sarju-52 variety might be due to higher plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, total tillers. Also Significantly higher grain and straw yield was recorded in NDR-359 rice cultivar which might be due to synchronization of tillers that help in early emergence of productive panicles and panicle weight possibly due to better utilization capacity of available nutrients which helped in determining the relatively more yield. Similar results have also been reported by Singh and Singh (2008); Dey et al. (2006) and Rajesh and Thanunathan, (2003). The grain yield was significantly higher in cultivar NDR-359 which was statistically comparable with cultivar Sarju-52. In comparison to NDR-359, sarju-52 which might have increased in panicle bearing shoots m-2 as well as number of grains per panicle and 1000-grain weight. The statistically comparable grain yield in NDR-359 and Sarju-52 was due to higher number of effective tillers m-2 in cultivar NDR-359 and higher values of yield attributing characters in cultivar NDR-359. Variations in straw yield due to cultivars were in decreasing order. Cultivar sarju-52 recorded significantly low straw yield as compared to NDR359 cultivar. The significantly less straw yield in cultivar Sarju-52 might be due to lesser dry matter accumulation the present findings are inconformity of Dey et al. (2006). The harvest index was significantly higher in cultivar NDR-359 than the rest of the tested cultivars which might be due to less straw yield obtained and higher grain yield demonstrating better dry matter. But in case of NDR-359 as a medium duration crop (142.22 days) its straw yield was more, thus harvest index of Sarju-52 is significantly lower than the NDR-359. Effect of Crop Geometry Crop geometry is one of the important factors to obtain higher grain yield in rice cultivars under SRI technique. Optimum plant spacing depends on several factors such as the plant type, season, fertility level and date of seeding. The crop geometry ought to be wider in wet seasonthan in dry season, wider in high fertility level than poor fertility conditions, wider spacing and high tillering cultivars than low tillering varieties and wider spacing for lodging susceptible cultivars than lodging tolerant cultivars. In case of rice cultivar, the growth habits of cultivar are distinct from those of inbred varieties particularly during early growth stage owing to hybrid vigour (Siddiq, 1993). Page | 28

So there are chances that the available information on appropriate plant spacingfor inbred cultivars may or may not be suitable for hybrids. Plant density required for maximum grain yield need to be optimized, as the seed of inbred rice is very costly. A planting density that can bring down the seed requirement without sacrificing productivity would go a long way in popularizing the rice cultivation. Abundant tillering of the rice may reimburse the yield due to reduction in plant population as compared to varieties (Rath,2010).Plant height at all the stages of observations was not influenced significantly due to different plant spacing but closer plant spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm recorded higher plant height than wider spacing of 30 cm × 30cm. It might be due to stiff competition for space, sunlight and other inputs as compared to wider spacing. Reddy et al., (2002) reported that higher plant densities tended to produce taller plants than lower plant densities. The results are in agreement with those of Bonkelar et al., (2001), Rath (2010) and Anchal et al. (2012). At 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest, the total shoots m-2 was significantly higher in closer plant spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm than 30 cm x 30 cm, respectively. The result was in accordance of Rath et al., (2010). At 90 DAT, number of tillers m-2 increased in spacing of 20 cm × 20 cma very little drop was observed due to the fact of less inters and intra plant competition associated with higher plant density. At 90 DAT, plant spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm had significantly higher number of tillers m-2 as compared to 30 cm × 30 cm. The drop of increment of total tillers m-2 after 60 DAT in closer spacing might be due to the higher mortality of shoots m-2. The mortality of tillers at higher plant population might be due to more below and above ground competition for space, nutrient, water, air and light for performing normal physiological activities of the plant. At all the stages of observations, leaf area index were significantly higher in closer plant spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm than the wider plant spacing of 30 cm × 30 cm. The higher leaf area index in closer planting geometry might be due to more number of leaves produced per unit area. The results are in agreement with those of Shrirame et al. (2000). The dry matter accumulation m-1 running row recorded at all the stages of observations of the crop was significantly higher in closer plant spacing of 20cm × 20 cm as compared to wider spacing of 30cm × 30cm, this might be due to the fact of higher initial plant population in closer plant spacing. The results are in agreement with those of Rath et al., (2010) and Limochi (2012). The panicle bearing tillers m-2 were significantly higher at plant spacing of 20 cm × 20cm than plant spacing of 30 cm × 30 cm due to reduction in initial plant population. Thus, the closer spacing of 20 cm × 20cm proved to Page | 29

be significantly superior in production of effective tillers m-2. The same results had also been reported by Rath et al., (2010). The productive tillers were higher in closer spacing due to the fact that better development of early tillers up to reproductive phase of the crop while in case of wider spacing the production of tillers may take place but due to unavailability of sufficient amount of photo synthates due to higher plant density might have resulted lesser number of productive shoots. The same results had also been reported by Bommayasamy et al., (2009). The results also revealed that the yield attributes varied significantly due to planting geometry. Number of effective shoots m-2 and number of filled grains panicle-1 were significantly higher in optimum spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm than the wider spacing of 30 cm× 30 cm but except in panicle length and test weight was found in wider spacing of 30 cm × 30 cm. Similar results have also been reported by Rath et al., (2010). The higher yield attributes in closer spacing of 20 cm × 20cm might be due to fact that optimum spacing recorded higher tillers m-2 as result of better utilization of available growth resources in better development of yield attributes. The grain yield was higher at spacing of 20cm × 20cmthan the spacing of 30 cm × 30 cm. The higher yield in plant spacing (20 cm x20 m) might be due to higher number of effective tillers m-2 and number of filled grains panicle-1. The result was in accordance of Rajeshwar et al., (2008) and Rath et al., (2010). The higher yield in plant spacing (20 cm x20 cm) might be due to higher growth in case of plant height, number of shoot that increases the biological production. Variations in harvest index due to plant spacing were nonsignificant. Interaction Effects The interaction effects of nitrogen nutrient levels, and plant spacing was found to be significant in respect to all the characters except initial plant population, plant height, number of filled grains panicle-1, and panicle length and test weight during both the years of study. In SRI technique, the interaction effects due to INM treatments and crop geometry were found significant in rice grain yield might due to that interaction found for number of shoots and dry matter recorded with the application of nutrient management in combination with crop geometry at 90 DAT and at harvest and also in effective tiller m-2during 2015 and 2016 and pooled analysis. Page | 30

Chemical Properties of Soil Soil pH Results revealed that continuous application of various organic manures (FYM, vermicompost), and inorganic fertilizers resulted in decline of soil pH. The decline was more in organic manures plots over inorganic fertilizers alone in a span of 2 years. The integrated use of FYM along with fertilizers (50:50) in rice crop over 2 years also reduced the soil pH faster as compared to inorganic fertilizers alone. The decline in pH might be ascribed to the acidic nature of inorganic fertilizers and decomposition of organic manures (Sharma et al., 2000). Mehdi et al. (2011) also reported that the long-term application of organic manures reduced the soil pH rapidly as various acid and acid forming compounds were released during decomposition of organic materials. Electrical Conductivity The regular incorporation of organic materials (FYM, VC) over 2 years showed appreciable reduction (0.02-0.06 dSm-1) in electrical conductivity. While the application of chemical fertilizers alone increased electrical conductivity by 0.03 dSm-1. The results are in conformity with findings of Kumar et al., (1995). Bellakki et al., (1998) also reported that use of organic materials lowered the electrical conductivity of vertisol over chemical fertilizers separately in rice-rice cropping system. The reduction in EC during cultivation of rice under puddled (saturated) condition was due to more leaching of soluble salts (Swarup and Singh, 1989). Organic Carbon The role of organic carbon content of soil in improving soil fertility and productivity has been well recognized from time immemorial and its maintenance in the soil is of almost concern under modern intensive farming. The regular incorporation of organic manures (FYM, vermicompost) over two years increased organic carbon content by 0.10-0.15 per cent. The integrated application of FYM and fertilizers (50:50) also showed an increase of 20.58 per cent in two years over control, while the 100% fertilizer treatment showed minimum increase of 8.83% only in organic carbon during same period. This could be attributed to direct addition of organic substances in soil and due to better root growth, more plant residues after crop harvest and their indirect influence on physico-chemical characteristics of the soil (Kaushik et al., 1984, Bellakki et al., 1998, Sharma et al., 2000 and Khursheed et al., 2013). Results revealed that in general the organic carbon content increased Page | 31

during rice cultivation. This may be ascribed to the alternate anaerobic and aerobic conditions during rice growth probably enhanced the organic carbon mineralization in soil (Boparai et al., 1992). Availability of Nutrient in Soil It is clearly indicates that the maximum available nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium obtained with the application of treatment 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost which was significantly superior over the treatments control and RDF (120:60:60). While it was statistically at par with treatments 75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost, 50% RDF + 50% N through FYM and 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM. Considerable improvement in available nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium content of soil was observed under the treatment supplied with organics over application of inorganic. Available Nitrogen The regular application of 100% recommended doses of nitrogen either through various organic sources (FYM, VC) or chemical fertilizers alone or in combination of both (FYM + fertilizer) enhanced available nitrogen content in soil by 15.25% in a span of two years. The increase in soil nitrogen might be due to direct addition of N through fertilizer and organic materials and greater multiplication of soil microbes, which converts organically bound nitrogen to inorganic form (Bellakki and Badanur, 1997). Manjappa (1999) also founded that inclusion of organic manures such as FYM, vermicompost cotton and safflower stalk enhanced the soil available nitrogen more as compared to recommended dose of fertilizers alone. The application of organic manures could reduce N losses and conserve soil N by mineralization, thus maintaining a continuous availability of N in entire life cycle of rice plant (Pandey, 2001). Available Phosphorus The continuous application of 100% nutrients either through various organic manures (FYM, VC) or chemical fertilizers alone or integration of both (FYM + fertilizers) increased the available phosphorus in soil by 2.16 kg P ha-1 in a span of two years, while the application of 50% FYM. This may be ascribed to greater mobilization of native soil P by reducing the P fixation capacity of soil minerals due to release of organic acids during decomposition process which ultimately increased the availability of phosphorus. Selvamani et al. (2011) reported that phosphorus content in soil increased the significantly by application of organics and bio-inoculants in rice. Organic acids released during decomposition of organic manures increased availability Page | 32

of phosphorus (Mehdi et al. 2011). The organic materials form a protective cover on sesquoxide and thus also reduce the phosphate fixing capacity of soil and hence, increase available P status of soil (Singh et al., 2006). A general increase in soil available P (2.16 kg ha-1) during rice cultivation was because the availability of phosphorus increased under submerged conditions needed for rice farming. Available Potassium The continuous application of 100% nutrients through organic manures (FYM, VC) and chemical fertilizers alone or in combination of FYM and fertilizers increased available potassium is soil by 8.78-11.17 kg K ha-1 in a span of two years, while the application of only 100% N through chemical showed a decline of 9.47-11.66 kg K ha-1 from its initial level in two years. The increase in available potassium might be due to direct addition of K through organic manures and the solubilization of K from native source during the process of decomposition of organic sources (Naidu et al, 2009). The organic manures have greater capacity to hold K in available form and reduced K-fixation due to interaction of organic matter with clay (Mathur, 1997). Selvamani et al. (2011) reported maximum potassium content in soil with application of 50% RDF through inorganic fertilizers with FYM, vermicompost, neem cake and biofertilizers. A general increasing trend in availability of potassium (9.47-11.66 kg ha1 ) during rice cultivation was due to its submerged (reduced), conditions needed for rice farming. Quality Hulling (%) The hulling (%) was not influenced due to INM treatments, varieties and crop geometry. This results similarly found that Shubha et al.,2005. Protein content The protein content in grain was significantly influenced with application of various organic manures and fertilizers. The maximum protein content in grain was found with the application 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost which was significantly higher over the control, RDF (120:60:60),75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost and 75% RDF + 25% N through FYM. INM treatments but at par with the50% RDF + 50% N through FYMINM treatment The lowest protein content was recorded in the treatment received only control. This was due to high nitrogen content and uptake by grains receiving sufficient and balanced nutrition. This might be Page | 33

attributed to better root development and higher nitrogen utilization by crop under adequate supply of N, P, K which enhanced the protein synthesis and ultimately increased protein content in grains. Dixit and Gupta (2000) reported that application of FYM @ 10 t ha-1 combined with BGA inoculation increased the protein and amylase content in rice. Singh et al. (2007) also observed significant improvement in nutritional quality with combined application of two or more organic sources in rice cultivar Pusa Basmati-1. Varieties did not have significant effect on protein content and the crop geometry also S1 (20 cm × 20 cm) and S2 (30cm×30cm) did not have significant effect on protein content Singh and Verma 2006; Dewedi et al., 2006. Total Nitrogen uptake by crop Total N uptake by crop significantly varied due to different INM treatment and highest N uptake 93.53 and 99.05 kgha-1 was recorded in 50% RDF + 50% N-Vermicompost, which was significantly superior over the RDF (120:60:60), 75% RDF + 25% N-Vermicompostand 50% RDF + 50% N-FYM but at par with 50% RDF + 50% N through FYM. Among the varieties, maximum uptake of N by the crop was recorded with variety NDR-359.The uptake of N by rice was also significantly affected by the different Crop geometry 20 cm × 20 cm recorded the highest uptake of N by the plants which was significantly superior over the 30cm×30cm. This might be due to proper establishment of roots higher absorption of mineral nutrients from the soil, transport of more nutrients to seed, vigrous plant growth and higher seed and straw yields under proper availability of nitrogen. The overall increase in uptake of nitrogen was the cumulative effect of rise in their concentration in plant tissues and in yield levels. Rabeya Khanam et al. (1997) reported that the application of organic manures and biofertilizers in addition to the recommended dose of fertilizers significantly increased uptake of N, P, Ca and S by paddy crop. Prakash et al. (2002) also observed that total N, P and K uptake was higher in rice cultivar Pusa Basmati1 treated with organic fertilizer in combination with chemical fertilizers as compared to those treated with chemical fertilizers alone. Beneficial effect of organic materials on nutrient uptake was also reported by Singh et al. (2002), Bhat et al. (2005), Das & Ram (2006) and Sowmya et al.,(2011). Economics The variations in cost of cultivation were recorded due to differences in nutrient levels, varieties and plant spacing which were increased with the increasing level of nutrient. Fertilizers cost and seed cost are the major Page | 34

monitory inputs as well as grain yield was major factor, which caused differences in gross income and net return per rupee invested. The cost of cultivation was highest under the treatment combination of (50% RDF + 50% N through FYM) with NDR- 359 under crop geometry (20 cm x20 cm) respectively,. It was very low in treatment combination of lowest fertilizer level. The least cost of cultivation was recorded in control treatment with Sarju-52 under crop geometry (30 cm x30 cm). The cost of cultivation was higher due to higher cost of vermicompost and difference in cost of variety. Maximum gross return was recorded with rice variety NDR-359 and (50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost)under crop geometry (20 cm x20 cm) against minimum return of was recorded Sarju-52 and crop geometry (30cm x30 cm) in control treatment. Gross return was more due to higher production of grain yield and straw (Singh and Singh, 1997). Highest net return obtained wereRs.63,212.72 and Rs.64,278.72 with NDR-359 and 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost under crop geometry (20 cm x20 cm) respectively, during 2015-2016 followed by with NDR-359 and (50% RDF + 50% N through FYM) under crop geometry (20 cm x20 cm) in 2015 however, in 2016 with Sarju-53 and 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost under crop geometry (20x20 cm2) while, the minimum net return of Rs.14,319.52 ha-1was recorded Sarju-52 and (30 cm x30 cm) in control treatment. This was due to low cost of fertilizer application in respect of higher yield. Singh et al.,(2008), Dahiphale and Khan Dagale (2007). The maximum benefit cost ratio (2.20 and 2.24) was recorded in NDR359 and 50 % RDF + 50 % N through vermicompost under crop geometry (20 cm x20 cm) followed by 2.19 and 2.20 with NDR-359 and (75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost) under crop geometry (20 cm x20 cm) respectively during 2015-2016. The minimum benefit cost ratio of 0.62 and 0.65 recorded Sarju-52 and crop geometry (30 cm x30 cm) in control treatment similarly found that Singh and Singh (2007), Singh et al., (2008), Shekharet al.,(2009); Dey et al., (2010) and Singh et al.,(2013). The ever increasing population of the country is forcing the planners to produce more and more with ever shrinking natural resources. Continuous use of high analysis fertilisers accelerated the mining of secondary nutrients which brought down the productivity. Enhancing the productivity and soil fertility to feed the ever growing population from shrinking natural resources. It is impossible to attain the potential yields of crops without external supply of the nutrients through combination of inorganic and organics. The combined use of fertilizer, vermicompost and FYM increase the productivity of crops with Page | 35

significant residual effect in soil. In addition to saving of available nutrients, integrated nutrient management also improved the soil organic carbon and nutrient status of the soil. FYM andvermi-compost were applied as per treatment. These were taken as organic sources of nutrient. FYMandvermicompost were incorporated before transplanting of rice seedling. Whereas, half dose of nitrogen (Urea), full dose of phosphorus and potash were given as basal application, remaining half dose of nitrogen was applied in two equal splits at tillering and flowering stage. The observations were recorded on growth and yield attributing parameters. Plant samples from each plot were taken after harvesting of rice crop. Sample collected at harvesting were separated in grain and straw and analyzed separately for N, P and K using standard methods. Soil samples at initial collected before transplanting of rice. Finally, soil samples were collected from each of the plots after harvesting of rice crop during both the year of experimentation. Chemical and biological properties of each experimental soil were analyzed using standard procedures. Data obtained from all observations were analyzed statistically using standard procedure to work out the significance of the treatments and too arrived at valid conclusions. The growth attributes were significantly influenced due to different combination of organic and inorganic nutrients, varieties and crop geometry. The growth attributes viz., plant height (cm), number of shoots (m-2), dry matter accumulation (g m-2) at 30, 60, 90 DAT and at harvest and leaf area index at 30, 60 and 90 DAT were recorded significantly higher valued with the application of integrated nutrient management treatment (50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost). The variety (NDR-359) and crop geometry (20 cm × 20 cm) recorded significantly higher growth attributes viz., plant height (cm), number of shoots (m-2), dry matter accumulation and leaf area index under SRI technique during 2015 and 2016and in pooled analysis. Maximum days taken to 50% heading and maturity was recorded with the application of (50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost). It was at par with (50% RDF + 50% N through FYM). The yield parameters viz., effective shoots (m-2), number of fertile spikelets panicle-1, length of panicle (cm), number of grains panicle-1 and test weight(g) (1000-grain weight) recorded significantly higher with the application of INM treatment (50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost) followed by (50% RDF + 50% N through FYM), (75% RDF + 25% N through vermicompost),75% RDF + 25% N through FYM and control. In SRI technique the yield (grain and straw) were influenced significantly due to various INM treatments, varieties and crop geometry. The Page | 36

maximum grain yield and straw yield qha-1 was recorded in treatment (50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost). The variety (NDR-359) and crop geometry (20 cm × 20 cm) recorded significantly attributes viz., effective shoots (m-2) and number of fertile spikelets panicle-1 under SRI technique. Whereas, maximum length of panicle and number of grains panicle-1 was found in variety NDR-359and in crop geometry (30 cm × 30 cm) followed by Sarju 52, NDR-359, respectively. However, the variety Sarju-52 recorded maximum test weight during both the 2015 and 2016 and in pooled analysis. Harvest index (%) was not influenced significantly due to organic and inorganic fertilizer combination in varieties in crop geometry. The buildup of neutral soil pH, reduction in EC and increasing OC were found in INM treatments in varieties and crop geometry as compared to sole inorganic fertilizer treatment RDF (120:60:60)and maximum reduction in pH was observed with the application of(50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost). Whereas, the maximum increase of organic carbon also recorded with the application of the treatment 50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost. Varieties and crop geometry did not buildup of pH, EC and organic carbon. The higher availability of nutrients N, P and K in soil after harvest was recorded in all the INM treatments as compared to inorganic fertiliser application treatments and control. Whereas the maximum availability of N, P and K were estimated under the treatment having (50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost), which was closely followed by (50% RDF + 50% N through FYM) and(75% RDF + 25% N vermicompost).Therefore, the maximum availability N, P and K were found in variety NDR-359under crop geometry (30 cm × 30 cm) followed by Sarju-52and(20 cm × 20 cm).In SRI technique the interaction effects of INM treatment (50% RDF + 50% NVermicompost) and crop geometry (20 cm × 20 cm) were found significant for number of shoots and dry matter accumulation at 90 DAT and at harvest, effective shoots(m-2), grain yield (q ha-1). The quality attributes viz., hulling % and protein content in grain % were recorded maximum with the application of 50% RDF + 50% N-Vermicompost. However, the maximum hulling % and protein content were noted in variety NDR-359under crop geometry (30 cm × 30 cm) followed by Sarju-52and(20 cm × 20 cm).The cost of cultivation was highest under the treatment combination of (50% RDF + 50% N through FYM) with NDR- 359 under crop geometry (20x20 cm). And maximum gross return (Rs. 91948.90 ha-1, 92935.14 ha-1) during I and II year, respectively and B:C ratio was noticed with rice variety NDR-359 and (50% RDF + 50% N through vermicompost) under crop geometry (20 cm x 20 cm) against minimum gross return of Rs. 37404.00 ha-1, 37873.13 ha-1 during I and II years, respectively was recorded with Sarju-52 and crop geometry (30 cm x 30 cm) Page | 37

in control integrated nutrient management treatment during both the years under SRI technique. Conclusion Finally it may be concluded that the INM treatment (50% RDF + 50% N through Vermicompost) was found suitable for maximum production and productivity of rice variety NDR-359. Crop geometry (20 cm × 20 cm) was found suitable for obtaining maximum growth and yield of rice. The application of 50% RDF + 50% N through Vermicomposting showed maximum organic carbon (%) and available nutrients, which improved the soil fertility. Application of (50% RDF + 50% N through Vermicompost) in combination with crop geometry (20 cm × 20 cm) produced maximum grain and straw yield. It may be recommended that INM treatment (50% RDF + 50% N-through Vermicompost), spacing (20 cm × 20 cm) and variety NDR359 would be most appropriate for obtaining maximum yield and productivity of rice. References 1.

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10. Das DK, Ram N. The nature of humid substances under long-term manuring and fertilization in a rice wheat system. International Rice Research Notes. 2006; 31(1):29-31. 11. Das PK, Jena MK, Sahoo KC. Effect of integrated application of vermicompost and chemical fertilizer on growth and yield of paddy in red soil of South Eastern Ghat Zone of Orrisa. Environment and Ecology. 2002; 20(1):13-15. 12. Dahiphale RV, Khandagale GP. Effect of different organic nutrient sources on productivity and profitability of scented rice under upland ecosystem. Annals of Plant Physiology. 2007; 21(2):201-203. 13. Das DK, Ram N. The nature of humid substances under long-term manuring and fertilization in a rice wheat system. International Rice Research Notes. 2006; 31(1):29-31. 14. Dwivedi AP, Dixit RS, Singh GR. Effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels on growth, yield and quality of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.). Oryza. 2006; 43(1):64-66. 15. Forouque MG, Takeya H. Farmers perception of integrated soil fertility and nutrient management for sustainable crops production: A study of rural area in Bangladesh. J Agric. Educ. 2007; 48:111-122. 16. Fr. Henri de Laulamie. Developing the rice cultivation method SRI in Mada gascar: A developing Dialogue with farmers. Karthala 2003 pp 284. Retrieved 25 September 2016 pp.66. The fret documents Title L analysis de I elaboration du rendement duriz and was edited in January 1987 by a young French Agronomist, himself from the same institution as de Laulanie, promotion, 1983-1993. 17. Garge F, Gupta A, Satya S. Vermicomposting of different type of waste using eisenia foetida: A comparative study Bio resource technology. 2006 97:391-395. 18. Gautam O, Sharma GD, Rana R, Lal B. Performance of hybrid rice INM Page | 39

in SRI under mid-hill condition of HP. Journal. Agriculture Sci. Carnbridg. 2012; 32(2):52-53. 19. Gill JS, Walia SS. Influence of FYM, brown manuring and N levels of Direct seeded and transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.) A review. Research J Agric. Environ. Management. 2014; 3(9):417-426. 20. Hasanuzzaman M, Ahmed KU, Rahmatullah NM, Akhter N, Nahar K, Rahman ML. Plant growth characters and productivity of wet land rice (Oryza sativa L.) as affected by application of different manures. Emir. J Food Agric. 2010; 22(1):46-48. 21. Javier EF, Marquez JM, Grospe FS, Mamucod HF, Tabien RE. Three years effect of organic fertilizer use on paddy rice. Philippines J Crop Sci. 2004; 27(2):11-15. 22. Kale RD, Mollesh BC, Bano K, Bagyaraj DJ. Influence of vermicompost application available micronutrient and selected microbial population in a paddy field, soil biology and biochemistry. 1992; 24:1317-1320. 23. Kaushik RD, Verma KS, Dang YP, Sharma AP, Verma SI, Pannu BS. Effect of nitrogen and farm yard manure on yield of crops, nutrients uptake and soil fertility in paddy-wheat rotation. Indian J Agril. Res. 1984; 18:73-78. 24. Kumar M, Yaduvanshi NPS, Singh YV. Effect of integrated nutrient management on rice yield, nutrient uptake and soil fertility status in reclaimed sodic soil. J Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 2012; 60(2):132-137. 25. Mehdi SM, Sardar M, Abbas ST, Shabbir G, Akhter J. Integrated nutrient management for rice-wheat cropping system in recently reclaimed soil, 2011. 26. Mirza BB, Zia MS, Szombathova N, Zaujec A. Rehabilitation of soils through environmental friendly technologies: role of sesbania and farm yard manure, Agriculture tropical and subtropical. 2005; 38(1):120-127. 27. Pandey PC, Kumar V, Rathi AS. Effect of inorganic fertilizers and FYM on productivity of rice and soil fertility in long term rice-wheat cropping system. Progressive Research. 2007; 3(1):76-78. 28. Rafaralahy S. An NGO perspective on SRI and its origin in madagascar. In assessment of the SRI proceedings of the international conference, Sanya, China. 2002; 12(1-4):17-22. 29. Rajesh V, Thanunathan K. Effect of seedling age, number and spacing on yield and nutrient uptake of traditional Kambanchamba rice. Mdaras Page | 40

Agrul J. 2003; 90(1-3):47-59. 30. Raju MS, Devi KBS. Performance of rice hybrid at different levels of nitrogen and phosphorus application. Oryza. 2005; 42(1):27-30. 31. Rabeya K, Sahu SK, Mitra GN. Yield maximization of rice through integrated nutrient management on aerie usrochrept. J Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 1997; 45(2):346-397. 32. Rath AK. Comparative performance of rice with System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and conventional management using different plant spacings. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. 2010; 196(2):146-159. 33. Raun WR, Jhonson GV. Improving nitrogen use efficiency fro cereal production. Agron. J. 1999; 91:357-363. 34. Selvamani P, Manivannam K, Mohan J. Impact of organic manures, inorganic fertilizers and biofertilizers on the nutrient concentration in soil at different growth stages of banana cv. Pooran Mysore. Plant Archives. 2011; 11:1165-1168. 35. Sharma AR, Mitra BN. Integrated nitrogen management in rice (Oryza sativa) wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system. Indian J Agril. Sci. 1992; 62(1):70-72. 36. Shekara BG, Shivakumara GB, Manjunath B, Malikarjuna N, Sudarashan GK, Ravikumar B. Effect of different level and time of nitrogen application on growth yield and nutrient uptake in aerobic rice (Oryza sativa L.). Environment and Ecology. 2011; 29(2A):892-895. 37. Singh AK, Amgain LP, Singh SS. Integrated nutrient management in ricewheat system under midland situation In Extended Summaries of 21st International Congress on Agronomy, held at New Delhi, during, 1998, 450-451. 38. Singh S, Singh RN, Prasad J, Kumar B. Effect of green manuring, FYM and biofertilizers in relation to fertilizer nitrogen on yield and major nutrient uptake by upland rice. J Indian Soc. Soil Soc. 2002; 50(3):313314. 39. Singh KK, Yadav SK, Tomer BS, Singh JN, Singh PK. Effect of seedlings age on seed yield, quality and yield attributies in rice cultivar Pusa Basmati. 2004; 1(32):5-8. 40. Singh, Braham, Singh RV. Comparative performance of rice hybrid sat different fertility levels under irrigated transplanted condition. International J Agril. Sci. 2008; 4(2):485-488. Page | 41

41. Singh SR, Verma LP. Effect of source and method of phosphorus application on growth and yield and protein content of transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Environ. And Ecology. 2006; 24(5):315-319. 42. Singh RP, Rai B. Effect of chemical fertilizers organic manures and soil amendments on production and economics of rice-wheat cropping system. Res. Crops. 2007; 80(3):530-532. 43. Sowmya C, Ramana MV, Kumar M. Effect of systems of rice cultivation and nutrient management options on yield, nutrient uptake and economics of rice. Crop Research (Hisar). 2011; 42(2):63-69. 44. Stoop WA, Kassam AH. The SRI controversy: A response. Field Crops Res. 2005; 91:357-360. 45. Sujatha K Mosha, Subbaiah G, Prasuna Rani P. Residual soil fertility and productivity of rice (Oryza sativa L.) As influenced by different organic sources of nitrogen. International journal of plant, animal and environmental sciences. 2014; 5(2):266-289. 46. Swarup A, Yaduvanshi NPS. Effects of integrated nutrient management on soil properties and yield of rice in alkali soils. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science. 2000; 48(2):279-282. 47. Uphoff N, Kassam A. A review of agricultural research issues raised by the system of rice intensification (SRI) from Madagascar: opportunities for improving farming systems for resource poor farmers. Agricultural System. 2002; 71:24. 48. Vanaja M, Raju AS. Integrated nutrient management-performance in rice crop. Annals of Agricultural Research. 2002; 23(1):51-56. 49. Wolie AW, Admassu MA. Effects of Integrated Nutrient Management on Rice (Oryza sativa L) Yield and Yield Attributes, Nutrient Uptake and Some Physico-Chemical Properties of Soil: A Review. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare. 2016; 6:20-26. 50. Zaidi SFA, Tripathi HP, Singh R, Singh B. Effect of long term Integrated nutrient management in rice-wheat cropping system. 2nd International Rice Congress New Delhi. 2006; 13(4):395-397.

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Chapter - 3 Direct Seeded Rice: Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a03

Authors Sanjay Kumar Department of Agronomy, NDUAT, Kumarganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India Harikesh Department of Agronomy, NDUAT, Kumarganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Chapter - 3 Direct Seeded Rice: Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices Sanjay Kumar and Harikesh DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a03

Introduction Rice (Oryza sativa L.) a member of Poaceae family is relished as staple food by majority (more than 60%) of world's population. Rice plays a pivotal role in Indian agriculture, as it is the principal food crop for more than 70 per cent of the world population. Among the cereal crops, it serves as the principal source of nourishment for over half of the global population (Davlaet al., 2013). Over 2 billion people in Asia alone derive 80% of their energy needs from rice which contains 80% carbohydrates, 7-8% protein, 3% fat and 3% fiber. Until recently, rice was considered only a starch food and a source of carbohydrates and some amount of protein. Rice protein through small in amount is of high nutritional value. In India, it is cultivated under different situations that is from below sea level in Kerala to about 2000m altitude in Himalayan region, from 80 N latitude in Kanyakumari to350N latitude in Kashmir, annual rainfall from 1250 cm (Assam) to 25cm (Rajasthan) from sandy loam soils to heavy black cotton soil and from normal to saline alkali soils. Globally, rice is cultivated on 154 million hectares with annual production of around 600 million tonnes and average productivity of 3.9 tonnes ha-1 (Subba Rao et al., 2010). India is the second largest producer of rice only after China. In India, the area under cultivation of rice is about 44.1 million hectares with the production of 105.3 million tonnes and average productivity 2.39tonnes ha-1 (Paula Bianca Ferrer, 2011). Although India has achieved self-sufficiency in rice requirement, the major share of this increase was come through increased area, but land is the scare resource to meet the demand of 126.14 million tonnes by year 2030, we have to increase our productivity (Paroda and Kumar, 2000). There is a large gap between achieved and achievable yield with the exception of Tamil Nadu (15%) and Punjab (22%), the yield gap is in the range of 35-37 per cent for most of the states. Uttar Pradesh is the largest rice growing state Page | 45

only after West Bengal in the country, in which it is grown over an area of 5.54 million hectares with production and productivity of 12.51 million tonnes and 2.06 tonnes ha-1, respectively (Anonymous, 2014). Though average productivity of rice in the state is nearly equal to national average, it ranks seventh after Punjab, Tamilnadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. The yield gap for Uttar Pradesh is 56.5 per cent. Major factors that cause yield gap are more than 50% area under rice being rainfed, faulty and excessive irrigation practices causing soil salinity, imbalance use of fertilizer nutrients. Crop establishment in rice largely affects the initial stand and uniformity. Although transplanting method of establishment has been reported to be the best amongst all the factors for higher productivity of rice, this method is not much profitable as it consumes a large quantity of water (Bouman and Tuong, 2001).Nowadays, water scarcity is a major concern in many regions of the world, as competition between agricultural and industrial consumption of water resources intensifies and climatic unpredictability increases (Mahajanet al., 2011and 2012). There is a threat that Asian rice growers will probably have inadequate access to irrigation water in the future (Tuong and Bouman, 2003; Mahajan et al., 2013). In addition, the migration of rural labor to urban areas, because of industrialization, causes a shortage of labor during the peak season of transplanting in many regions of Asia (Mahajan et al., 2013; Pandey and Velasco, 2005). Some alternatives such as drum seeding, zero tillage, direct seeding in rows or broadcast of sprouted seeds under puddle condition have been tried (Viveket al., 2010). Several studies in China (Yan et al., 2010), South Asia (Gupta et al., 2002), and Australia (Beecher et al., 2006) have revealed that rice can be successfully grown using dry seeding. Dry-seeded rice (DSR) has been developed as an alternative method of rice establishment that reduces labor requirement and other inputs while increasing or maintaining economic productivity and alleviating soil degradation problems (Ladhaet al., 2009; Farooq et al., 2011). However, some studies reported a reduction in yield when shifting from puddled transplanted rice (PTR) to DSR using alternate wetting and drying (AWD) water management (Bhushanet al., 2007; Choudhury et al., 2007). The yield reduction was related to the management practices applied and the climatic conditions in the planting site (Belderet al., 2004; Gathalaet al., 2006 and Singh et al., 2011). Direct seeding of rice is mainly done by two methods, dry direct seeding (DSR) and wet direct seeding (WSR). The seedbed condition is drying Page | 46

(unpuddled), and the seed environment is mostly aerobic; thus, this method is known as Dry-DSR. This method is traditionally practiced in rainfed upland, lowland, and flood prone areas of Asia (Rao et al., 2007). In contrast to Dry-DSR, Wet-DSR involves sowing of pre germinated seeds with a radicle varying in size from 1 to 3 mm on or into puddle soil. When pre germinated seeds are sown on or into the surface of puddled soil, the seed environment is mostly aerobic /anaerobic. Wet-DSRin which, seeds are either broadcasted or sown in-line using a drum seeder (Khan et al., 2009) or an anaerobic seeder with a furrow opener and closer (Balasubramanian and Hill, 2002). DSR has many advantages over conventional puddled transplanting i.e. easier and timely planting, reduced labour burden at least 50% (Kumar and Ladha 2011), 8-10 days earlier crop maturity (helpful in timely planting of succeeding crop), higher water and nutrient use efficiency, efficient root system development that enhances drought tolerance and reduces lodging problem. For the continental monsoon type climate in main rice season (kharif), planting of DSR, 10-12 days before historical date of onset of monsoon was found better than planting early or late. In Eastern U.P. NDR 359, Sarjoo 52, Mahsuri, PAU 201, hybrids Arize 6129, Aditya, Swarna, Moti, Pusa–44, KRH-2 and Arize 6444 were found suitable for DSR (Gupta et al, 2006). A study in DSR systems in India showed that there was no effect of seeding rates, ranging from 15 to 125 kg ha-1, on the grain yield of rice grown in weed-free conditions (Chauhan et al., 2011). The sustainability of DSR, however, is endangered by heavy weed infestation (Chauhan, 2012 and Mahajan et al., 2013). Weeds are the major constraint towards the success of DSR (Rao et al., 2007). Estimated losses from weeds in rice are around 10% of total production grain yield; however, such losses can be much higher (Rao et al., 2007). In wet-seeded and dryseeded rice, weed growth reduced grain yield by up to 53 and 74%, respectively (Ramzan, 2003), and up to 68–100% for direct seeded rice (Mamun, 1990). The DSR fields are more species-rich with greater diversity in weed flora than TPR (Tomita et al., 2003). In DSR systems, land preparation operations influence weed seed distribution in the soil profile and the comparative abundance of weed species (Chauhan and Opena, 2012). High weed infestation is the major bottleneck in DSR especially in dry field conditions (Harada et al., 1996; Rao et al., 2007). More than 50 weed species infest direct-seeded rice, causing major losses to rice production worldwide (Rao et al., 2007 and Tomita et al., 2003). When farmers change from TPR to DSR the weed flora changes dramatically (Azmi and Mashhor, 1995; Rao et al., 2007).

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In India, a large number of perennial species (Paspalumdistichum L., Cynodondactylon L. Pers., Cyperusrotundus L.) as well as annual grasses (Echinochloa crus-galli L.) and annual sedges (Cyperusdifformis L. and Fimbristylismiliacea L.) were found in conventional-till DSR systems (Timsina et al., 2010). Weed control is particularly challenging in DSR systems because of the diversity and severity of weed infestation, the absence of standing water layer to suppress weeds at the time of rice emergence, and no seedling size advantage of rice over the weed seedlings as both emerge simultaneously. Therefore, a systematic, efficient and effective weed management depends on timing and method of land preparation (Maity and Mukherjee 2008), effectiveness of herbicides (Sinha et al., 2005), relative to the dominant weed species and soil conditions at the time of application (Street and Mueller, 1993), effect of weather on weeds (Maity and Mukherjee, 2008) and effect of combining herbicides and manual weed control (Rao et al., 2007). Moreover, weed surveillance may also prove beneficial in selecting suitable herbicides and weed management strategies in a region (Singh et al., 2009).A variety of herbicides have been screened and found effective for pre-plant/burn-down, pre-emergence, and post emergence weed control in direct drill-seeded rice systems (Singh et al., 2006 and Anwar et al., 2012a). Application of different pre-emergence herbicides including thiobencarb, pendimethalin, butachlor, oxadiazon and nitrofen has been found to control weed satisfactorily in direct seeded rice (Moorthy and Manna, 1993; Pellerin and Webster, 2004). Among the post emergence herbicides, ethoxysulfuron, cyhalofop-butyl, pritilachlor, chlorimuron, metsulfuron, bispyribac sodium and penoxsulam effectively controlled weeds in direct seeded rice (Mann et al., 2007; Singh et al., 2008 and Mahajan et al., 2009). Many researchers working on weed management in direct seeded rice opined that herbicide may be considered to be a viable alternative/supplement to hand weeding (Kumar et al., 2008; Mahajan et al., 2009; Chauhan and Johnson, 2011 and Anwar et al., 2012a). Sharma (1999) suggested that pre-emergence application of thiobencarb at 2.0 kg ha-1, hand weeding 20 DAS, or post establishment intercrop cultivation at 37–42 DAS effectively controlled weeds and increased yield by 32.7-34.7%, 36.7% and 28.7- 83.9%, respectively. Primarily target irrigated or favourable rain fed rice lowlands, which would continue to supply the growing rice demand (presently supplying 75% of world rice from about 50% of total rice area), and where the impact of shifts to DSR in saving of resources (labour and water) would be the Page | 48

greatest. DSR has gradually and steadily increased, covering almost 100% of the area, allowing double to triple crops in the region. Notably, the availability of high-yielding short-duration varieties and new herbicides for weed control largely made this shift technically viable (Mortimer et al., 2008; Pandey and Velasco, 2005).Keeping the above facts in view the following objectives; i)

A comparative understanding of the effect of various rice establishment methods on productivity of direct seeded rice and associated weeds, ii) Effect of weed management practices on productivity of direct seeded rice, iii) The interaction effects, if any, and iv) The economics of the rice establishment methods and weed management practices. An examination of the data recorded for various aspects of weeds and crop studied during the course of investigation indicated the several points of interest, which have been discussed in conjunction with the findings of other workers. It may be noted that in each season the yield was to a considerable extent correlated with the supplementary observations recorded on growth and yield attributes of crop and it is realized that the assessment of the experimental by such supplementary data have been justified. The crop of rice is likely to be affected due to prevailing weather conditions such as maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and sunshine hours. A critical examination of the weather conditions remained identical in crop seasons except rainfall, the extent of which was recorded higher (168.5 mm) and lower (1.2 mm) that found in the months of June to October. As such, the variations noted in growth characters would have not been regarded due to the weather, but the same be considered mainly due to weather effects. Studies on Weed Weed Flora Among the various limiting factors responsible for low yield of rice, the severe weed infestation is one of serious cause of concern. The rice crop field was infested with a number of weed species belonging to broad leaved, grassy and sedges weeds. The weeds found in weedy check plot of the rice field showed the weed floras which were as Echinochloa crus galli, Echinochloa colona, Panicum maximum, Commelina benghalensis, Eclipta alba and Cyperus speices. Few plants of caesulia axillaris were also noted at later stage of crop growth. The various weed scientists have also reported the Page | 49

most of these weed species in rice crop in different parts of the country (Yadav et al., 2009 and Mishra et al., 2012). Weed density The species wise weed density recorded at various stages of crop growth revealed that the rice crop was infested with grassy as well as non-grassy weeds. Data indicated that the Echinochloa crus galli and Echinochloa colona as combined proved dominant weed species followed by Panicummaxicum at all the stages of crop growth. In case of BLWs, Ecliptaalba density was recorded higher (as % contribution in total weed density) as compared to Commelina benghalensis at all the stages of crop growth. Among the sedges, Cyperus rotundus, Cyperus difformis, Cyperus esculentus as well as Fimbristylis dentatum were recorded, but Cyperus rotundus proved dominant species during both the years. However, few plants of Eleusine indica, Ludwigia perviflora and Caesulia axillaries were also recorded and grouped as other weeds. This might be due to fact that there would have been a give weed seed bank in the soil. As far as the total weed count was concerned, less number of weeds recorded in drum seeding and the highest number of weeds due to dry seeding method of sowing during both the years of crop growth. Similar results were also observed by Harad et al., (2007); Tomita et al., (2003). These species were found at later stages of crop growth particularly at 60 days stages and after wards in the weedy check plot. The continuous reduction in weed density might be due to completion of life cycle and some of the weeds were completely disappeared at harvest stage. Population of weeds were decreased at later stage of crop growth because of smothering effect of crop. This might be due to more luxuriant growth of crop plant and poor growth of weeds due to smoothing effect. Similar types of results were also observed by Yadav et al. (2009), Jai et al. (2009) and Ramachandiran et al. (2012). In wet-seeded and dry-seeded rice, weed growth reduced grain yield up to 53 and 74%, respectively (Ramzan, 2003), and up to 68-100% for direct seeded rice (Mamun, 1990). More than 50% weed species caused yield losses in DSR (Gianessi et al., 2002). Thus, the most important objective is to increase the rice production and productivity through proper management of weed flora in both aerobic and anaerobic rice ecosystems. Since hand weeding and other weed control methods are very difficult to follow and costly so the herbicides are the obvious alternative, indispensable and cost to management the weeds proved economically effective with more efficiency. A variety of herbicides has been screened and found effective for pre-plant/burn-down, pre-emergence, and post emergence weed management in direct drill-seeded rice systems Page | 50

(Singh et al., 2006; Anwar et al., 2012a). For this season, many preemergence herbicides viz., pendimethaline, pyrazosulfuron and oxadiargyl and pretilachlor were recommended and used by farmers. This situation warrants for initiating research efforts to evaluate and identify suitable postemergence herbicide. bispyribac-sodium, a pyrimidinylcarboxy group of herbicides, is effective to control annual and perennial grasses, sedges and broad-leaved weeds in rice fields (Schmidt et al., 1999). All the weed management practices decreased the weed density per unit area perceptibly over three hand weedings at various growth stages during both the years. This might be attributed to the management of all categories of weeds under these practices. Similar results were also reported by Jai et al. (2009). Weed Dry Weight The dry weight of total weeds increased with advancement of crop age and found maximum at harvest stage. At harvest stage, dry matter of weeds was increased due to increase in the age of weeds. Various establishment methods influenced the weed dry weight significantly at all the stages of crop growth. Drum seeding and broad casting resulted in significantly lower weed dry weight as compared to dry seeding practices at almost all the growth stages during 2015 and 2016. This might have been happened because of puddling is well known to suppress weed particularly of broad leaf group hence, weeds did not get congenial condition for their growth and development (Dutta, 1988 and Chaterjee & Mehti, 1981) and recorded less weed dry weight as contrast to dry seeding practices in which crop seeds and weed seeds gol similar type of environment for germination and growth resulted in higher dry weight of weed. However, drum seeding practicesgol better establishment of seed and caused better plant stand and vigour as compared to dry seeding practices resulted in the poor weed growth and dry matter accumulation over broadcasting. Results corroborated with the finding of Jai et al. (2009) Khaliq and Matloob (2011). Weed dry matter was reduced appreciably by different weed management measures as compared to weedy check at all the stages of crop growth. It might be due to effective management of weeds. These results were also supported by the findings of Jai et al. (2010) and Reddy et al. (2013). The different weed management practices have influence on weed control efficiency at all the stages of the crop growth. Three hand weeding practices registered the highest weed control efficiency followed by Page | 51

pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) 2015 and 2016. This might be because of the fact that almost all the weeds were removed at both of the critical crop growth stages due to either three hand weedings or application of pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) of crop growth which concerned the lowest weed dry weight under these practices. Similar results were also reported by Mazid et al. (2006) and Khaliq and Matloob (2011). Among the different practices combination, drum seeding and broad casting along with either three manual or pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 02DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) proved superior over dry seeding practices might be due to the effective control of weeds over dry seeding practices with respect to contributing the weeds. It also might be due to better crop stand in drum seeding over dry seed. Drum seeding practices in establishment methods has been found most effective to reduce the weed density as well as weed dry weight as compared to rest of all the combinations of both the factors2015 and 2016. The efficiency of herbicides and their combination are interplay of weed flora present under varying moisture regime and establishment method at explained by Singh and Singh (2010); Singh and Paikra (2014). Initial pant population was influenced significantly due to different crop establishment methods. Higher number of plant population per unit area was found in broad casting which being at par with dry seeding over drum seeding. It might be due to initially plant population affected due to seed rate where same seed rate used in dry seeding and broad casting (wet) as compared to drum, seeding 2015 and 2016. Weed management practices had non-significant affection plant population of rice 2015 and 2016 of experimentation. Studies on Crop Growth Parameters Plant Height Characters Plant height of rice was affected significantly due to the various establishment methods at 30, 60, 90 DAS and at harvest 2015 and 2016. Drum seeding methods recorded significantly higher plant height as compared to direct-seeding methods, at all the stages of crop growth 2015 and 2016. Drum seeding and broad casting being at par with regard to plant height of establishment methods recorded significantly higher over dry methods might be due to this better weed control in DSR (wet) over dry Page | 52

method. Likewise, both of the DSR (wet) methods also recorded plant height at par to each other. This might be due to the fact that sowing of sprouted seeds advanced the sowing which results taller plants in broad casting practices. Sarkar et al. (2008) reported that taller plants under moisture soil (wet) were probably due to better initial establishment, efficient cell division and cell elongation in the meristematic tissues caused due to congestion of plants which led to significant increase in the plant height under DSR (wet) methods over dry-seeding method. In dry seeding due to re-establishment of crop caused shorter plants in comparison to all other methods. The results are in clear accordance with Mankotiaet al. (2006); Khattaket al. (2007) and Kumar et al. (2008); Reddy et al. (2013). Weed management practices had significant effect on the plant height of the rice at 30, 60, 90 and at harvest stages 2015 and 2016 of investigation. Three hand weeding practices recorded the highest plant height being at par with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) were significantly superior to weedy check which registered the lowest values of plant height. This may be because of the fact that there was lesser weed density and weed dry weight under the effect of this practices which might have provided congenial condition to the rice plant to utilize the different inputs required for growth more efficiently and resulting in more plant height of the rice crop. Similar findings have also been reported by Saha (2006) and Mohan et al. (2010). Number of Shoots (m-2) Number of shoots was influenced significantly due to different crop establishment methods at all the stages 2015 and 2016. Higher number of shoots m-2 was recorded in drum seeding methods at 60, 90 and at harvest as compared to dry-seeding methods. This might be due to an opportunity of availing more inter and intra plant spacing, thus making better use of growth factors to increase number of shoots per unit area. Higher number of shoots in drum seeding method was due to, less weed density & dry weight recorded at 60, 90 and at harvest stages as compared to dry seeding method, in which less number of shoots might be due to lesser intra-plant space and heavy occurrence of weeds resulting in more crop-weed competition. These findings are in clear accordance with Mazidet al. (2006), Aslam et al. (2008) and Khaliq and Matloob (2011), Senthilkumaret al. (2012). The manual weeding thrice (20, 40 and 60 days) and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded significantly more number of shoots over bispyribac-

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Na 25g ha-1 as post emergence application alone and weedy check. However, among herbicides practices pre emergence and post emergence though at par with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) whereas number of shoots due to bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 as post emergence application alone practices recorded significantly higher over weedy check, at 30, 60, 90 and at harvest stages of crop growth 2015 and 2016 of experimentation while weedy check lowest number of shoots in rice. This might be because of the fact that less crop weed competition under these weed management practices due to which there was more utilization of nutrients, solar energy, moisture and space by the crop plant ultimately caused better growth and development. The superiority of above these practices of weed control for increasing the number of shoots of rice crop has also been reported by Prasadet al. (2001); Ramanaet al. (2007); Kumar et al. (2007) and Kaushik et al. (2012). Leaf Area Index Both of the DSR (wet) methods being at par recorded significantly higher LAI over dry seeding methods at all the stages of crop growth 2015 and 2016 while the lowest LAI was recorded under dry-seeding method. This might be due to the fact that plants having more height resulted in more number of leaves and ultimately leaf area. This is also may be corroborated with higher number of shoots per unit area, hence enhancing the leaf area index. These results are in confirming with the findings of Sharma and Ghosh (1999); Prabhakar, (1996); Reddy et al. (2013). Leaf area index was influenced significantly at 30, 60, 90 DAS of crop growth stage due to various weed control measures. Three hand weeding practices being at par with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) recorded significantly higher LAI over bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 as post-emergence application alone and weedy check practices. However, leaf area index due to bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 as PE at 25 days alone practices recorded significantly higher LAI over weedy check at all the stages of crop growth 2015 and 2016. This might be due to the fact that higher number of shoots under three hand weeding practices resulted in more number of fully opened leaves which contributed more leaf area and ultimately higher LAI. Kumar et al. (2007) and Reddy et al. (2013) also reported the similar results. Dry Matter Accumulation The dry matter production is the ultimate result of photosynthesis taking place and total food material accumulated by the plants on account of Page | 54

photosynthesis as it synthesized mainly carbohydrates, fats and proteins are considered as indicators for judging the growth of the plants. Dry matter accumulation (gm-2) increased significantly due to various rice establishment methods at different growth stages, 2015 and 2016, Both the DSR (wet) methods (Drum and broad) at all the growth stages being at par recorded significantly more dry matter accumulation over dry seeding methods. It might be because of the fact that transplanting establishment methods faced very less competition due to weeds and which recorded better plant health and vigour which ultimately accumulated more dry matter as compared to dry-seeding practices. This was mainly attributed to increase in plant height, number of shoots and leaf area index with establishment method. The results are in close conformity to the findings of Yadav et al. (2005), Walderet al., (2009), Chandrapalaet al. (2010) and Reddy et al. (2013). There was a significant increase in dry matter accumulation due to various weed management practices at all stages of rice growth 2015 and 2016. Three hand weeding (20, 40 and 60 DAS) and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded significantly more dry matter accumulation over bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 as PE at 30 days stage alone and weedy check practices. But the highest dry matter accumulation was obtained with weed free practices which proved significantly better than all the herbicidal.However, weedy check recorded significantly less dry matter accumulation over rest of the weed management practices at all the stages of crop growth. This might be attributed to higher plant height, number of shoots and leaf area index under the practices owing to better weed management practices. The results are in agreement with the findings of Prasad et al. (2001); Singh et al. (2006) and Thakur et al. (2011). Crop Growth Rate (CGR, gd-1) With the advancement in the age of rice crop, there was a successive increase in the crop growth rate irrespective of type of establishment methods. DSR (wet) methods recorded significantly higher CGR which were at par at all the crop growth stages over dry-seeding methods. Likewise, drum seeding method recorded higher CGR value over broad-casting method of rice at all the stages of crop 2015 and 2016. This might be due to the better growth environment condition in DSR (wet) over dry seeding. It mainly corroborates due to weed density and dry weight. The results are in close conformity with Gill and Walia (2014). There was a significant increase in crop growth rate due to various weed management practices at all the stages 2015 and 2016. The hand weeding Page | 55

thrice and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded significantly higher crop growth rate over bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 as PE alone and weedy check practices. However, weedy check recorded significantly lower values of CGR over rest of the weed management practices at all the stage of crop growth. It might be because of the facts that rate of dry matter accumulation per unit time was directly linked with crop weed competition, happened during the course of crop growth period. The results are in close conformity with Singh and Singh (1999); Gill and Walia (2014). RGR and NAR The results are in accordance with RGR, relative growth rate and net assimilation rate (NAR) recorded significantly higher values of NAR & RGR with DSR (wet) establishment methods at all the crop growth stages, over dry seeding methods. However, drum seeding method recorded higher values over broad-casting methods of rice with respect to relative growth rate and net assimilation rate at all the stages of crop growth. The results are in close conformity with the findings of Reddy et al. (2013). There was a significant increase in relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate due to various weed management practices at all the stages. The hand weeding thrice and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded significantly higher value of RGR & NAR over bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 as PoE alone and weedy check practices. However, weedy check recorded significantly lower values of RGR & NAR over rest of the weed management practices at all the stage of crop growth. It might be because of the facts that rate of dry matter accumulation per unit time was directly linked with crop weed competition, happened during the course of crop growth. The results are in close conformity with Padmaja Rao (1988); Singh and Singh (1999). Yield Attributes of Rice Growth in vegetative phase and development in reproductive phase determines yield attributes. Different crop establishment methods influenced significantly the number of effective shoots m-2, length of panicles (cm), number of grains per panicle and 1000grain weight. The highest values of these attributes was recorded under DSR (wet) methods over dry seeding practices especially for effective shoots m-2, length of panicles (cm), number of grains per panicle and 1000grain weight. This might be attributed to comparatively better growth and development of plants due to reduced competitions for available growth resources caused by low density of weeds. Page | 56

Under this situation, plant received sufficient moisture, light, nutrient and space which might have enhanced better translocation of photosynthetes from source to sink and nutrients uptake. The lower values of effective shoots m-2, length of panicles (cm), number of grains per panicle and 1000grain weight, were recorded with dry-seeding methods due to poor growth performance of individual plant in community because of antagonistic effect which was created due to more competition for available growth resources among the plants. These findings are well supported by Yadav et al. (2005) they reported that conventional drum seeding after puddling resulted in significantly higher (40.5% and 16.8%) grain yield of rice over drum seeding, dry seeding and zero tillage methods, respectively. Zero tillage increased the grain yield of rice significantly (by 21.2%) over dry seeding in rice. Jai et al. (2009) reported that the better performance of these practices in terms of grain and straw yield could be attributed to better expression of their yield attributes due to better management practices and reduction in crop-weed competition, resulting in significant reduction in weed dry weight and weed population. The yield attributes viz., number of effective shoots (m-2), length of panicles (cm), number of grains per panicle and 1000-grain weight were influenced significantly with different weed management practices. The hand weeding thrice and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded significantly higher values of these yield attributes over bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 as PE alone and weedy check. However, weedy check recorded significantly lower values of yield attributes over rest of the weed management practices, except 1000-grain weight. This might be because of the practices which were able to control effect only gave poor crop-weed competition and results to which higher values of yield attributes and yield. The results are in agreement with the findings of Khattaket al. (2006); Aslam et al. (2008); Yadav et al., (2010) and Singh and Singh (2010). Grain and straw yield were also influenced significantly by various crop establishment methods. Drum seeding being at par with broad casting produced significantly higher grain and straw yields over dry seeding methods. Yield is the functions of complex inter relationship of growth in vegetative phase and yield attributes. Higher yield under drum seeding methods was due to better crop growth and devolvement resulting into higher values of yield attributes which increase the grain yield. Higher straw yield under DSR (wet) methods was probably due to more dry matter production per unit area caused by better nutrient absorption from soil, Page | 57

increased rate of metabolic processes, rate of light absorption, photosynthetic activity and more number of leaves. Harvest index was not appreciably influenced by crop establishment methods. This might be due to almost similar increase in grain and straw yield under each method. Gangwaret al. (2005; 2008) reported that the higher grain yield was recorded under drum seeding and broad casting gave statistically at par grain yield higher yield under drum seeding due to higher shoot and root biomass, leaf area index and effective tiller m-2. While Seed quality was superior in drum seeding as compared to broad casting method. Budhar and Tamilselvin (2000) concluded that significantly higher grain yield in wet seeding by manual broadcasting. Higher grain yield may be due to higher plant population in direct seeding by manual broadcasting and followed by drum seeding. Yadav and Singh (2006) observed the highest grain yield (52 q ha-1) in drum seeding which was 41.2 and 2.5 per cent more than that in dry seeding and broad casting seeding establishment methods, respectively. Mankotiaet al. (2009) found significantly higher grain yield in drum seeding (3.37 t/ha) followed by broad casting (3.27t/ha) of sprouted seed and row seeding (2.95t/ha) in prepared bed. The results are enclose conformity with findings of Singh and Singh (2010); Yadav et al. (2010) and Reddy et al. (2013). As far as the various weed management practices were concerned, hand weeding thrice (20, 40 and 60 DAS) being at par with bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 at 30 DAS fb hand weeding at 50 days stage recorded significantly higher values of grain and straw yield as compared to bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 at 25 days stage alone and weedy check. But the highest mean grain yield (44.56) was obtained with weed free, which proved significant all the other herbicidal. Among the herbicide practices, pre-mergence and postemergence combination though at par with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 02DASfbAlmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop). However, bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 alone recorded significantly higher values of grain and straw yield over weedy check. Weedy check produced significantly lower grain and straw yield as compared to all the weed management practices of experimentation. Such type of results with respect to grain and straw yield were recorded on the lines of growth and yield attributes recorded with the respective practices. These finding are well supported by Mukherjee et.al, (2005) observed the maximum and minimum grain yields (59.3qha-1) in weed free and minimum in unweeded (31.4 q ha-1) situation respectively. The increase in grain yield was 85.5% over unweeded check. Among herbicidal practices, maximum grain yield (58.3q ha-1) was obtained with almix 15 g ha-1, which was on par with hand weeding thrice (59.3q ha1). These results are in close conformity with the results reported by Page | 58

Mukherjee and Bhattacharya (1999). Among all the interactions, the maximum grain yield was recorded in direct seeded and transplanted plots treated with thrice hand weeding (Singh and Singh, 2006). Interaction Effect of Establishment Methods Andweeds Management Practices. Grain and straw yield of rice was affected significantly due to establishment methods at the same level of weed management practices. The results clearly indicate that drum seeding and dry seeding being at par recorded significantly higher grain and straw yield over broad-casting and drum seeding methods, while, drum seeding method proved superior over broad-casting method at the same level of weed management practices. The similar trend was observed of 2015 and 2016. As regard the different weed management practices, thrice hand weeding at 20, 40 and 60 days and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par proved significantly superior over bispyribacNa 25g ha-1 alone and weedy check at the same level of the establishment methods. However, bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 at 30 days stage recorded significantly higher grain and straw yield over weedy check at all the levels of establishment methods, individually 2015 and 2016. Studies on Quality Hulling per cent was not influenced significantly due to different methods of rice establishment and weed management practices 2015 and 2016 of experimentation. Protein content in grains as affected by different establishment methods and weed management practices were found to be non-significant 2015 and 2016 of experimentation. Parashivamurthy et al. (2012) also reported the similar type of responses. These results are confirmative with reported by Kumar et al. (2010) and Gill and Walia (2014). Nitrogen uptake by weeds at 60 day and at harvest stage recorded significantly low due to drum and broad casting which were at par to each other, as compared to direct seeding practices. The weeds in dry seeded plots took up significantly the maximum; while the practices with drum seeding in wet beds exhibited the least uptake by weeds. There is not much to explain the behaviour of practices as crop uptake is directly a function of biological yield and content. The plots giving higher biological yields exhibited higher nutrient uptake and so on in other cases. Similarly, as the dry seeded plots offered greater opportunity to weeds to come up and grow, their weeds took up a lion’s share of nutrients from the plots. On the other hand puddling is Page | 59

well known to suppress weeds particularly of broad leaved group hence; weeds there did not get congenial conditions for their growth and development. (De Datta, 1981; Chatterjee and Maity, 1981). Hence, the nutrient uptake by weeds under wet seed bed was comparatively low. Amongst the two wet seed bed again the nutrient uptake by weeds under broadcast method was higher. The possible reason may be the expected error in uniformity of seed placement in broadcast method. Where ever weed seeds and plants got more space they grew at a faster rate suppressing crop plants. This finding was totally in league with those shown earlier by Singh et al. (2005), Shekharet al. (2009) and Yadav et al. (2009), Mukherjee and Maity (2010) and Gaurav et al. (2015). Various weed management practices influenced the nitrogen uptake by weeds significantly. Nitrogen uptake by weeds at 60 days and at harvest stage recorded lower values due to thrice hand weeding (20, 40 and 60 DAS) and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) which were at par to each other. However, bispyribac c-Na 25g ha-1 at 30 days stage PE, recorded the lowest values of nitrogen uptake over weedy check. Likewise weedy check recorded higher nitrogen uptake by weed 2015 and 2016 of experimentation. This directly correlated with the weed dry weight due to various weed management practices. The results are in close conformity with Yadav et al. (2009) and Parashivamurthy et al. (2012). Interaction Effect of Establishment Methods and weed Management Practices on Nitrogen Uptake by Weeds Nitrogen uptake by weeds at 60 days and at harvest stages of crop growth was affected significantly at the same level of weed management practices. The results clearly indicated that drum seeding and broad casting being at par recorded significantly less nitrogen uptake over dry seeding methods. While, drum seeding method removed less quantity of nitrogen over dry seeded method at the same level of weed management methods. The similar type of results was obtained 2015 and 2016 of experimentation. As regard the different weed management practices, thrice hand weedings at 20, 40 and 60 days stages and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded significantly less nitrogen uptake followed by bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 and weedy check at the same level of establishment methods. However, bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 at 25 days alone recorded significantly lower nitrogen by weeds over weedy check at all the levels of crop establishment methods 2015 and 2016 of experimentation. The results are in agreement Page | 60

with the findings of Singh et al. (2005), Shekharet al. (2009), Yadav et al. (2009) and Parashivamurthyet al. (2012). Nitrogen Uptake by Weed and Crop Nitrogen uptake by crop increased significantly due to different establishment methods of rice. Drum seeding and broad casting methods being at par recorded significantly higher quantity of nitrogen uptake over dry-seeding practices while, drum seeding method of rice establishment recorded higher nitrogen uptake by crop over broad-casting method. Such type of effects of management is due to the extent of weed management due to the various establishments. Various weed management practices influenced the nitrogen uptake by crop significantly. The manual weeding (20, 40 and 60 DAS) and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded significantly higher values of nitrogen uptake as compared to herbicide alone and weedy check. However, weedy check recorded lowest value of N uptake as compared to rest of the practices during both the year of experimentation. The practices making the crop plant to take up more nutrients restricted weeds to minimum removal. These results are in close conformity with those of Shekharet al. (2009); Kumar et al. (2010) and Parashivamurthy et al. (2012). Interaction Effect of Establishment Methods and weed Management Practices on Nitrogen Uptake by Crop The results clearly indicated that drum seeding and broad casting being at par recorded significantly higher uptake of nitrogen over direct-seeding practices. While, drum seeding method proved superior over broad-casting method with respect to nitrogen uptake by rice crop, comparing at the same level of weed management practices. The similar types of results were recorded 2015 and 2016 of experimentation. As regards the different weed management practices, thrice hand weeding 20, 40 and 60 days stage of crop growth and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) being at par recorded proved significantly superior over bispyribac-Na and weedy check at the same level of establishment methods. However, bispyribac-Na 25g ha-1 at 25 days stage (alone), recorded significantly higher nitrogen uptake by crop over weedy check, individually at same level of establishment methods. These results are in close conformity with those of Shekhar et al. (2009) and Parashivamurthy et al. (2012).

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Studies on Economics Agronomical studies must have practical value so as to make them affordable to the farmers, hence, analysis of economic factors like cost of cultivation, gross income, net income and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) are important to evaluate the effect of the practices from practical point of view to the farming community as well as to the planners. In general, the farmers are mainly interested to earn more profit unit-1 area time-1 and investment-1, while as planners policies are mainly concentrated for high productivity of the crops. Hence forth, economic analysis of the practices gave fruitful information to both growers as well as planners. The economic analyses are discussed here by considering cost of inputs used and value of the produce obtained as per prevailing rates in the locality on ha-1 area basis. The maximum cost of cultivation (Rs.34170 ha-1) was obtained in broad casting with weed free combination followed by dry seeding with weed free combination (Rs. 33870.00) in followed by drum seeding weed free combination. It might be due to more cost involved in weed free methods and labour charges incurred on weeding. The minimum cost of cultivation (Rs. 18378 ha-1) was recorded in drum-seeding method of establishment along with weedy check. The maximum gross returns (Rs.71631ha-1) was obtained under broad casting with weed free followed by drum seeding with weed free (Rs.69437ha-1) and drum seeding with manual weeding (Rs.66755 ha-1). It might be due to higher yield of rice. The minimum gross returns of Rs. 26129 ha-1 was recorded under dry-seeded method without use of weed management practices due to poor yield of rice. The maximum net returns (Rs. 43044 ha-1) was obtained under drum seeding with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) followed by drum seeding with three hand weeding (Rs.39377 ha-1) and drum seeding with pendimethaline @100g/ha at 0-2DAS fb bispyribac-Na@25g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) (Rs.38021 ha-1) While the minimum net return of Rs. 7260 ha-1 was recorded in dry seeding with no weed management practices due to low yield of rice. The highest benefit-cost ratio (Rs. 2.12 ha-1) was obtained under drum seeded rice along with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbAlmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) followed by drum seeded rice with pendimethaline @100g/ha at 0-2DAS fbBispyribac-Na@25g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) (Rs. 1.83 ha-1) and drum seeding with pyrazosulfuran @ 20 g/ha at 0-2DAS fb ethoxysulfuran @18.75 g/ha at Page | 62

25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) (Rs. 1.80 ha-1). The minimum B:C of 0.38 was recorded under dry seeding along with weedy check. It might be due to hand weeding through improved grain and straw yield, yet owing to higher level cost reduced the net returns and benefit cost ratio. Chin et al. (2000a) considered that hand weeding was the most effective in terms of both controlling weeds and crop safety but noted that the labour cost was high and often prohibitive. These results are in close conformity with those of Mukharjee et al. (2005), Aslam et al. (2008) and Shivaramu and Krishnamurthy (2011). Conclusions The crop was infested with divergent type of weed flora e.g. E. crusgalli, E. colona and P. maximum of grassy, Commelina benghalensis L. and Ecliptaalba of broad leaved group and Cyperus spp. of sedges group. However, grassy weeds were dominant over other weeds species. Drum seeding and broad casting being at par recorded significantly lower weed density and dry weight as compared to dry-seeding methods. However, drum seeding recorded significantly the lower weed density and weed dry weight overdry seeding method.Nitrogen uptake by weeds at 60 days and at harvest stages recorded significantly lower quantity due to drum and broad casting which were at par to each over dry seeding practices. Weed density and dry weight of total weeds were reduced significantly due to the weed management practices. The hand weeding thrice, and pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DAS fb almix@ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) at par at 30, 60, 90 and at harvest stages proved superior over bispyribac Na 25g ha-1 alone and weedy check. For achieving the maximum yield, drum seeding followed by broad casting along with three hand weeding combinations being at par proved their superiority for controlling the weeds and attaining higher growth, yield attributes and yield. 

A combination of drum seeding along with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DAS fb almix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) registered higher values of net returns (Rs. 43044 ha-1) of rice and higher value of BCR Rs 2.12.



A combination of drum seeding methods of establishment along with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DASfbalmix @ 4 g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) proved superior with respect to weed control, grain yield and economics of rice.



However, for resource poor farmers, direct seeding of rice through drum along with pretilachlore @ 750g/ha at 0-2DAS fb almix @ 4 Page | 63

g/ha at 25DAS (3-4 Leaf stage of rice crop) proved superior. References 1.

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Chapter - 4 Leucas lavandulifolia Smith (Labiatae): A green Pesticide for Red Spider Mite Management in Tea DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a04

Authors Purnima Das Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India Lakshmi Kanta Hazarika Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India Surajit Kalita Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India Bikash Jyoti Gharphalia Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India Partha Jyoti Borah Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India

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Chapter - 4 Leucas lavandulifolia Smith (Labiatae)-a green pesticide for red spider mite management in Tea Purnima Das, Lakshmi Kanta Hazarika, Surajit Kalita, Bikash Jyoti Gharphalia and Partha Jyoti Borah DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a04

Abstract Solvent extracts of Leucas lavandulifolia Smith (Labiatae) leaves and its fractionation were assayed against red spider mite (RSM), Oligonychus coffeae Nietner (Acarina: Tetranychidae). The ethyl alcoholic extract caused 46.00 per cent to 97.00 per cent adult mortality at 72 hours after treatment with LC50 value of 74.402 ppm. While evaluating bio-efficacy of the chromatographic fractions with toluene, chloroform and methyl alcohol against the adult RSM, toluene fraction at 500ppm concentration had the highest activity causing 100.00 per cent mortality followed by chloroform and methyl alcohol recording 88.00 per cent and 71.00 per cent at 72 HAT with LC50 values of 6.624ppm (moderately toxic), 38.827ppm (slightly toxic) and 42.887 ppm (slightly toxic), respectively. In terms of ovicidal properties, chloroform was the most toxic (6.67% hatching) followed by toluene (8.10% hatching) and methyl alcohol fraction (31.67% hatching) with LC50 value of 2.648, 10.814 and 1627.191 ppm, respectively. Keywords: Leucas lavandulifolia, Oligonychus chromatographic fraction, acaricide, ovicide, LC50

coffeae,

Introduction Tea, Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze is a perennial monoculture crop, which is grown intensively as large-scale and small-scale plantations, between 41°N and 16°S latitudes (Hazarika et al., 2009a). Tea is cultivated within the tropics and the sub-tropics in different types of porous, well drained, acidic soils with a pH of 3.3 to 6 along with a wide range of climatic conditions such as temperature from -12°C to 40°C, annual rainfall from 938 mm to 6000 mm, relative humidity from 30 to 90 percent and radiation intensity from 0.3 to 0.8 calcm-2min-1 (Hazarika et al., 2009a). The main tea producing countries are China, India and Sri Lanka of Asia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda of Africa, Argentina and Brazil of South America, and Russia Page | 73

and Georgia of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). They cover an area of 3.69 million hectares and produce 5.07 million tonnes of made tea annually (Chang, 2015).

Source: Modified from Chang, 2015 Fig 1: Percentage share of Area under tea in major tea producing countries of the world

Out of the several constraints that affect tea production, insect and mite pests are the most damaging, causing an average of 5 to 55 per cent loss in yield. Perhaps the most serious mite pest is the red spider mite (RSM), Oligonychus coffeae Nietner (Tetranychidae), which enjoys a wide distribution in almost all tea-growing countries and has received considerable attention of entomologists from the early days. Tea plantation, as monoculture, is a permanent ecosystem that provides a relatively steady microclimate and food supply for more than 1031 arthropods and 82 nematode pests worldwide, which cause crop loss worth US $ 500 million to $ 1 billion annually (Hazarika et al., 2009a). Out of these, a small number of pests, about 3 per cent, are common throughout the world. As a result of autochthonous and heterochthonous recruitment and the influence of climate, altitude and age of the plantation, each geographical region may have its own distinctive pest complex (Banerjee, 1981; Hazarika et al., 2009a). Tea plantations roughly resemble a “single species forest” (Cranham, 1966), and thus, insect and mite species are found to co-exist by way of intra-tree distribution or well-defined stratification and ecological niche formation (Banerjee, 1983). Out of as many as 172 arthropods and 16 nematodes which attack tea in North-East India (Hazarika et al., 1994), the red spider mite (RSM), Oligonychus coffeae Nietner is a persistent major pest of Assam. Although RSM was first discovered by Nietner in 1861 on coffee plants (Coffea arabica) in Sri Lanka (Nietner 1861), RSM has been known to be associated with tea from the very early days of tea cultivation in Page | 74

1868 in Assam, North-East India (Watt and Mann, 1903). The RSM has several common names, viz., tea red spider mite, red coffee mite, tea red mite, tea starscream and coffee small mite. This pest causes 17-46 per cent crop losses, and is now widely distributed in tea plantations of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Burundi, Kenya, Malawai, Uganda and Zimbabwe (Hazarika et al., 2009a). The RSM mainly affects matured tea leaves. The infestation of RSM starts along the midrib and veins of leaves, and slowly spreads to the entire upper surface. In a severe infestation, particularly under conditions of dry weather, the lower surface of older leaves and the young leaves are almost equally attacked. The nymphs and adults of RSM lacerate the cells and produces minute characteristic reddish brown marks on the upper surface of the matured leaves, which turn red in severe cases resulting in 17 to 46 per cent loss in yield (Hazarika et al., 2009a). In addition to the direct loss, the damage caused to tea leaves by mites could adversely affect the quality of made tea and bush health. High temperatures, dry conditions, and the absence of shade are conducive to outbreaks of this pest (Das et al., 2012). The optimum temperature for growth and development of RSM is 30°C, and it did not survive beyond 35°C. The lower threshold temperature for development is 10°C, and 232.6 degree days are required to complete the life cycle (Haque et al., 2007). However, an intermediate temperature between 20°C and 25°C was found to be optimal at which RSM showed highest fecundity and adult emergence (Das et al., 2012). Das et al. (2012) studied the effect of temperature and relative humidity on various biological parameters like fecundity of mated female, incubation period, larval protonymphal, quiescent protonymphal, deutonymphal, quiescent deutonymphal, pre- and post-ovipositional, ovipositional as well as adult longevity (male and female), and observed that thesebiological parameters of RSM varied significantly with temperature and clones. Amongst the three clones viz. TV1 (susceptible), TV10 (less susceptible) and TV6 (moderately resistant), at a particular temperature, the nymphal period was lowest on TV1 and highest on TV6. Similar trend was also observed for life cycle period, incubation period and adult longevity (Table 1 and 2). Table 1: Effect of temperature and clones on developmental parameters of O. coffeae Clone

TV1

Temperature (°C)

Incubation Larval period Protonymphal Deutonymphal Period (Days) period (Days) period (days) (Days)

20

10.90±0.83

1.43±0.08

1.20±0.12

1.75±0.11

25

5.85±0.32

1.32±1.20

1.06±0.08

1.55±0.19

30

4.30±0.39

0.94±0.92

0.90±0.10

1.05±0.05

35

3.80±0.63

0.82±0.19

0.78±0.18

0.92±0.19 Page | 75

20

10.90±0.83

1.40±0.07

1.20±0.12

1.78±0.13

25

5.85±0.32

1.24±0.08

1.09±0.08

1.59±0.12

30

4.45±1.39

0.90±0.10

0.96±0.12

1.05±0.07

35

4.15±0.47

0.84±0.20

0.84±0.15

0.92±0.14

20

10.50±0.92

1.40±0.07

1.25±0.07

1.80±0.14

25

5.80±0.32

1.25±0.07

1.13±0.80

1.58±0.18

30

5.85±0.32

0.99±0.10

0.96±0.93

1.07±0.07

35

4.95±0.44

0.85±0.24

0.90±0.21

1.00±0.12

Clone

0.404

0.104

0.084

0.087

Tempe rature

0.350

0.091

0.073

0.075

0.202

0.052

0.042

0.044

TV10

TV6

CD (P=0.01)

Clone × temperature  Sample Size:20

Table 2: Effect of temperature on reproductive parameters of O. coffeae on TV clones of tea Adult longevity (days) Clo ne

PrePost Temperat Ovipositi Life time oviposit oviposit ure on fecundity ion ion (°C) (days) (Nos) (days) (days)

20

2.16±0.1 25.00±11 3.20±1.3 105.20±1 12.70±3 2 .69 3 5.48 .23

63.50

28.30±5 283.00 .02

25

1.46±0.4 23.90±4. 2.50±1.3 120.70±2 11.40±0. 2 70 6 1.74 58

114.00

27.30±5 409.50 .24

30

0.91±0.1 13.70±3. 1.80±0.7 66.50±20. 7.60±1.8 7 26 5 94 5

114.00

26.60±2 532.00 .91

35

0.86±0.1 11.00±3. 0.82±0.2 50.50±11. 5.90±1.8 2 27 1 96 6

118.00

16.10±2. 402.50 81

20

2.14±0.1 22.00±3. 2.40±1.2 98.60±17. 10.40±2 3 97 8 94 .46

166.40

26.90±4 403.50 .62

25

1.24±0.1 19.50±6. 2.20±0.8 102.00±2 8.00±1.9 8 53 3 4.75 5

168.00

22.80±7 456.00 .60

30

0.99±0.1 13.30±3. 1.50±0.6 56.20±16. 6.90±2.0 8 03 7 70 2

179.40

22.20±1 555.00 .70

35

0.86±0.1 11.90±3. 0.83±0.2 53.40±17. 6.20±2.5 8 00 1 05 8

192.20

17.40±3 522.00 .24

20

2.14±0.1 21.40±4. 2.40±1.2 95.30±18. 9.80±2.6 0 82 8 28 7

166.60

24.70±4 395.60 .45

25

1.59±0.4 19.50±8. 2.30±0.7 114.70±1 8.30±1.6 5 18 8 4.88 2

182.60

22.10±9 464.10 .03

30

1.04±0.1 12.90±3. 1.60±0.6 55.00±13. 6.80±1.7

183.60

22.00±1 572.00

TV1

TV1 0

TV6

Male

Ther Thermal mal constant consta Female (K)(Day nt (K) °C) (Day° C)

Page | 76

2 35

24

6

53

2

0.90±0.1 12.50±4. 0.88±0.2 45.90±17. 6.30±1.8 4 43 1 39 9

.32 201.60

17.60±4 545.60 .09

CD (P=0.01) Clo ne

0.171

3.232

0.646

15.320

1.525

3.578

Temperature

0.148

2.799

0.561

13.268

1.320

3.098

Clone × Temp

0.086

1.616

0.323

7.660

0.762

1.789

At 20°C, the developmental parameters did not differ significantly amongst the tea clones. The highest duration of incubation period (10.9±0.83 days), nymphal period (7.80±1.89 days) and life cycle period (18.70±0.22 days) were recorded at 20°C as compared to the lowest duration of incubation period (3.8±0.63 days), nymphal period (4.26±0.83 days) and life cycle period (8.06±1.46 days) at 35°C on TV1 clone. On the resistant clone TV6, the duration of the life stages were found to be 4.95±0.44 days, 4.57±0.70 days and 9.52±1.75 days, respectively at 35°C (Tables 1, 3) (Das et al., 2012). Table 3: Effect of temperature on developmental stages of O. coffeae on TV clones of tea

Clone

Temperature (°C)

20 25 TV1 30 35 20 25 TV10 30 35 20 25 TV6 30 35 CD (P=0.01) Clone Temperature Clone ×temperature



Nymphal period (days)

Life cycle period (days)

7.80±1.89 6.34±1.43 5.02±1.02 4.26±0.83 7.89±1.53 6.24±1.43 5.00±1.41 4.36±0.83 7.96±0.92 6.31±1.42 5.14±0.23 4.57±0.70

18.70±0.22 12.19±1.05 9.32±0.41 8.06±1.46 18.79±1.38 12.09±0.13 9.45±0.69 8.51±0.60 18.46±1.52 12.11±0.97 10.99±0.47 9.52±0.94

1.190 0.987 0.463

3.726 3.051 1.563

Thermal constant from egg to adult (K) (day°C) 149.60 156.65 166.50 185.38 150.32 157.17 170.10 195.73 166.14 169.54 208.81 228.48

Sample Size:20

Similarly, the highest quiescent larval, protonymphal, quiescent protonymphal, deutonymphal and quiescent deutonymphal periods were recorded at 20°C and lowest at 35°C on TV1 clone (Table 1). An increase Page | 77

intemperature from 20°C to 35°C resulted in gradual decrease in larval, protonymphal and deutonymphal periods. The larval, protonymphal and deutonymphal periods were longest, i. e.1.43±0.08, 1.20±0.12 and 1.75±0.11 days, respectively on TV1 and 1.40±0.07, 1.25±0.07 and 1.80±0.15 days, respectively on TV6 clone at 20°C. At 35°C temperature, larval, protonymphal and deutonymphal periods gradually decreased to 0.82±0.19, 0.78±0.18 and 0.92±0.19 days on TV1 and 0.85±0.24, 0.90±0.21 and 1.00±0.12 days respectively on TV6 clone. Reproductive parameters such as pre-oviposition, oviposition period and post-oviposition period, varied with temperature, and were found to be highest at 20°C recording 2.16±0.12, 25.0±11.69 and 3.2±1.33 days, respectively and lowest of 0.86±0.12, 11.0±3.27 and 0.82±0.21 days respectively at 35°C on TV1 clone (Table 2). Moreover, hatching of eggs and all other developmental stages of RSM was greatly reduced to an extent of more than 50% at 35°C. Numbers of egg laid was also greatly reduced as because more than 80 per cent of the adults died at temperature at or above 30°C. The adult longevity of both male and female RSM was found to decrease with increase in temperature, and were found to be highest, i e 12.7±3.23 and 28.3±5.02 days, respectively at 20°C. The female lived longer than the male at all the temperatures irrespective of the clones. Correlation studies revealed that temperature had significant but negative correlation with developmental and reproductive parameters of RSM (Table 4). Table 4: Correlation (r value) of temperature with growth parameters of O. coffeae on different TV clones Parameter**

TV1

TV10

TV6

Egg

–0.8928

–0.9092

–0.8513

Larval

–0.9694

–0.9724

–0.9928

Protonymphal

–0.9995

–0.9986

–0.9857

Deutonymphal

–0.9707

–0.9745

–0.9639

Male longevity

–0.9617

–0.9818

–0.9798

Female longevity

–0.7175

–0.8488

–0.6938

Fecundity

–0.8894

–0.8612

–0.7737

Pre-ovipositional period

–0.9152

–0.9479

–0.9734

Ovipositional period

–0.9719

–0.9510

–0.9461

Post-ovipositional –0.9771 period  ** Significant at P> 0.01

–0.9962

–0.9615



Sample Size:20

Page | 78

Though temperature is the main abiotic factor that influences biology, ecology and population dynamics of a pest (Andrewartha and Birch, 1954), some biotic factors like host plant, parasitoids and predators also plays a significant role on growth and development of RSM (Das et al., 2012). The economic threshold level (ETL) of RSM in tea is reported to be 4 mites per leaf in South India (Muraleedharan, 2006), and 2-3 mites per sq. cmin NorthEast India (Banerjee 1971). But the ETL changes with crop phenology, cost of pesticides and labour, weather conditions, market prices, etc., and they vary from region to region and even from field to field (Das et al., 2012). There are different pest problems and crop protection issues which aroused along with cultivation of the crop. The demand for contaminant-free tea and the need to sustain productivity and quality have led to a movement towards organic tea cultivation, starting first in Sri Lanka in 1983, followed by India in 1985, and then by Nepal in 1990 (Jain, 1999). At present, broad spectrum acaricides are widely applied for the control of RSM. However, their indiscriminate and large scale uses leave undesirable residues in the made tea and is a burden to the planters and the environment. They also cause destruction of natural enemies of pests and other non-target organisms, pesticide resistance in pests, and health hazards to consumers (Hazarika et al., 2009a).Moreover, the pesticide residues reduce the competitiveness of Indian tea in the global market. These issues necessitate the development of alternative pest control strategies. Search for an alternative to the chemical pesticides, has directed our effort towards finding commercially viable botanicals (Hazarika et al., 2008). Botanicals are the naturally occurring chemicals which have long been touted as alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticide because of low persistence in environment and low toxicity to animals including mammals and natural enemies along with unique mode of action in reducing resistance development to pests. The practice of using botanical insecticides in agriculture dates back at least two millennia in ancient China, Egypt, Greece and India (Thaker, 2002). Neem (Azadirachta indica), in various commercial formulations, is widely recommended in tea plantations against the RSM. A five per cent extract was found to give appreciable control of RSM (Radhakrishnan, 2010). Other than neem, the majority of information on botanicals is restricted to laboratory studies (Hazarika et al., 2008). Acaricidal, antioviposition and ovicidal activity of various solvent extracts and aqueous extracts of the different plants could be studied in the laboratory. Roy et al. (2011) reported that the water extract of Clerodendrum viscosum (Verbenaceae), a common weed in India, and Melia azadirachta (Meliaceae) showed great promise in controlling RSM population at field level. Similarly, there were several other plants whose Page | 79

water extracts were tested against RSM viz.Clerodendron inerme, Nicotiana plumbaginifolia, Phlogocanthustubiflorus and Aegle marmelos (Hazarika et al., 2009b). Hazarika et al. (2008) reported that some plant extracts possess significant oviposition deterrence or antifeedant or toxic effects on selected tea pests and may form the basis for future research to develop low-cost formulations suitable for large-scale field application. In general, plants belonging to the family Labiataehave been exploited for their antiviral, antibacterial, immuno-modulating, antifungal and insecticidal properties. There are several compounds like diterpenes, triterpenes, flavones, alkaloids, glycosides, sitosterols, sterol, ursolic acid, leucolacton, stigmasterol, campesterol, isopimarane, rhamnoglucoside, etc. which have been isolated and characterized from a number of Leucas species (Ele, 2003). However, it was predicted that sustainability, standardization and regulatory approval of botanicals may act as barriers for their commercialization (Isman, 2006). From the academic point of view, plants represent a vast storehouse of potentially useful natural products, and indeed, many laboratories worldwide have screened thousands of species of higher plants not only in search of pharmaceuticals, but also for pest control products. These studies have pointed to numerous plant species possessing potential pest-controlling properties under laboratory conditions. But the step from the laboratory to the field tends to eliminate many contenders, even when judged only on their efficacy against pests under realistic field conditions. This laboratory is being involved in research and development of botanicals and other biocontrol agents for tea and other crop pest management. We have so far evaluated 10 herbs and shrubs of North-East India to find out botanicals. While working in this direction, we have come across a herb, Leucas lavandulifolia Smith (Labiatae), known as drone in Assamese, dronapuspi in Sanskrit and gumma in Hindi. It is reported to have hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, antipyretic, anti-diarrhoel, antitussive, wound healing and psychopharmacological and antimicrobial as well as insecticidal properties(Makhija et al., 2011).Considering this, it is hypothesized that L. lavandulifolia may also have some acaricidal properties. Therefore, it is aimed to evaluate solvent extracts of L. lavandulifoli aagainst the RSM. Materials and Methods Collection of Plant Material Tea Clones Used Tocklai Vegetative (TV) clone is being maintained in the Experimental Garden for Plantation Crops, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013 Page | 80

for last 25 years. The 4th leaf from the top of clone was used for all the experiments. Culturing of Red Spider Mite A stockculture of O. coffeae has been cultured on detached leaves by modifying Helle and Sabellis (1985) technique in the Physiology Laboratory, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-13 (Hazarika et al., 1995). The petioles of the detached leaves were wrapped in a moist cotton plug to keep the tea leaf afresh for longer period and the leaf was placed by keeping the upper surface facing upward on a moist cotton pad in petri-plates of 15 cm diameter (Fig.2). The culture of this mite was maintained in the Physiology Laboratory, AAU, Jorhat-13 for last 10 years, which were subsequently used for the bioassay. The cotton pad was kept moistened by adding sterilized double-distilled water periodically. A leaf disc of 2.5 cm2 instead of the whole leaf was used in the experiment, to which three pairs of quiescent male and female deutonymphs obtained from the stock culture were released. To prevent the movement of the mites to under surface of the leaf disc, proper care was taken so that there was no space left between edge of the leaf disc and cotton pad.

Fig 2: Culture of RSM in petri plates

Females were allowed to lay eggs for 48 hr, after which adults were removed (Fig. 3). These eggs were then allowed to hatch inside a BOD incubator (Labotech, Maharashtra, India, Model No. BD-55) maintained at 25±1°C and 80-90 per cent RH and the larvae thus obtained were reared till emergence of adults, which were used for bioassay (Fig. 4).

Page | 81

Fig 3: Eggs of O. coffeae

Fig 4: Adult male of O. coffeae

Fig 5: Adult female of O. coffeae

Collection of Plant Material Leaves of L. lavandulifolia were collected from the Instructional-cumResearch Farm, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat-13 during March-April, 2010 and 2011 (Fig. 5). Each year, hundred grams of air-dried leaves were finely powdered and successively extracted with ethyl alcohol in the Soxhlet extractor (Jain Scientific Glass Work, AmbalaCantt, India, Cat. No. 1194/2G) (Hazarika et al., 2008) (Fig. 6).

Fig 5: Twig and flower of Leucas lavandulifolia

Page | 82

Preparation of Plant Extract and Polarity Based Fractionation The extract collected in the Soxhlet extractor, ethyl alcohol was removed under reduced pressure using rotary vacuum flash evaporator (Buchi type, Jain Scientific Glass Work, Ambala Cantt, India, Cat. No.1188/1) after which a part of the resultant residue was dissolved in the same solvent to make up 100 per cent stock solution stored in the refrigerator for subsequent experiments. The stock solution was later diluted serially with the same solvent to prepare 1000, 2500, 5000, 7500 and 10,000 ppm concentration solutions for bioassay against O. coffeae taking pure ethyl alcohol as the control. The other part of the residue was subjected to polarity-based column chromatographic fractionationon glass column (Borosil, Mumbai, India, Product code-6110) of 60 cm length and 4 cm bore pre-packed with silica gel (60-120 mesh size, Qualigens, Mumbai, Product No. 27325). In each column, toluene was used first to extract the first fraction (F1); it was followed by chloroform to collect the second fraction (F2) and finally with methyl alcohol for the next fraction (F3). Each fraction was dried under reduced pressure using rotary vacuum flash evaporator (Buchi type, Jain Scientific Glass Work, Ambala Cantt, India, Cat. No.1188/1) and were refrigerated. A 100 percent stock solution of each fraction was prepared (w/v) using respective solvent and further diluted serially to obtain solution of50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 ppm concentrations. In each case, pure solvent was considered as the control. Bioassay against O. coffeae From the stock culture of RSM reared on detached leaves, twenty adults of one day old were transferred to fresh leaf discof 2.5 cm2 placed on moistened cotton pads in glass petri dishes of 15 cm diameter (Borosil, Page | 83

Mumbai, India, Cat. No. 3160).They were allowed to settle for 4 hours on which plant extracts and fractions of different concentrations were sprayed till run off with a chromatography sprayer (Jain Scientific Glass Work, AmbalaCantt, India, Cat. No.879/1) at constant pressure of 2.5 kgcm-2.Each treatment was replicated five times and the adult mortality data were recorded after 24, 48, 72 hours of treatment (HAT) visually with the aid of a stereoscopic microscope (Olympus India, New Delhi, Product code. MLXB). It was seen that those mites who were alive, they move quickly when prodded with a needle. Similarly, ovicidal property of the extract was also assayed with different concentrations byallowing female mites to lay eggs on detached leaf for 24 hours, and out of the total eggs, only twenty eggs were kept intact per detached leaf, which were sprayed with plant extracts subsequently. The hatching percentage was recorded on the each treatmentreplicated for three times till 90 per cent eggs in the control were hatched. Statistical Analysis The data were transformed to angular value and were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using completely randomized block design. The mortality data of 72 HAT were corrected after Abbott’s correction (Abbott, 1925) and subjected to probit analysis for calculation of LC50 values. Regression lines of probit against logarithmic transformation of concentrations were obtained. Slope function and confidential limits (upper and lower) of the regression line with Chi-square values were also calculated using SPSS computer software (Ver. 20.0) for LC50 values with the help of probit analysis. Results and Discussions Botanicals possess significant oviposition deterrence or antifeedent or toxic effects on selected tea pests (Hazarika et al., 2008; Hazarika et al., 2009). In addition, Leucas species are the rich sources of diterpenes, triterpenes, flavones, alkaloids, glycosides, sitosterols, chromon, sterol, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, leucolacton, stigmasterol, campesterol, isopimarane, rhamnoglucoside, etc. which have been isolated and characterized (Ele, 2003).Table 1 shows that ethyl alcohol extract of L. lavandulifolia caused 46 per cent to 97 per centmortality to the adult RSM at 72 HAT; mortality increases with increase in concentration and exposure time. Similarly, ovicidal effect of the same extract was also dependent upon dose and exposure time; higher the concentration, lower is the hatching of eggs of RSM (Fig.7). Ethyl alcohol extract of L. lavadulifolia were found to be acaricidal and ovicide at higher concentrations (Table 5&6 and Fig. 7). It Page | 84

is known that this solvent extracts several classes of allelochemicals such as glycosides, steroids, tannins and flavonoids (Makhija et al., 2001). Thus this crude extract may contain a complex mixture of alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, triterpenoids, essential oil, fatty alcohol, saponins, tannins (Shiraji, 1947; Bhattacharya, 1995; Mukherjee et al., 1998; Mostafa et al., 2012), iso pimarane rhamnoglucoside and linifolioside (Makhija et al., 2011) which produced acaricidal and ovicidal properties against the RSM. Flavanoids act as enzyme inhibitor and precursors toxic substances which may be responsible for acaricidal activity. Table 5: Effect of ethyl alcohol extract of L. lavandulifolia on adults of O. coffeae Concentration(ppm)

24 HAT 88 (70.17) 84 (69.70) 83 (65.81) 49 (44.39) 41 (39.74) 5 (9.96) 6.91 11.82 17.22

10000 7500 5000 2500 1000 Control S.Ed(±) C.D 0.05 C.D 0.01

Mean mortality (%) 48 HAT 93 (76.36) 90 (73.10) 89 (71.13) 52 (46.15) 45 (42.11) 6 (12.54) 7.11 12.16 17.71



Data within parrenthesis are the angular transformed value



HAT (Hours After Treatment)



Sample Size:20

72 HAT 97 (82.25) 92 (75.83) 91 (74.38) 53 (46.73) 46 (42.69) 7 (13.64) 6.48 11.09 16.15

Table 6: Effect of chromatographic fractions of L. lavandulifolia on adult RSM at 24, 48 and 72 hours after treatment (HAT) Concent ration (ppm)

Mortality (%) Toluene

Chloroform

Methyl alcohol

24

48

72

24

48

72

24

5000

100 (90.00)

100 (90.00)

100 (90.00)

92 (75.49)

94 (83.17)

96 (82.86)

84 (67.10)

48

90 94 (75.72) (79.17)

72

1000

98 (84.83)

100 (90.00)

100 (90.00)

92 (75.49)

93 (82.07)

94 (79.17)

62 (52.17)

68 72 (55.84) (56.49)

500

97 (83.73)

98 86.31)

100 (90.00)

83 (66.00)

86 (72.44)

88 (74.13)

62 (52.62)

66 71 (55.47) (62.36)

100

96 (81.15)

97 (83.73)

98 (86.31)

67 (55.37)

70 (57.57)

73 (59.41)

57 (49.28)

62 65 (52.20) (54.40)

50

90 (73.86)

92 (77.54)

93 (78.42)

44 (47.43)

48 (49.83)

50 (49.83)

46 (42.69)

51 55 (45.59) (47.93)

Control

2 (5.17)

3 (6.27)

5 (9.96)

4 (7.14)

4 (7.14)

5 (9.73)

3 (6.27)

4 (8.85)

5 (9.96)

Page | 85

S.Ed (±)

6.28

6.47

5.68

8.41

11.57

9.70

6.97

7.24

8.78

C.D.0.05

10.75

11.07

9.73

14.40

19.79

16.59

11.92

12.39

15.02

C.D0.01

15.66

16.13

14.17

20.97

28.82

24.17

17.36

18.04

21.87



Data within parrenthesis are the angular transformed value



Data within the column represent the mean mortality % of RSM adults



Sample size:20

Fig 7: Effect of ethyl alcohol extract of L. lavandulifolia on hatching success (%) of O. coffeae

The bio-efficacy test of the different chromatographic fractions of L. lavandulifolia against adult RSM displayed significant acaricidal and ovicidal properties at 72HAT. The toluene fraction was found to be the most toxic with highest activity causing cent percent mortality of the tested population at 500 ppm concentration, whereas at the same concentration, chloroform and methyl alcohol fractions caused 88 per cent and 71 per cent mortality, respectively (Table 6). Even as low as 50 ppm concentrationfractions were toxic; toluene caused 93 per cent mortality, whereas chloroform and methyl alcohol caused 50 per cent and 55 per cent mortality, respectivelyat 72 HAT (Table 6).It was also reported thatthe bioactive compounds, thus extracted, might act synergistically in the natural mixture (Berenbaum, 1985).In contrast, we found that individual fractions were most toxic than crude extracts which suggested the antagonistic interaction of various compounds present in the crude extract. The toluene fraction may contain steroids, which may cause death. It is a fact that toluene can extract sulphur compounds from plant materials. Sulfur is a strong acaricide, as such sulfur containing botanical obtained out of toluene fractionation are probably responsible for making the fraction moderately toxic. Chemical elucidation of these fractions is in progress. The biological Page | 86

activity of chloroform extract might be due to presence of acacetin and chrysoeriol (Smith, 1985; Chandrashekar et al., 2006). All the three fractions affected hatching of the RSM eggs; at 100 ppm, against 86 per cent hatching in the control, the chloroform acted as the most potent ovicide allowing 23.33 per centof the tested eggs to hatch, whereas it was toluene fraction which allowed 30 per cent to hatch. In contrast, methyl alcohol fraction allowed 70 per cent to hatch at the same concentration (Fig.8).

Fig 8: Effect of chromatographic fractions of L. lavandulifolia on hatching success (%) of O. coffeae

Excepting the methyl alcohol fraction, hatching inhibition was concentration dependent; higher the concentration lowerwas the hatching success. Furthermore, topical application of crude ethyl alcoholic extract of L. lavandulifolia leaves has inhibited embryogenesis, as a result which eggs failed to hatch (Fig.7). From the data hence obtained, it is clear that the phenomenon of stage specificity was exhibited by this plant. Such specificity of crude extracts/fractions of Adenocalymma nodosum (Bignoniaceae) on duration of pupal stage emergence of Tenebrio molitor was reported by De Menezes et al. (2014). Generally most of the commonly recommended acaricides are less toxic to the egg stage, while the chloroform fraction is moderately toxic to egg stage. This is an advantage which can be commercially exploited. Table 7 shows the relation between different concentration of L. lavandulifolia fractions and the mortality rate of adult RSM according to Page | 87

probit analysis. Mortality data were fitted for LC50upper and lower limits and fitted for regression equation along with slope function. In the fitted regression equation, the values were directly related with the exposure period. The inclination of the regression line or the slanting slopes indicated that increased in concentration of L. lavandulifolia extracts enhanced mortality of the adult RSM and reduced hatching success. Further, increased in regression co-efficient with respect to reduction in LC50 values, Chisquare tests showed that all values were well fitted at 0.05 probability levels. The results of probit analysis such as LC50 values, 95 per cent confidence limits and regression equation are presented in Table 3. The LC50 values of L. lavandulifolia extracts divulges the susceptibility of adult RSM depends on concentration and duration of exposure. Table 7: LC50 value of crude extract (CE) and chromatographic fractions (CF) of L. lavandulifolia leaves against adult and eggs of O. coffeae Chi Treatment LC50(ppm) square df (x2)

95% fiducial limit Lower

Upper

Regression equation

Slope (regression coefficient ± S.E.)

Adult Ethyl alcohol (CE)

74.402

70.566 23 55.642

94.699

Y = - 2.261+ 1.208±0.053 1.208x

Toluene (CF)

6.624

82.824 23

0.003

18.755

Y= 1.662±0.325 1.365+1.662x

Chloroform (CF)

38.827

137.432 23 18.906

62.500

Y= - 1.574+ 0.991x

0.991±0.052

Methyl alcohol (CF)

42.887

84.813 23 17.015

76.982

Y= - 0.934+ 0.572x

0.572±0.040

85.962 13 2031.235 3627.231

Y= 9.6542.787x

-2.787±0.169

Egg Ethyl alcohol (CE)

2909.552

Toluene (CF)

10.814

33.650 10

0.048

51.083

Y= 0.5330.515x

-0.515±0.073

Chloroform (CF)

2.648

44.656 10

0.001

30.143

Y= 0.2000.474x

-0.474±0.078

Methyl alcohol (CF)

1672.191

Y= 1.9070.592x

-0.592±0.062

47.945 10 821.348 6058.520

The LC50 value of L. lavandulifolia extract on ethyl alcohol extract, as well as, toluene-, chloroform- and methyl alcohol- fractions were 74.402, 6.624, 38.827 and 42.887 ppm, respectively. As ovicidal, LC50 values of Page | 88

ethyl alcohol extract, toluene-, chloroform- and methyl alcohol- fractions were 2909.552, 10.814, 2.648 and 1672.191 ppm, respectively. The results indicated that the toluene extract of L. lavandulifolia was the most toxic (6.624 ppm) and the crude ethyl alcohol extract was the least toxic (74.402 ppm). Chi square values of extracts at 72 HAT were significant at 5 per cent probability level and did not show any heterogeneity of the mortality data. The reason for having higher LC 50(2909.552 ppm) with respect to the crude ethyl alcohol extract of L. lavandulifolia may be due to the interaction of various compounds in combination producing antagonistic effects.Ethyl alcohol is extracting most of the polar compounds, which probably do not have good acaricidal property and is practically non-toxic. Antagonistic relationship among phytochemicals affecting the efficacy of crude extracts of medicinal plant, Rauvolfia caffra was earlier reported by Milugo et al.(2013) corroborate our findings. As acaricide, fraction of L. lavandulifolia extract can be arranged by toluene > chloroform > methyl alcohol; likewise as ovicide, the arrangement is chloroform > toluene > methyl alcohol. The results thus obtained, revealed that the leaves of L. lavandulifolia are rich in toxic bioactive principles possessing acaricidal and ovicidal properties against the RSM of tea, which is the first report of such kind and can successfully be utilized in IPM strategy for tea pest. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of India for financial support. We are also thankful to the AAU Authority for providing laboratory facilities. Reference 1.

Abbott WS. A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide. J Econ. Entomo. 1925; 18:266-267.

2.

Andrewartha HG, Birch LC. The Distribution and Abundance of Animals. Chicago University Press, Chicago, 1954.

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Banerjee B. The threshold values in mite pest control. Two Bud. 1971; 18(1):20-21.

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Banerjee B. An analysis of the effect of latitude, age and area on the number of arthropod pest species of tea. J Appl. Ecol. 1981; 18:339-42

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Berenbaum M. Brementown revisited: interactions among allelochemicals in plants. Rec. Adv. in Phytochem. 1985; 19:30-169. Page | 89

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Bhattacharya S. ChiranjibBanoushudhi. Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Calcutta, 1995, 234-263.

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Chandrashekar KS, Arun BJ, Satyanarayana D, Subramanyam EVS. Flavonoid glycoside from Leucaslavandulaefolia (Rees) aerial parts. Ind. J Chem. 2006; 45:1968-1969

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Chang K. World tea production and trade: Current and future development. A publication by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Rome, 2015. http://www.fao.org/3/ai4480e.pdf

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Cranham JE. Tea pests and their control. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 1966; 11:491-514.

10. Das GM. Bionomics of the tea red spider, Oligonychuscoffeae (Neitner). Bull. Entomol. Res. 1959; 50:265-74. 11. Das GM. Pests of tea in North-East India and their control. Memorandum No. 27.Second Edition. Tocklai Experimental Station, Jorhat (Assam), 1965, 116. 12. Das P, Saikia S, Kalita S, Hazarika LK, Dutta SK. Effect of temperature on biology of red spider mite (Oligonychuscoffeae) on three different TV clones. Ind. J Agril. Sci. 2012; 82(3):255-259. 13. De Menezes CWG, Tavares WD, De Souza EG, Soares MA, Serrão JE, Zanuncio JC. Effects of crude extract fractions of Adenocalymmanodosum (Bignoniaceae) on duration of pupa stage emergence of Tenebriomolitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and phytotoxicity on vegetable crops. Allelo. J. 2014; 33:141-150. 14. Ele S. Chemical studies of Leucasmartinicensis. M.Sc. Thesis, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 2003. 15. Haque M, Wahab A, Naher N, Begum A. Developmental stages of red the spider mite, Oligonychuscoffeae Neitner (Acari: Tetranychidae) infesting rose. University Journal of Zoology, Rajshahi University. 2007; 26:71-72. 16. Hazarika LK, Barua NC, Kalita S, Gogoi N. In search of green pesticides for tea pest management: Phologocanthus thyrsiflorus experience. In: Recent Trends in Insect Pest Management. Ignacimuthu, S. and Jayaraj, S. (eds). Elite Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 2008, 79-90. 17. Hazarika LK, Bhuyan M, Hazarika BN. Insect pests of tea and their management. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 2009a; 54:267-284.

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18. Hazarika LK, Puzari KC, Kalita S, Das P, Saikia S. In vitro efficacy of botanicals in combination with Verticilliumlecanii (Zimm.)Viegas for management of red spider mite in tea. Pestic. Res. J. 2009b; 21(1):1621. 19. Hazarika LK, Sharma M, Saikia MK, Borthakur M. Biochemical basis of mite resistance in tea. (in) National Conference on Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology held on October 19, 1995 at Trivandrum, Kerala, 1995. 20. Helle W, Sabellis MW. Spider mites-Their Biology, Natural Enemies and Control. Elsevier Science Publishing Company Inc. 52, Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY-10017, 1985, 331-5. 21. Isman MB. Botanical insecticides, deterrents and repellents in modern agriculture and an increasingly regulated world. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 2006; 51:45-66. 22. Jain NK. Global advances in tea science. New Delhi: Aravali Books, 1999, 882. 23. Makhija IK, Chandrashekar KS, Richard L, Jaykumar B. Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Leucaslavandulaefolia: A review. Res. J Med. Plant. 2011; 5:500-507. 24. Milugo TK, Omosa LK, Ochanda JO, Owuor BO, Wamunyokoli FA, Oyugi JO, et al. Antagonistic effect of alkaloids and saponins on bioactivity in the quinine tree (RauvolfiacaffraSond): Further evidence to support biotechnology in traditional medicinal plants. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2013; 13:285. 25. Mostafa M, Hossain H, Hossain MA, Biswas PK, Haque MZ. Insecticidal activity of plant extract against Triboliumcastaneum Herbst. J Adv. Sci. Res. 2012; 3:80-84. 26. Mukherjee PK, Saha K, Murugesan T, Mandal SC, Pal M, Saha BP. Screening of anti-diarrhoeal profile of some plant extracts of a specific region of West Bengal, India. J Ethnopharm. 1998; 60:85-89. 27. Muraleedharan N. Sustainable cultivation of tea.Handbook of tea culture, section 24.UPASI Tea Research Foundation, Niran Dam, Valparai, 2006, 1-12. 28. Radhakrishnan B. Indigenous botanical preparations for Pest and disease control in tea. Bull. UPASI tea research Foundation. 2010; 55:31-39. 29. Shiraji AM. Studies on Leucasaspera. Ind. J Pharma. Sci. 1947; 19:116117.

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30. Smith JE. Complete isolation of acacetin and chrysoeriol from Leucaslavandulifolia. Acta Pharmaceutica Indonesia. 1985; 110:27-36. 31. Thacker JMR. An Introduction to Arthropod Pest Control. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2002, 343. 32. Watt G, Mann HN. The Pests and Blights of the Tea Plant. Government Printing Press. Calcutta, 1903, 429.

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Chapter - 5 WhatsApp Groups: A Powerful Tool and Farming Solution for Sustainable Agricultural Development DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a05

Authors I Isaac Devanand Department of Agricultural Extension, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, New Delhi, India I Merlin Kamala Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

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Chapter - 5 WhatsApp Groups: A Powerful Tool and Farming Solution for Sustainable Agricultural Development I Isaac Devanand and I Merlin Kamala DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a05

India is predominantly an agrarian country, where 70 per cent of the population is directly or indirectly involved in agriculture and allied sectors. India is the second largest producer of agriculture-based products. Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58 per cent of India’s population. People depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture stands on the very complex interaction between biological, climatic and geographical factors in addition to human activities. Agricultural system is unpredictable, unstable, subjective, site specific and reliant on empirical decision given the inhered variability of biological phenomena. In spite of nation’s priorities and developmental strategies in post-independence period where greater emphasis is placed on reducing poverty, hunger and ensuring quality of life to its people, we are still ranked low in human development index. People particularly small, marginal and landless farm households are living under deprived conditions and far from the reach of modern age amenities. Good education, better health facilities, required skill and attitude for successful living are beyond the reach of poor people. Living conditions of people are very miserable in terms of health, nutrition etc. India has about 6.4 lakh villages most with appalling physical infrastructure (road, power, and telecom), groaning social infrastructure (education and health) and an underdeveloped institution (banking and marketing). Most of the villages are caught in the malicious cycle of poor connectivity, low productivity, low income and low consumption. Agriculture sector provides employment to 65 per cent of the population. Agriculture alone contributes 24 per cent of our total GDP. Our economy is based on agriculture but the condition of both farmers and farming is really serious. Agriculture and allied sectors are providing employment and livelihood to many of the rural households. The green revolution of sixties – seventies has changed the face of Indian agriculture but now it seems that the new approaches are required to meet present day challenges to compete in the global market. Our farmers are still using labour intensive agriculture Page | 95

production technique and there is lack of attitude for diversification in agriculture. Most of our farmers are unaware of recent technologies and global demand. With the increasing load of population and stagnated agriculture production this sector is headed for collapse. Smallholder farming systems in India are much less productive and profitable as they should be (GOI, 2015). As per census 2011, 54.3 percent of the population of India is engaged in agriculture (GOI, 2015). Technology and information gap seems to be one of the major factors for poor agricultural productivity (Singh, 2002). This breach seems to be the result of insufficiencies of the current agricultural information delivery system. Yield increases of 50 percent or more often occur; when improved inputs are used, and better technology and knowledge applied. Limited coverage, insufficient focus and attention to extension, shortage of manpower, budgetary constraints, infrequent interaction and absence of regular feedback have affected the quality of agricultural advisory services (Birner and Anderson, 2007; Cole and Fernando, 2012; Kaka et al. 2014; Glendenning et al. 2010). Inspite of the importance of agriculture in our nation, majority of the Indian farmers still practice agriculture using conventional methods (Akar, 2001). Lack of adequate infrastructure, financial help, knowledge and awareness among the farmers are the main factors responsible for such condition of our agricultural sector (Awl, 2010). To meet the present-day challenges in agriculture due to climate change and global competitiveness and to meet out the technology gap, there is an urgent need to reform agriculture system. Lack of better and up-to-date information that has made most farmers make uninformed decisions on farming practices leading to unnecessary losses. Scientific approach is required at the level of actual user to meet the challenge. Low-cost information and communication technology (ICT) tools promise the ability to deliver timely, relevant, and actionable information to farmers throughout the world (Aker, 2010; Cole and Fernando, 2012, World Bank, 2016). The urge of communication with people for personal as well as commercial use has given rise to the invention of websites which we call now as social networking services (SNSs). SNSs had not only been a part of personal growth and had been a boon to IT industries, educational institutions, marketing and had sought the attention of everyone almost. There had been many kinds of SNSs since internet evolution. Most of the SNSs are incorporated into a complete and coherent concept called the SNP (Social Networking Platform). Digital India is one such initiative taken by the Government of India to ensure that Government services are made available to all its citizens electronically. It Page | 96

includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks and know about the latest technologies in the field of agriculture and are adopting those to increase their crop yield. Among these tools, the mobile internet offers a futuristic scope for access to varied forms of dynamic information needed in agricultural production. The use of smart phones to provide localized agricultural information can help to reduce crop losses, improve yields as well as has a much more powerful equalizing effect on the incomes of small farmers, including rural women (Shoham, 2015). Smart phone users spend considerably more time on social media platforms such as WhatsApp. Out of various social media tools available, the most popular one is WhatsApp. Figure 1 describes its growth in first four years. In addition to text messaging, users can send each other images, video, and audio media messages. It provides zero cost communication facility. Over 27 billion messages are sent by over 300 million users everyday on WhatsApp! That’s more than any other social networking site by order of several magnitudes. Thus, there exists an ample opportunity to utilize WhatsApp for agricultural extension activities. WhatsApp group for farming solution is a recent extension approach with the aid of internet and smart phones. Presently, most of the mobile agricultural information services being delivered in Asia are voiced and SMS based services. The ratio of featured phone users to the smart phone users in developing countries is nearly four to one (FAO, 2012). The number of internet users in India are likely to be over 500 million by 2020 (Morgan Stanley, 2015). In rural India, mobiles have become major ways to access the internet. Rural mobile internet use has grown from less than a million in 2010 to 25 million people in 2014. This rapid spread of mobile technology in rural areas of India offers a fresh channel for delivering agricultural services and an opportunity to engage countrified communities in new ways (Vodafone Foundation, 2015). WhatsApp has over a billion-people using it to stay in touch with their friends and families worldwide. It is trendy to use it even more for agricultural information sharing. WhatsApp offers is a form of a social media tool that enables one to many and many to many types of conversation and sharing information and facilitating discussion (Andres and Woodard, 2013). It has become the most preferred mode of communication among the smart phone using farmers. One can share information in multiple forms ranging from textbased messages to audios, visuals; audio-visual and even web links making it an information enriched platform. Additionally, information sharing is possible at any place and at any time without worrying about background Page | 97

disturbances. This tool is simpler and easy to use, has low internet data requirements, and is increasingly popular in rural India. Thus, it has a strong potential to be a viable agricultural extension tool for extension-based organisations in general and extension educators, in particular, to reach out to the WhatsApp using farming clientele. The applications of WhatsApp in agriculture are diverse. However, efficient use of WhatsApp goes beyond mere by information dissemination to exchange and user rendezvous. Advantages of Using WhatsApp 1.

Most convenient and suitable way of communicating with the farmers

The existing forms of extension education methods viz., face to face, mass media, etc. require a considerable time and efforts to communicate with the farmers. Farmers have to take efforts to reach plant clinics and to meet specialists. Mass media methods demand high infrastructure requirements, content preparation, refinement and delivery to produce the desired effect. In contrast, WhatsApp seems to be a relatively easier and simpler ICT tool for farmers. This does not require much of ICT skills. It can be easily operated through mobile internet. 2.

Requires lesser internet data demands

WhatsApp requires less internet when compared to other applications, which is highly beneficial for farmers. WhatsApp usage has reduced transaction costs as well as made interaction with farmers more frequent. In the Indian State of Karnataka, the Department of Agriculture has made it mandatory for its development officials to have a smartphone so that they could share information, messages, and circulars through WhatsApp (Chander, 2016). 3.

Extends scope for agricultural extension

Extension services can be rendered very easily to the agricultural community in need instantly. Mass Media is one of the most popular medium of stemming information as almost 20 percent of farming community get information from them (NSSO,2014). WhatsApp as an extension tool already has a huge user base globally as well as in developing countries. Within few seconds, one can disseminate information to a large number of intended and unintended recipients beyond limitations of time and geographical boundaries. Opportunities for further feedback and clarifications are high through this tool. Similarly, office hours of work are limited to extension educators. WhatsApp offers a communication approach that can be quite flexible, which is rapid and prompt. Sufficient snippets of information dissemination can also be delivered Page | 98

through WhatsApp. This is possible through WhatsApp web version in which one can use desktop/laptop keyboard to type faster and with greater ease. Further, it’s now quite easy to send a message through WhatsApp in most of the Indian and foreign languages. Thus, WhatsApp has the potential to enhance the coverage and scope of extension. 4.

Proper information delivery

In other methods of information delivery such as verbal methods, including mobile call centre services; chances of loss of vital information are high. Information may be incompletely understood, retained, forgotten during face to face and mass media (Television, Radio) extension methods. In WhatsApp, the information storage, archival and transfer to hard data-storage devices such as a computer is also possible. Further, information can be delivered in multiple ways such as audios, texts, visuals, and audio-visuals. The understanding of the message would, therefore, would be relatively high, through this medium. 5.

Highly participative and user friendly

Current extension education activities are largely one way of information delivery. Training lectures, mobile based agro advisory services offer fewer opportunities to farmers to respond and ask queries. The farmers may remain hesitant to clarify his doubts, and many of his queries may remain unanswered. WhatsApp has the potential to reduce these limitations. Even hesitant and shy farmers can participate through encouragement and support. User feedback is easier to receive, and it is prompt. One can communicate instantaneously through multiple ways in one to one, one to many and many to many ways. 6.

Encourages peer learning

Learning is amplified, and knowledge becomes more widely available as the network of people, tools and connections strengthen. WhatsApp groups fulfil requirements of this kind of learning as it can promote farmer networking and interaction. It is easier for farmers to communicate with peers, extension professionals and experts in real time. Many times, fellow farmers answer the queries of other farmers. This has the potential to build networking and trust among each other. 7.

WhatsApp is more advantageous than Kisan Call Centers

The government of India uses mKisan portal in which farmer queries are addressed through the inflow of calls in Kisan Call centres. These centres along with SMS based services offer a good piece of information to the farmers. However, there are certain limitations of this mechanism. Many of Page | 99

the farmers report that the information offered through these centres is sometimes very general in nature. Diagnosing the problem in detail and delivering prompt need-based answers is lacking. These limitations can be overcome through the use of WhatsApp. The queries can be posted in type of pictures and audio-visual format. This arrangement can improve diagnosis and advice to the farmers (Mittal et al., 2010). Further, farmers can post a query at any time and at any place irrespective of background ambient noises and other disturbances. The resource person has ample time to think and refers to the query in detail. The assessment of farmer’s query is better through this platform. Thus, the possibility of relevant and accurate information delivery remains much higher through this platform. Furthermore, there are greater chances of peer discussions and learning, which are impossible through mobile advisory services. Furthermore, important answered queries and discussions can be archived for future reference. Applications of WhatsApp in Agriculture Extension 1.

Plant-based diagnostic support

Information on how to diagnose and treat plant disease and pest attack is important for farmers. Plant diseases and pests that could wipe out the entire crop is one of the biggest risks that farmers face (Mittal et al., 2010). Lack of awareness, distant locations and long hours of diligence and work makes farmer’s reluctant to visit plant clinics to seek timely plant diagnostic support. Even with the toll-free calls due to longer call waiting for services, noise disturbances, poor voice quality due to network problems, use of more technical language, lack of audio-visual backup may affect the quality of information delivered. WhatsApp has certain unique advantages in this regard. First is that it does not suffer from geographical and time limitations. At an instant, farmers can post his/her query without visiting the agriculture centre. This can save a considerable amount of time, money as well as the worry of the farmers. They can post pictures of different parts (leaves, stem, fruits, and roots) of infected crops. This can be supplemented through text or even a short-duration video. WhatsApp provides a good medium in which farmers can receive crop diagnostic support services. Besides, the resource person has greater freedom to think and even discuss the plant health problem and is more able to diagnose the problem due to a visual examination which is impossible in case of many existing mobiles-based agricultural information services. Furthermore, during answering query the other farmers facing a similar type of problem are as well likely to find answers to their problems. Thus, WhatsApp offers a better alternative than toll-free Kisan Call centre which farmers have reported to be more general in nature. Page | 100

2.

Livestock based diagnostic support

The occurrence of new diseases poses as an unforeseen problem to farmer leaving him clueless and in a confused state. This along with another labour demanding routine agricultural chores delay timely intervention needed to the ailing animal. As a result, due to negligence the owner faces several animal production losses. WhatsApp can provide timely information and advice and can significantly reduce major complications likely to emerge in case the animal remains unattended by the basic veterinary aids. Basic first aid support for a number of animal health problems such as seasonal diarrhoea, heat stress, worm load, mineral deficiency diseases, minor digestive disorders, wounds, reduced feed intake and decreased milk production can be offered through this platform. Furthermore, receiving feedback about/on recovered animal is easier through this platform. This can definitely improve the quality of disease diagnosis and timely veterinary aid. After receiving the queries from different experts, the mediator can share the pooled advice in an easily understandable form to the farmer clienteles (Thakur, 2016). Challenges of using WhatsApp in Agriculture 1.

Diversity among the groups: The group members were randomly selected and as a result, there are variations in terms of age, education, cultural background as well as the type of agricultural enterprise. The group members of varied and mixed enterprises carrying out activities in cereal production, vegetable production, dairy production, goat entrepreneurship, poultry, horticulturalism and floriculturism etc. Further, they undertake agriculture as either a full-time or as a subsidiary activity. The only commonality among them is that they are WhatsApp users. Due to their different backgrounds, information delivery suited to their needs remains a challenge.

2.

Requires regular attention: Use of social media requires regular and frequent attention. Sometimes members may post impertinent contents in form of promotional messages, jokes, etc. Hence; the members may be reminded not to post such type of irrelevant messages in the group. Repeated offenders may be removed from the group. Furthermore, the quality of images received through farmer participants of the group may sometimes be poor in offering diagnostic information and advice to them.

3.

Commitment of Administrators: WhatsApp usage in agricultural extension requires committed time and effort of administrators and Page | 101

to a certain extent, from the members as well. One has to keep on posting something new, which must be pertinent to the farmers (Yadav et al. 2015). Similarly, information received through mobile phones have also been criticised by farmers as generic, old and of routine nature surprising as locally contextual content has productivity (Mittal et al., 2010). Content curation, as well as content management, can, therefore, be the biggest challenge of using WhatsApp for the farmers. Often farmers in developing countries have limited internet data pack availability. So, care should be taken about posting excessive updates, which may create unnecessary information overload as well lost of internet data to them. Instead, periodic short snippets of information can be offered. Success Stories of WhatsApp Groups There were a lot of success stories of WhatsApp groups as a farming solution. Few are discussed below: Punjab WhatsApp group “Young innovative farmers” is a recent success of this technology dissemination. Farmers in Punjab can now get immediate advice via a WhatsApp group “Young Innovative Farmers”, about soil health, use of fertilisers and pesticides and from crop health to seed procurement. The group was set up by Gurdaspur Agriculture Development Officer, Dr Amrik Singh. “Moreover, the farmers in the group have set up their own groups with local farmers to disseminate the information,” WhatsApp groups connects farmers with each other. One particular WhatsApp group, ‘Baliraja’, allows farmers from various villages to seek and share agriculture advice as well as connect with experts in various fields and learn new practices. This group has now been active for over two years and was founded by Anil Bandawane, a farmer from Junnar close to Pune. Bandawane said that he began the group “to discuss exotic vegetables like broccoli, zucchini which are in demand in urban markets. But the biggest discussion is always about soil and the rain. The group’s membership grew from 100 to more than 400. In a novel initiative to promote organic farming, Neeleshwaram municipality of Kerala state has embarked on an ambitious project by forming a ‘WhatsApp’ group of stake holders to streamline cultivation making use of available barren land. The group coordinated by the municipal Secretary has councillors, aspiring group farmers, Kerala Agriculture University experts, Agriculture officials, Community Development Society (CDS) members, and vegetable vendors. Page | 102

In a distant, dusty village in India with no motorable road and poor electrical connectivity, a cow owned by a farm woman is sick and there is no veterinarian around. Normally, she would have lost her cow but with her recently purchased mobile phone, she could connect with the veterinary doctor in WhatsApp and got the needed advice on time. Yet another farmer in a remote, mountainous terrain in the north-eastern part of India finds the leaves of his chilies curling. Fearing crop failure, he takes photos of the affected plants sends them via WhatsApp to the expert in the nearest agricultural university seeking advice so he could save his crop (Kamal, 2016). In the Indian state of Karnataka, the Department of Agriculture made it mandatory for agricultural development officials to have smartphones so that they could share information, messages, and circulars through WhatsApp, even before hard copies could reach them. This helped officials to take quick action and improve their interactions with farmers in distress. Farmers are even using WhatsApp to connect with consumers and to sell vegetables via WhatsApp groups. In India, WhatsApp is even changing the way people grow and buy food. Some agripreneurs have turned WhatsApp into a classified marketplace helping farmers to trade grains, vegetables, seeds, irrigation equipment and tractors, and more. At the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) manages a WhatsApp group consisting of 256 farmers and agricultural scientists. On average, 10 to 12 queries are posted daily in this group, which is considered by the participating farmers as very beneficial. WhatsApp group have been shared below in Table 1: (Kamal, 2016; Vora, 2015) Table 1: Examples of popular WhatsApp groups for farming solution in India Name of the group

Information about members

Administrator of the group

Type of content shared

Krishi Jagran group

Farmers of states of Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh, Madya Pradesh, Maharastra

Farmer Entrepreneur

Information about crop varieties, soil management, irrigation practices, agricultural machinery, input companies, marketing prices of various commodities

Pasupalan group

Farmers of states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Haryana and Gujarat

Veterinarian

Information about livestock breeds, feeding and health management.

Balirajja

Farmers of states of

Farmer

1. Pictures of agricultural Produce

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Maharashtra

Young Progressive framers group

Farmers of state of Punjab,

5. Goat

Farmers of Pune and Mumbai

Entrepreneur

2. General information on agriculture problems.

1. Information about seed treatment of wheat and paddy 2. Information about soil testing based application of phosphate fertilizers in the cultivation of Agricultural paddy officer, Punjab 3. Awareness regarding management of yellow rust disease in addition to information about training camps to beorganized. Managed by Farmer Entrepreneur

1. Photos of Live animals 2. Negotiations of selling and buying

Use of WhatsApp as a Tool for Agricultural Development – A review Strengths 1) Cross Platform: WhatsApp Messenger works on various platforms and number of devices such as iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Nokia S60. Majority of the farmers in our nation are small and marginal. However, the advantage of using WhatsApp messenger is that it works on almost every smart phone. 2) Services can be availed at almost no Cost: Communication using WhatsApp Messenger can be done without any extra cost except the cost of getting internet connectivity. Compared to SMS facility, sending messages through WhatsApp is cheaper. Even thorough its free calling facility, the farmers can call to researchers and consumers to communicate with them. 3) No Special Training or Skills Required: Using WhatsApp does not require to learn about any new technology. It offers an easy and instantaneous way to communicate with other users. Moreover, the voice messaging feature allows people to communicate without having the knowledge of English. This can help rural people avail the benefits of social networking and internet. 4) Knowledge Sharing: WhatsApp can be used in keeping ourselves informed about latest happenings around the world; current updates in the agricultural sector; latest government policies, schemes and subsidies; weather forecast; market value of agricultural produce; latest farm machines and technologies related to agriculture; etc. 5) Group Chatting Feature: By using WhatsApp you can share information just one click and send to many people using group chatting feature for some discussions related to any problems faced Page | 104

by the farmers related to crop diseases and yield; climate and environmental conditions, price of agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.; market price of their crops and many more. 6) You can share your location, photos, status, videos and audio with your friends The concept of “Kisan Call Centre” did not become popular among the farmers due to lack of proper communication medium between the farmers and the agricultural experts. Whereas, WhatsApp makes it more easily and informatively by just clicking and sending one snap or video to representative source, after analyzing the problem at researcher level, farmer will get solution of related problem instantly. Weakness 1) Requires Internet: You must have access to internet to send and receive messages for free and there is no possibility of reading messages sent to the phone inbox in the same application. However, some of the rural areas do not have internet connectivity which can limit farmers in those areas from accessing WhatsApp. 2) Requires Good Signal Strength of Network: We know WhatsApp runs using internet, so better the signal strength faster the downloading or uploading of informative photos or videos and vice versa. 3) Limitation in the number of members in a group: For sharing new technology to the farmers about innovations in agriculture WhatsApp groups can be created. But such groups can have maximum of 256 members. Hence, limited persons can join in group chatting or informative communication. 4) Limitations in the maximum size of data that can be sent: WhatsApp has limitations of sending media files of size approximately 18 MB. Moreover, non-media files like pdf, document, program files, etc. cannot be sent through WhatsApp. 5) Both sender and receiver need to have data balance: While sending data through WhatsApp, both the sender and receiver need to pay for internet data charges. In case the receiver does not have enough data balance, he/she cannot download the content uploaded by the sender leading to failure in communication. 6) Requires power: Electricity is required for charging of smart phones to access WhatsApp but electricity is not available throughout the day in some remote control areas in our country. Page | 105

Opportunities 1) Enhance the Quality and Productivity: Increases the quality and productivity of crops by frequent interaction with particular crop researcher by sending problems in the form of photos or videos. For example, farmers can send a picture of their crops affected by a particular disease to the agro scientists who can detect the disease at an early stage and suggest preventive treatments. This can provide better quality and quantity of crops to the farmers. Even the knowledge about latest agricultural technologies can be shared through WhatsApp to get better crop yield and quality. 2) Increase the Farmers’ Income: WhatsApp has an opportunity to form a platform where they can directly sell their produce to the consumers eliminating middlemen like in case of fruits and vegetables. This will increase their profits. In case a farmer does not have adequate land or produce, such farmers can form a group on WhatsApp to market their products collectively. 3) Developing new Research in Agriculture: WhatsApp is also a good media to share new developments in new technology. At present, many agricultural universities have their students and professors carrying research. They can share their research outcomes and ideas so that new technologies can be developed by collective thinking. Threats 1) Charging money for using WhatsApp services: WhatsApp is boon for today’s society and does not charge money for its services. However, if WhatsApp starts charging for the use of its application and services, then people may move towards other free and low prizing apps. Hence, it may be very difficult to keep farmers connected through WhatsApp. 2) Information sharing is like a double-edged sword: There is no one to check the authenticity of information, which is shared on WhatsApp. Users trust on their friends about the trueness of the information. In case, wrong information is transmitted then it will have an adverse impact. Hence, the administrator of the group needs to keep an eye on the information, which is shared in the group. 3) Competition from other social media platforms: With social media and internet growing at a rapid pace, there is bound to be competition among the social network platforms. In this situation, it may happen that the share and popularity of WhatsApp may decrease Page | 106

owing to strong competition from other platforms like WeChat, Hike, etc. Conclusion There are many social media tools of which WhatsApp being the most popular one is used by majority of Indian population, which also includes the farmer community. Though India with its agriculture-based economy, the use of technology in agriculture and allied sectors especially in farming has not been explored. This opens up a platform to utilize IT. In this era of Digital India- an initiative led by the Government of India, mGovernance and mServices are preferred to be provided by mobile phones. Even farmers have started owing mobile phones. Hence, WhatsApp Messenger can be used by the farmers to get knowledge and share their issues with the world. It can serve as a communication medium between the farmers and the agricultural experts. As every coin has two sides, use of WhatsApp does have some issues, which can definitely be overcome for the betterment of the farmers in particular, and the nation as a whole. Social media platforms are continuously evolving. Online communities tend to be more fickle and fragile as visual cues and body languages are generally lacking (Andres and Woodard, 2013). This can also be a challenge while using social media platforms to communicate with farmer clientele. This is a technology that depends on upon the human interface. Unless the users are enthusiastic about its use, this platform would not succeed. WhatsApp is actually transforming agriculture value chain actors such as agro dealers, agribusiness SMEs, and agriculture extension workers creating value for smallholder farmers. Rather than travelling long distances to farmers’ fields, extension agents are increasingly using either mobiles or a combination of phone calls, text, videos, and the Internet. This reduces transaction costs and interacting with farmers becomes more frequent. As youngsters are the back bone of our country attracting youth with latest technologies like ‘WhatApp” groups will encourage their involvement in agriculture. WhatsApp is an easy and cost effective way to establish and maintain linkages with smartphone farmer clientele. As researchers, it does let us know more about agricultural problems at the grassroots level. As an extensionist, it helps build trust and credibility among the farmers. Overall, it is a wonderful tool to promote and support networking, encouragement and enthusiasm among the farmers. Extension-based organisations should encourage and support this innovative outreach tool.

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References 1.

Akar E. (2010) Eskisehir: Anadolu Universitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 10(1):107-122.

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Aker, J.C. 2011. Dial “A” for agriculture: a review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries. Agricultural Economics., 42(6):631-647.

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Andres, D. and Woodard, J. 2013. Social media handbook for agricultural development practitioners, ISBN: 0-89492-918-6, USAID Washington D.C. United States. Retrieved as http://ictforag.org/toolkits/social/index.html#.Vrmq-1SF5dg.

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Awl D. 2010. Facebook me! A guide to socializing, sharing, and promoting on Facebook.

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Birner, R. and Anderson, J.R. 2007. How to Make Agricultural Extension Demand Driven? The Case of India's Agricultural Extension Policy. Washington, D.C. IFPRI.

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Chander, M. 2016. WhatsApp in Agriculture? Blog/ Global Forum on Agriculture (GFAR) https://blog.gfar.net/2016/07/14/whatsapp-inagriculture/

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Cole, S.A. and Fernando, A.N. 2012. The value of advice: Evidence from mobile phone based agricultural extension.

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FAO, 2012. Mobile technologies for food security, agriculture and rural development: Role of the public sector, Rome FAO.

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Glendenning, C.J., Babu, S. and Asenso-Okyere, K. 2010. Review of Agricultural Extension in India. Are farmers information needs being met?

10. GOI, 2015. Raising agricultural productivity and making farming remunerative for farmers, an Occasional Paper, NITI Aayog, Government of India. New Delhi. 11. Kaka, N., Madgavkar, A., Manyika, J., Bughin, J. and Parameswaran, P. 2014. India's Technology Opportunity: Transforming Work, Empowering People, a report, McKinsey Global Institute. 12. Kamal, K.S. 2014. Agro officer using whatsapp to connect with farmers, Hindustan Times, Gurdaspur, October 9, Punjab, India. http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/agroofficer-using-whatsapp-toconnect-with-farmers/story-2OFvrDU3pvmPFXpBupwytO.html.

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13. Mittal, S., Gandhi, S, and Tripathi, G. 2010. Socio-economic impact of mobile phones on Indian agriculture (p. 53). New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. 14. Morgan Stanley. 2015. The Next India: Internet—Opening up New Opportunities, A Research report. 15. NSSO.2014. Key Indicators of Situation of Agricultural Households in India, NSS 70th Round, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, GOI, New Delhi. 16. Shoham, J.2015. Access to mobile and inequalities in agriculture in India, The Policy Paper, Series Number 16, Vodafone. 17. Singh, R.B., Kumar, P. and Woodhead, T. 2002. Smallholder Farmers in India: Food Security and Agricultural Policy, Rome FAO. 18. Thakur D. 2016. An Expert-backed WhatsApp group that works for Farmers, Global Forum on Agriculture (GFAR) bloghttps://blog.gfar.net/2016/09/12/an-expert-backedwhatsapp- groupthat-works-for-farmers. 19. Vodafone Foundation. 2015. Connected Farming in India. How Mobile can supportfarmers Livelihoods, A report. 20. Vora, R. 2015. WhatsApp turns a trading platform for Gujarat farmers, Business Line, April 29, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sundaytimes/ WhatsApp-Theother-Kisan-channel/articleshow/48637478.cms 21. World Bank. 2016. World Development Report: Digital Dividends. Washington, DC.World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 22. Yadav, K., R. Sulaiman V., N.T. Yaduraju, V. Balaji and T.V. Prabhakar. 2015. ICTs in knowledge management: the case of the Agropedia platform for Indian agriculture. Knowledge Management for Development Journal 11(2): 5-22.

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Chapter - 6 Soil Groups of India DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a06

Authors Parveen Rathi Department of Soil Science CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India Naveen Rathi Department of Agronomy CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India Gaurav Kant Department of Horticulture CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India

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Chapter - 6 Soil Groups of India Parveen Rathi, Naveen Rathi and Gaurav Kant DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a06

Introduction India is a country of vast dimensions with varied conditions of geology, relief, climate and vegetation. Therefore, India has a large variety of soil groups, distinctly different from one another. Different criteria have been applied to classify Indian soils, the outstanding being geology, relief, fertility, chemical composition and physical structure, etc. Any classification based on any one of the aforesaid criteria has its own inherent drawback. Even the most competent pedologist would find it difficult to present an accurate, complete, comprehensive and generalised account of the Indian soils. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) set up an All India Soil Survey Committee in 1953 which divided the Indian soils into eight major groups. They are (1) Alluvial soils, (2) Black soils, (3) Red soils, (4) Laterite and Lateritic soils, (5) Forest and Mountain soils, (6) Arid and Desert soils, (7) Saline and Alkaline soils and (8) Peaty and Marshy soils. This is a very logical classification of Indian soils and has gained wide acceptance. A brief account of these eight soils is given as under: 1.

Alluvial Soils

Alluvial soils are by far the largest and the most important soil group of India. Covering about 7 lakh sq km of the total land area of the country, these soils contribute the largest share of our agricultural wealth and support the bulk of India’s population. Most of the alluvial soils are derived from the sediments deposited by rivers as in the Indo-Gangetic plain although some alluvial soils in the coastal areas have been formed by the sea waves. Thus, the parent material of these soils is all transported origin. The streams bring with them the products of weathering of rocks from the mountains and deposit them in the low-lying areas. The alluvial soils are yet immature and have weak profiles. They differ in consistency from drift sand to rich loams and from silts to stiff clays. A few occasional kankar beds are also present. However, pebbly, stony or gravelly soils are rare in this group. The chemical composition of the alluvial soils makes this group of soils as one of the most Page | 113

fertile in the world. The proportion of nitrogen, phosphorus and humus is generally low, but potash and lime are adequate, while iron oxide vary within a wide range. The porosity and texture provide good drainage and other conditions favourable for bumper crops. These soils are easily replenished by the recurrent river floods and support uninterrupted crop growth. The widest occurrence of the alluvial soils is in the Great Indo-Gangetic Plain starting from Punjab in the west to West Bengal and Assam in the east. They also occur in deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery, where they are called deltaic alluvium. Along the coast they are known as coastal alluvium. Some alluvial soils are found in the Narmada and Tapi valleys. Northern parts of Gujarat also have some cover of alluvial soils. Geologically, the alluvium of the Great plain of India is divided into newer or younger khadar and older bhangar soils. The khadar soils which are also known as newer or recent alluvium, found in the low areas of valley bottom which are flooded almost every year. Newer alluvium are pale brown, sandy clays and loams, drier and leached, less calcareous and carbonaceous i.e. they are less kankary. Bhangar, on the other hand, is found on the higher reaches about 30 metres above the flood level. It is of a more clayey composition and is generally dark coloured. A few metres below the surface of the bhangar are beds of lime nodules known as kankar. Due to their softness of the strata and fertility the alluvial soils are best suited to irrigation and respond well to canal and well/tube-well irrigation. When properly irrigated, the alluvial soils yield splendid crops of rice, wheat, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, jute, maize, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits. Most of the alluvial soils of India have been classified in order Entisols, Inceptisols, and Alfisols. 2.

Black Soils

The black soils are also called regur (from the Telugu word Reguda) and black cotton soils because cotton is the most important crop grown on these soils. This is a well-known group of soils, characterized by dark grey to black colour, high clay content, neutral to slightly alkaline reaction, and deep cracks during summer. Most of the black soils are derived from two types of rocks, the Deccan and the Rajmahal trap, and ferruginous gneisses and schists occurring in Tamil Nadu. The former is sufficiently deep while the later are generally shallow. In the formation of black soils, the presence of a high proportion of alkaline earths in the weathering complex is of great Page | 114

importance. Equally important condition is the impeded drainage condition of the parent materials, by which free leaching and removal of alkaline earths is restricted. Black soils occur in areas under the monsoon climate, mostly of semi-arid and sub humid type. Only small pockets occur under arid climate. Overhead climate in the black soil region may be described as hot and dry summers followed by a rainy period with rainfall ranging from 40-100 cm. The black soil is very retentive of moisture. It swells greatly and becomes sticky when wet in rainy season. Under such conditions, it is almost impossible to work on such soil because the plough gets stuck in the mud. However, in the hot dry season, the moisture evaporates, the soil shrinks and is seamed with broad and deep cracks, often 10 to 15 cm wide and up to a metre deep. This permits oxygenation of the soil to sufficient depths and the soil has extraordinary fertility. Remarkably “self-ploughed” by loosened particles fallen from the ground into the cracks, the soil “swallows” itself and retains soil moisture. This soil has been used for growing a variety of crops for centuries without adding fertilizers and manures, or even fallowing with little or no evidence of exhaustion. A typical black soil is highly argillaceous with a large clay factor, 62 per cent or more, without gravel or coarse sand. It also contains 10 per cent of alumina, 9-10 per cent of iron oxide and 6-8 percent of lime and magnesium carbonates. Potash is variable (less than 0.5 per cent) and phosphates, nitrogen and humus are low. The soils are generally calcareous, neutral to slightly alkaline in reaction. Smectite type clay mineral is dominant. High cation exchange capacity (30 to 50 cmol (p)+kg-1 soil), complete base saturation, high content of exchangeable calcium and magnesium are characteristics of these soils. In all regur soils in general, and in those derived from ferromagnesian schists in particular, there is a layer rich in kankar nodules formed by segregation of calcium carbonate at lower depths. As a rule, black soils of uplands are of low fertility, but they are darker, deeper and richer in the valleys. Because of their high fertility and retentivity of moisture, the black soils are widely used for producing several important crops. Some of the major crops grown on the black soils are cotton, wheat, jowar, linseed, Virginia tobacco, castor, sunflower and millets. Rice and sugarcane are equally important where irrigation facilities are available. Large varieties of vegetables and fruits are also successfully grown on the black soils. 3.

Red Soils

Most of the red soils have come into existence due to weathering of ancient crystalline and metamorphic rocks. The main parent rocks are acid granites, gneisses and quartzite. The colour of these soils is generally red, Page | 115

often grading into brown, chocolate, yellow, grey or even black. The red colour is due more to the wide diffusion rather than to high percentage of iron content. These soils are formed under well drained condition. Eluviation and illuviation of clay, iron, aluminium and bases are the main soil forming processes. Morphologically the pedons show clear A and clear B horizons, occasionally the C horizon. The argillic subsurface horizon is a diagnostic feature of these soils. These soils are spread on almost the whole of Tamil Nadu, parts of Karnataka, south-east of Maharashtra, eastern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Chota Nagpur in Jharkhand. By and large, the red soils are poor in lime, magnesia, phosphates, nitrogen and humus, but are rich in potash. In their chemical composition they are mainly siliceous and aluminous; with free quartz as sand the alkali content is fair, some parts being quite rich in potassium. The texture of these soils varies from sand to clay, the majority being loams. On the uplands, the red soils are thin, poor and gravelly, sandy or stony and porous, but in the lower areas they are rich, deep dark and fertile. Dominant clay mineral is Kaolinite with an admixture of illite. The soil are well drained with moderate permeability. The red soils respond well to the proper use of fertilizers and irrigation and give excellent yields of wheat, rice, pulses, millets, tobacco, oil seeds, potatoes and fruits. 4.

Laterite and Lateritic Soils

The word ‘laterite’ (from Latin letter meaning brick) was first applied by Buchanan in 1810 to a clayey rock, hardening on exposure, observed in Malabar. Lateritic soils are those in which laterization is dominant soil forming process. i.e. eluviation of silica and enrichment with oxides of iron and aluminium. Under high rainfall (more than 100cm) conditions, silica is released and leached downwards, and the upper horizons of the soils become rich in oxides of iron and aluminium. Ultimately, cinderlike residues of oxides of iron and aluminium are left. The end product of the process is termed as laterite. Almost all laterite soils are very poor in lime and magnesia and deficient in nitrogen. Sometimes, the phosphate content may be high, probably present in the form of iron phosphate but potash is deficient. At some places, there may be higher content of humus. Due to intensive leaching and low base exchange capacity, typical laterite soils generally lack fertility and are of little use for crop production. But when manured and irrigated, some laterites and lateritic are suitable for growing plantation crops like tea, coffee, rubber, cinchona, coconut, arecanut, etc. In low lying areas paddy is also grown. Laterite and lateritic soils have a unique distinction of providing valuable building material. These soils can be easily Page | 116

cut with a spade but hardens like iron when exposed to air. Because it is the end- product of weathering, it cannot be weathered much further and is indefinitely durable. Lateritic soil is usually characterized by compact to vesicular structure in the subsoil horizon composed essentially of a mixture of hydrated oxides of iron and aluminium. This is often referred to as a honey comb structure. All lateritic soils are very poor in calcium and magnesium but are generally well drained and porous. The pH of lateritic soils is generally low. The higher the elevation, more acidic are the soils. The soil clays are kaolinitic, sometimes with traces of illite. The CEC are also very low (2 to 7 cmol (p+) kg-1. Lateritic soils have been classified in the order Ultisols and few under Oxisols. 5.

Forest and Mountain Soils

Such soils are mainly found on the hill slopes covered by forests. These soils occupy about 2.85 lakh sq km which is about 8.67 per cent of the total land area of India. The formation of these soils is mainly governed by the characteristic deposition of organic matter derived from forest growth. These soils are heterogeneous in nature and their character changes with parent rocks, ground-configuration and climate. Consequently, they differ greatly even if they occur in close proximity to one another. In the Himalayan region, such soils are mainly found in valley basins, depressions, and less steeply inclined slopes. Generally, it is the north facing slopes which support soil cover; the southern slopes being too precipitous and exposed to denudation to be covered with soil. Apart from the Himalayan region, the forest soils occur on Western and Eastern Ghats as well as in some parts of the Peninsular plateau. The forest soils are very rich in humus but are deficient in potash, phosphorus and lime. Therefore, they require good deal of fertilizers for high yields. They are especially suitable for plantations of tea, coffee, spices and tropical fruits in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and wheat, maize, barley and temperate fruits in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. 6.

Arid and Desert Soils

A large part of the arid and semi-arid region in Rajasthan and adjoining areas of Punjab and Haryana lying between the Indus and the Aravalli, covering an area of 1.42 lakh sq. km (or 4.32% of total area) and receiving less than 50 cm of annual rainfall, is affected by desert conditions. The Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is an extension of this desert. This area is covered by a mantle of sand which inhibits soil growth. This sand has originated from the mechanical disintegration of the ground rocks or is blown from the Indus

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basin and the coast by the prevailing south-west monsoon winds. Barren sandy soils without clay factor are also common in coastal regions of Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The desert soils consist of aeolian sand (90 to 95 per cent) and clay (5 to 10 per cent). Some of these soils contain high percentages of soluble salts, are alkaline with varying degree of calcium carbonate and are poor in organic matter. Over large parts, the calcium content increases downwards and in certain areas the subsoil has ten times calcium as compared to that of the top soil. The phosphate content of these soils is as high as in normal alluvial soils. Nitrogen is originally low but its deficiency is made up to some extent by the availability of nitrogen in the form of nitrates. Thus, the presence of phosphates and nitrates make them fertile soils wherever moisture is available. There is, therefore, great possibility of reclaiming these soils if proper irrigation facilities are available. The changes in the cropping pattern in the Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area are a living example of the utility of the desert soils. However, in large areas of desert soils, only the drought resistant and salt tolerant crops such as barley, rape, cotton, wheat, millets, maize and pulses are grown. Consequently, these soils support a low density of population. 7.

Saline and Alkaline Soils

These soils are found in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In the drier parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, there are salt-impregnated or alkaline soils occupying 17,377 sq km of area. These soils are liable to saline and alkaline efflorescence and are known by different names such as reh, kallar, usar, thur, rakar, karl and chopan. There are many undecomposed rock and mineral fragments which on weathering liberate sodium, magnesium and calcium salts and sulphurous acid. Some of the salts are transported in solution by the rivers, which percolate in the subsoils of the plains. In canal irrigated areas and in areas of high sub-soil water table, the injurious salts are transferred from below to the top soil by the capillary action as a result of evaporation in dry season. The accumulation of these salts makes the soil infertile and renders it unfit for agriculture. In Gujarat, the area round the Gulf of Khambhat is affected by the sea tides carrying salt-laden deposits. Vast areas comprising the estuaries of the Narmada, the Tapi, the Mahi and the Sabarmati have thus become infertile. 8.

Peaty and Marshy Soils

Peaty soils originate in humid regions as a result of accumulation of large amounts of organic matter in the soils. These soils contain considerable Page | 118

amount of soluble salts and 10-40 per cent of organic matter. These soils are black, clayey and highly acidic (pH as low as 3.5) and contain 10-40 percent organic matter. The acidity is due to formation of sulphuric acid and decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic conditions. The soils are generally blue due to presence of ferrous iron under anaerobic conditions and contain varying amounts of organic matter. Soils belonging to this group are found in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts of Kerala where it is called “kari” soil. Marshy soils with a high proportion of vegetable matter also occur in the coastal areas of Orissa and Tamil Nadu, Sunder bans of West Bengal, in Bihar and Almora district of Uttaranchal. The peaty soils are black, heavy and highly acidic. They are deficient in potash and phosphate. Most of the peaty soils are under water during the rainy season but as soon the rains cease, they are put under paddy cultivation. References 1.

Biswas TD. Textbook of Soil Science, 2015.

2.

Das DK. Introductory Soil Science, 2014.

3.

Soil Science: An Introduction (Paperback) Paperback. Indian Society of Soil Science (ISSS), 2015.

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Chapter - 7 The Utility of Food Consumption and Utilization Indices in the Management of Lepidopteran Insect Pests DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a07

Authors Pradeep Kumar Dalal Ph.D. Student, Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India Mandeep Rathee Ph.D. Student, Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India

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Chapter -7 The Utility of Food Consumption and Utilization Indices in the Management of Lepidopteran Insect Pests Pradeep Kumar Dalal and Mandeep Rathee DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a07

1.

Introduction

The inter-relationship between insects and plants for phytophagy and pollination dates back to the late Carboniferous period. With the evolution of angiosperms, the dramatic rise in the insect biodiversity took place. Today, insect pests belonging to orders like Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, Thysanoptera, Hymenoptera, etc. devastate a great deal of agricultural and horticultural crops by feeding on their parts like fruits, leaf, flowers, stems and roots. Among Lepidoptera, larvae cause severe damage by feeding on these economically essential plant parts. The nutritional composition of host plant plays a dominant role in stimulating the feeding of insects. Several studies suggest that fecundity and population build-up of insects depend upon the nutritional status of plant species. Food consumption and dietary indices measurement gives the primary information about host plant attributes, and its effect on insect fitness and performance [13]. Under the current threat of rising global temperature, this measurement is indispensable in estimating the performance of pest-resistant cultivars. These indices fluctuates with rise and fall in temperature. Similarly, they also vary with different hosts and cultivar that insect consumes suggesting their special preference and deterrence towards particular host. Generally, insect consumes more host plant parts to compensate for the inadequate nutrition [6]. 2.

Significance of Food Consumption and Nutritional Indices

In the context of pest management, such studies are essential in the following ways: 

Screening of crop germplasm against insect pests attack



Estimating the resilience of pest-resistant crops or unsuitable host against an extreme climatic event like rising temperature



The effectiveness of insect pathogens, novel compounds and Page | 123

antifeedants against specific resistant strains of insect pests Since integrated pest management is getting more prominence in recent times, therefore, increased efforts have been made to make crops more resilient to pest attack either through host plant resistance and biotechnology or by protecting it by using botanical sources of pest control. 3.

Calculating Food Consumption and Nutritional Indices

It is customary to rear a sufficient number of insect larvae on a particular host under a different range of treatments (cultivars, biopesticides, antifeedants, temperatures, etc.). However, there are two ways by which food consumption and nutritional indices can be calculated. a.

Fresh weight basis

b.

Dry weight basis

A. Fresh weight basis calculation The calculation of food consumption and nutritional indices of an insect under consideration over a particular host requires specific observations to be recorded daily during the experiment. 

The initial weight of fresh food given to the insect larvae



The weight of uneaten food



Weight of excreta



Weight gained by larvae after feeding the host



Feeding period of insect larvae excluding the moulting and prepupal period

Also, a parallel control set is to be maintained to estimate the natural loss of moisture from host plant when kept in specimen tubes under similar conditions without larvae to calculate the corrected weight of the consumed host. The recorded data should be used in the food consumption and utilization equations as described by Waldbaeur [16]. a)

Corrected weight of consumed food = (1-a/2) [w-(L+bL)] Where, W = Weight of food introduced L = Weight of uneaten food a = Ratio of weight loss to the initial weight of the food b = Ratio of weight loss to the final weight of the food

b) Consumption index (CI) = F/(T x A) Page | 124

b) Relative Growth Rate (RGR) = G/(T x A) b) Approximate Digestibility (AD) = F-f/F x 100 b) Efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) = G/F x100 Where, F= Fresh weight of food ingested T= Duration of feeding period A= Fresh weight of the insect G= Fresh weight gain of the insect during feeding period f= Fresh weight of feces B. Dry Weight basis Calculation The dry weight estimation involves the air drying of larvae, uneaten food, feces at 80°C once the larvae finished the particular instar or larval stage. In control treatment, both larvae and dried food are air dried. Thereafter, the dried contents are weighed and fitted into the equations given above by Waldbaeur [16]. 4.

Statistical Analysis

The significant difference between treatment means concerning food consumption and other indices like consumption index, approximate digestibility, the efficiency of conversion of ingested food into body substance and relative growth rate of insect in different larval instars can be analyzed using various post hoc test like Tukey’s HSD, Duncan multiple range test, etc. 5.

Food Consumption

There are few reports of the impact of alternating and constant temperatures on food consumption of insects on different host plants. Dalal and Arora [3] evaluated the food consumption of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) on tomato fruit over a range of alternating temperatures. The food consumption rose from 2.46 to 3.54 g/larva with a subsequent rise in mean temperature from 18.7 to 24.2°C. Xiuzhen et al. [17] observed the food intake of another lepidopteran, Mythimna separata (Walker) increased from 27.20 to 40.90 mg with an increase in constant temperatures from 16 to 24°C. However, the fall in food consumption from 40.90 to 37.20 mg was observed with further rise in temperature from 24 to 32°C. This suggests that food intake in insects rise up to a highest level under moderate temperature, further enhancement in temperature lead to a decline in the food intake. Dhandapani and Balasubramanian [5] recorded the food consumption (g/ Page | 125

larva) of H. armigera larvae on different host plants like Bengal gram (1.81), red gram (2.47), hyacinth bean (3.46), cotton (4.85), tomato (1.96), sorghum (1.88), maize (3.17) and sunflower (1.74 g/ larva). Ansari et al. [1] calculated the food consumption of Pieris brassicae Linnaeus larvae on several cruciferous crops. They found highest food consumption (4.10 g/larva) of P. brassicae on radish as compared to 3.90 gm on cabbage. The increase in the food consumption with increasing temperatures and hosts suggests the rise in metabolic demands of nutrients which can be compensated by increased consumption of food by insects. Shannag et al. [14] found pure neem oil to be more effective in reducing the food intake of Spodoptera eridania than other antifeedants. Praveen and Dhandapani [11] observed lower consumption of tomato fruit by H. armigera when treated with Bt @ 0.25 g/litre as compared to NPV, Econeem treated and untreated fruit. 6.

Nutritional Indices of Insects

6.1 Consumption Index (CI) CI is the rate of intake of food by insect relative to mean larval weight of insect during a feeding period [16]. Dalal and Arora [3] recorded an upward trend in CI of H. armigera on tomato crop from 0.90 to 1.50 with increasing alternating temperatures. Dhandapani and Balasubramanian [5] observed in general a direct correlation between the succulence of host plants and the feeding rate of the larvae. Butter et al.[2] studied the growth and development of H. armigera on the different genotypes of cotton and consumption index (CI) values on fresh weight basis ranged from 1.34 on Gossypium palmeri G. Watt to 2.43 on G. hirsutum L. cv. TH 13 under laboratory conditions. Naseri et al. [10] reported that CI values of H. armigera on dry weight basis varying from 7.35 to 3.46 in whole larval instars on soybean varieties at 25±1°C. Kouhi et al.[9] studied the effect of different tomato cultivars on nutritional indices of H. armigera at 25±1°C and reported that CI values varied in different cultivars from 7.08 on cv. RIO grande UG to 5.22 in cv. Hed rio grande in total larval period. CI values (0.09) of H. armigera were low in Bt treated tomato fruits as against untreated (0.55) and Econeem (0.96) and NPV (1.01) treated fruits. Saini et al. [12] found no significant difference in consumption index of Spodoptera litura L. when fed to either Bt and non-Bt cotton leaves. 6.2 Approximate Digestibility (AD) Insect early instars have better digestibility than the later ones. Kouhi et al. [9] studied the effect of different tomato cultivars on AD of H. armigera at 25±1°C on dry weight basis which varied in different cultivars: 98.73 on cv. CH falat to 93.25 per cent on cv. Sun 6108 f1 in fourth instar, 96.30 on cv. Page | 126

RIO grande UG to 84.64 per cent on cv. Korral in fifth larval instar, 92.94 on cv. CH falat to 78.36 per cent on cv. RIO grande UG in sixth larval instar and 95.34 on cv. CH falat and 80.97 per cent on cv. Korral in total larval period. Dhandapani and Balsubramanian [5] reported that AD value of larval stage of H. armigera on dry weight basis varied from 72.72 on tomato to 22.90 per cent on sunflower. On fresh weight basis AD varied from 60.79 on hyacinth bean to 24.03 per cent on maize and 45.42 per cent on tomato under laboratory conditions. Butter et al. [2] estimated the AD values of H. armigera on fresh weight basis which ranged from 74.53 on G. hirsutum cv. TH13 to 31.56 per cent on G. hirsutum cv. LH886 under laboratory conditions. Naseri et al. (2010) reported that AD values on dry weight basis varied from 85.80 to 61.00 per cent during total larval duration on soybean varieties. Hemati et al. [7] estimated that AD values of H. armigera at 25±1°C on dry weight basis varied from 85.31 per cent on white kidney bean cv. Deghan to 57.26 per cent on potato cv. Agaria in total larval duration. The author also reported the AD values of tomato cv. Meshkin to be 64.55, 75.84, 74.17 and 57.26 per cent in third, fourth and fifth instar and total larval duration, respectively. Under the effect of increasing alternating temperatures, AD values of H. armigera on tomato fruit fluctuated from 8.7 to 46.3 per cent [4]. Xiuzhen et al. [17] studied the effect of constant temperature on AD of M. separata and reported the AD to be 51.03, 45.94, 53.52, 55.35 and 63.04 per cent at constant temperature of 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32°C, respectively. The author concluded that AD value of M. separata increased with rising temperature. AD values (57.57 per cent) of H. armigera were recorded on higher side when tomato fruits were treated with Bt spore as against NPV treatment (43.66 per cent). 6.3 Efficiency of Conversion of Ingested Food (ECI) Waldbauer [16] pointed that ECI was an overall measure of an insect’s ability to utilize ingested food for growth. Most studies deduce suitability or unsuitability of host from the lower or higher values of ECI. Dhandapani and Balsubramanian[5] concluded the unsuitability of tomato crop to H. armigera on the basis of lower value of ECI (9.51) as against 12.80 per cent on red gram. Similarly Hemati et al. [7] also concluded tomato as unsuitable host of H. armigera on account of lower values of tomato. Further, Dalal and Arora [4] concluded that tomato fruit suitability to H. armigera fluctuates with temperature fluctuation. Decline in ECI values (15.00 to 9.40 per cent) was registered by Dalal and Arora [4] on enhancement of alternating temperature. Xiuzhen et al. [17] also studied the effect of constant temperature on ECI of M. separata and reported the ECI to be 30.91, 22.72, 26.78, 27.80 and 28.88 Page | 127

per cent at constant temperatures of 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32°C, respectively. The author concluded that ECI value of M. separata decreased with rise in temperature. Similarly, Karmakar and Pal [8] registered the fall in ECI values of S. litura on tomato, cabbage and castor with increase in temperature from 20 to 25°C. Singh et al. (2008) reported that the ECI values of H. armigera varying from 29.76 on pea pods to 10.26 per cent on French bean. Praveen and Dhandapani [11] concluded on the basis of higher values of ECI that H. armigera larvae would digest and utilize the bio pesticide treated tomato fruits well and can escape their toxic effects. 6.4 Relative growth rate (RGR) RGR is the dry or fresh weight gain of animal relative to mean dry or fresh weight of animal during a feeding period [16]. Singh et al. [15] reported that RGR value of third instar larvae of H. armigera on different host plants varied from 1.27 on pea pod to 0.57 on bell. Hemati et al. [7] estimated the RGR values of H. armigera on dry weight basis which varied from 0.12 on cowpea cv. Mashhad to 0.05 on tomato cv. Meshkin in the third instar; 0.33 on potato cv. Satina to 0.07 on tomato cv. Meshkin in the fourth instar; 20.14 on potato cv. Satina to 4.83 per cent on tomato cv. Meshkin in the fifth instar; 0.20 on potato cv. Satina to 0.06 on tomato cv. Meshkin in the whole larval period, respectively. The result of ECI value of H. armigera on different crops suggests tomato supports low growth as against other hosts. Praveen and Dhandapani [11] recorded lower growth rate of H. armigera in biopesticide treated tomato fruits as against untreated fruits. Dalal and Arora[3] observed an increase in the growth rate of H. armigera on tomato fruit with an increase in mean temperature up to 21.7°C, further enhancement in temperature to 24.2°C led to fall in growth rate of H. armigera. 7.

Conclusion

The earth is witnessing the rising temperature under climate change. Since insect is also affected directly by temperature, there is all likelihood that insect pests may perform better in circumventing the plant resistance and toxic effects of botanicals and bio-pesticides. Hence, there is a need to make the pest management strategies to be more climate change resilient. 8.

Reference

1.

Ansari MS, Hasan F, Ahmed N. Influence of various host plants on the consumption and utilization of food by Pieris brassicae (Linn.). Bulletin of Entomological Research. 2012; 102:231-237.

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2.

Butter NS, Singh S, Kular JS, Singh P, Bhagat I. Studies on growth and development of Heliothis armigera (Hubner) on cotton genotypes. Journal of Entomological Research. 1997; 1:51-58.

3.

Dalal PK, Arora R. Impact of temperature on food consumption and nutritional indices of tomato fruit borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera). Journal of Agrometeorology. 2016; 18(1):6267.

4.

Dalal PK, Arora R. Effect of alternating temperature on food utilization of tomato fruit borer, Helicoverpa armigera. Journal of Environmental Biology, 2018, 39.

5.

Dhandapani N, Balasubramanian M. Consumption and utilization of different food plants by Heliothis armigera (Hubner) (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera). Entomon. 1980; 5:99-102.

6.

Gullan PJ, Cranston PS. The insects: an outline of entomology. Wiley Blackwell, Oxford, 2014, UK.

7.

Hemati SA, Naseri B, Ganbalani GN, Dastjerdi HR, Golizadeh A. Effect of different host plants on nutritional indices of the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera. Journal of Insect Science. 2012; 12:55.

8.

Karmakar P, Pal S. Influence of temperature on food consumption and utilization parametres of common cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Fab.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Journal of Entomology Zoology Studies. 2017; 5(5):92-95.

9.

Kouhi D, Naseri B, Golizadeh A. Nutritional performance of the tomato fruit borer, Helicoverpa armigera on different tomato cultivars. Journal of Insect Science. 2014; 14: 1-12.

10. Naseri B, Fathipour Y, Moharramipour S, Hosseininaveh V. Nutritional indices of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera on 13 soybean varieties. Journal of Insect Science. 2010; 10: 151. 11. Praveen PM, Dhandapani N. Consumption, digestion and utilization of biopesticides treated tomato fruits by Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner). Journal of Biological Control. 2001; 15(4):59-62. 12. Saini S, Malik VS, Singh R, Vadde A. Effect of Bt cotton expressing cry 1ac and cry 2ab on consumption and utilization indices of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) Larvae. Biopesticide International. 2013; 9(2):175181. 13. Scriber JM Slansky F. The nutritional ecology of immature insects. Page | 129

Annual Review of Entomology. 1981; 26:183-211. 14. Shannag HK, Capinera JL, Freihat NM. Effects of neem-based insecticides on consumption and utilization of food in larvae of Spodoptera eridania (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Journal of Insect Science. 2015; 15(1). 15. Singh B, Kumar A, Gupta GP. Nutritional indices for Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) on different host plants. Indian Journal of Entomology. 2008; 70:237-40. 16. Waldbauer GP. The consumption and utilization of food by insects. Advances in Insect Physiology. 1968; 5:229-82. 17. Xiuzhen L, Kunjun W, Peiyu G. Effect of temeperature on population growth and intake of food by armyworm Mythimna separata (Walker). Journal of Environmental Sciences. 1990; 2:39-44.

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Chapter - 8 Mineral Nutrients and Their Interaction in Plants DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a08

Author Nidhi Kamboj Department of Soil Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India

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Chapter - 8 Mineral Nutrients and Their Interaction in Plants Nidhi Kamboj DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a08

Abstract Soil fertility is a key factor for providing the nutrient for proper growth and development of plants. Fertile soil contains all the seventeen essential macro and micronutrients in proper amount. As a result of intensive agriculture in which continuously fertilizer are applied at a higher rate to obtained a high yield per capita leads to accumulation of one nutrient in large amount which further affect the availability of nutrient to plants in different manners may be as synergistically or may be antagonistically. Knowledge of these nutrients interaction helps in designing the recommended doses of fertilizer which help in increasing fertilizer use efficiency, maintaining soil fertility and productivity and sustaining the soil quality for future generation. Keywords: Soil fertility, macronutrient, micronutrient, interaction, synergism and antagonism. Introduction For every living being supply of energy in any form is necessary to complete its life cycle smoothly. This energy is derived from food and nutrition. Two types of organisms are found on the basis of mode of nutrition. One is autotrophs and other is heterotrophs. Autotrophs are those which drive their food their own. Heterotrophs are those which depend upon other for their food. Autotrophs are further two types one is photo-autotrophs (drive energy from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide) and second is chemo-autotrophs (drive energy from chemicals). Plants are mainly comes under photoautotrophs, as they drive their food through photosynthesis in which they use sunlight, carbon dioxide and water and convert them into food and energy. Plants have a green colour pigment called chlorophyll, which is present in disc-shaped organelles that are present in the mesophyll cells of the leaves Page | 133

structures called chloroplasts. These help in capturing the sunlight within the plant. As the carbon dioxide enters the plant through the stoma, the light energy converts into chemical energy, by the splitting of the water molecules of the plants. Simple carbohydrates are produced in this process which are utilised as energy source for plant. Excess production of carbohydrates in the plants serves as reserve food for futher used by plant. Oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis Other than these, plant also requires a number of inorganic minerals in the form of nutrients for their proper growth and development. What is Nutrient? Nutrient is defined as a substance that help in nourishing the plant by providing essential compounds in the form of starch, vitamins, protein and minerals that are useful for proper growth and development of plant. Nutrient term primarily is used for nourish the organism not for treating the diseases. Nutrient can only treat the disease that are result of deficiency of some specific nutrient. What are Not Nutrients? Elements found in soil solution but not absorbed by plant. Substances absorbed by the plant but not used in any form. Contaminants absorbed by plants that stay in them but have harmful effect rather than beneficial effect, for example, heavy metals. Some Terms Related To Nutrient Available Nutrient: available nutrient term is refer to that fraction of nutrient which on changing in quantity results in significant changes in yield and response (Bray, 1948). Minerals are present in dynamic equilibrium in soil solution among the pools of these nutrient. Only a small portion of the total nutrient present in the soil is available to plant. Nutrients that are taken up by the biological organisms are termed as bioavailable nutrients. In plant nutrition it is that portion of the nutrient in the soil that can be readily absorbed and assimilated by the plants. Beneficial Nutrient: As the word beneficial indicate that these nutrients have some additional benefits for some crop and under certain condition. Otherwise these elements are not essential for plant growth. These elements include silicon, sodium, aluminium, cobalt, selenium and vanadium,

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Functional Nutrient: In 1961 Nicholas introduce the term functional nutrient intended for an element that plays a role in plant metabolism, whether or not that role is specific or vital. Trace Element: Trace element is an element found in traces or in very low concentration, possibly less than one ppm or still less in soil, plant and water, etc. Tracer Element: To study the mechanism of interaction of one element with its surrounding in a system a radioisotope or a stable isotope of that element is used for tracing its path that is called a tracer element. Heavy Metal: In general term any metal heavier than calcium is a heavy metal. By definition a metal having specific gravity of more than >5.0 or having atomic number higher than 20 is termed as a heavy metal. Nutrient Content: Concentration of a nutrient or its amount per unit weight of a plant tissue is termed as nutrient content. Nutrient content is expressed in terms of percentage (kg/100 kg or g/100 g) or ppm (parts per million). Nutrient Accumulation: when nutrient is stored in plant or in a part of plant then it is called nutrient accumulation. Different plant parts store nutrients differentially. Nutrient Uptake: Amount of nutrient taken up by the growing crops from either the soil or other sources, is called nutrient uptake. It is a product of plant matter produced and nutrient concentration in plant. Criteria of Essentially of a Nutrient The essential elements (or essential nutrients) are chemical elements that are extremely needed by plants for their growth and development. (Arnon and Stout, 1939) [1] established the following criteria to describe their essentiality: 1.

An element is essential if, being deficient; the plant is unable to complete the vegetative or reproductive stage of its life cycle;

2.

The deficiency can be prevented or corrected only by supplying the specific element causing the deficiency; and

3.

That element is directly involved in the nutrition of the plant.

Based on the first criterion, an element is considered essential if, in its absence, a plant is unable to complete its life cycle which includes the production of viable seed. In other words, the presence of the element must ensure the formation of a seed that possesses the natural capability to Page | 135

germinate and develop into a mature plant under favourable conditions for growth. The second criterion specifies the irreplaceability of any essential element. For example, sodium cannot be essential simply because it can substitute for some mode of action of potassium in plant nutrition (Bareja, 2012) [2]. Based on the third criterion, an element is essential because it is crucial for plant nutrition and does not only correct some adverse conditions of the soil or culture medium. For example, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and magnesium are essential elements because they are part of the chlorophyll molecule (Chl a = C55H72O5N4Mg) and the presence of chlorophyll is essential in photosynthesis. Being so, they are directly involved in the autotrophic production of food by plants. (Bareja, 2012) [2]. With the time a new fourth criteria to Arnon and Stout's three requirements is added: 4. The element must require by a substantial number of plant species, not just a single species or two. In 1972, Emanuel Epstein (Epstein 1972, cited by Hopkins 1999)[4] has disregarded Arnon and Stout's second criterion of irreplaceability of any nutrient element and formulated the following criteria: 1.

In its absence the plant is unable to complete a normal life cycle, or

2. That element is part of some essential plant constituent or metabolite. On the basis of above four criteria there are total 17 essential nutrients that are required for plant to complete its life cycle. Nickel is the recently added 17th element as a result of general agreement for the inclusion of Nickel (Hopkins, 1999) [5] These elements are further divided into macro and micro nutrients Macro Nutrient: Macronutrients or major nutrients are so- called because these are required in huge quantities, more than that of iron. These include C, H, 0, N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S. Carbon, H and 0 constitute 90 to 95% of the plant dry matter weight and are supplied through carbon dioxide (CO,) and water. Remaining six major nutrients, viz. N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S, are further subdivided into primary and secondary nutrients. Primary Nutrients: As N, P and K are required by the plants in larger amount and these nutrients are added externally in the form of commercial Page | 136

fertilizers of which these are the major constituents to avoid their widespread deficiencies. So these are categorized as primary nutrients Secondary Nutrients: Calcium, Mg and S are termed as secondary nutrients because of their moderate requirements by plants, localized deficiencies and their not premeditated alleviation by accompanying accretions through earners of the primary nutrients. For example, the phosphatic fertilizer, single superphosphate (SSP) contains both Ca and S. Likewise, ammonium sulphate, a nitrogenous fertilizer, also supplements S. Micronutrients: Nutrients that are required in relatively smaller quantities but are as essential as macronutrients are termed micronutrients. These include iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, molybdenum, chlorine and nickel. Micronutrients are subdivided into micronutrient cations (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni) and micronutrient anions (B, Mo and Cl), depending upon the form in which plants absorb them. Table 1: Macro and micronutrient and their function in plant. Name

Category

Nitrogen (N)

1.5%

Primary macronutrients

Phosphorus (P)

Potassium (K)

Magnesium (Mg)

0.2%

1.0%

Secondary macronutrients

Sulphur (S)

Average conc. In plant tissue

0.1%

0.2%

Function Primary building block for amino acids, protein and protoplasm Critical for flower differentiation, rapid shoot growth, bud vigor and fruit set Acts as a catalyst for other elements Important for energy transfer and storage Formation of nucleic acids Promotes root, flower and seed development Necessary for the formation of sugars and starches Enzyme activator Essential for oil production Improves cold weather tolerance Component of amino acids and proteins Aids in nodule formation of sugars and starches Stabilizes nitrogen Enzyme activator Chlorophyll synthesis

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0.5%

Iron (Fe)

100mg kg-1

Copper (Cu)

6 mg kg-1

Manganese (Mn)

20 mg kg-1

Zinc (Zn)

Boron (B)

Micronutrient

Calcium (Ca)

20 mg kg-1

20 mg kg-1

Molybdenum (Mo) Chlorine (Cl)

100 mg kg-1

Nickel (Ni)

0.1 mg kg-1

0.1 mg kg-1

Aids in seed germination Aids in the use of phosphorus Aids in cell wall structure Necessary for early root growth Regulates nutrient uptake and movement throughout the plant Chlorophyll formation Activator for respiration Enzyme activation Component of enzymes Necessary for the formation of sugar and starches Aids in nitrogen utilization and assimilation Aids in chlorophyll synthesis Synthesis of auxins and protein Needed for uniform maturity Important for calcium translocation Pollen tube formation Necessary for cell division Aids in calcium translocation Important for early growth Nitrogen fixation and metabolism Iron and Phosphorus metabolism Photosynthesis reaction Facilitate transport of nutrient to seed and grain Aids iron adsorption Associated in nitrogen metabolism as a part urease activity

Depending upon availability of nutrient, Three zones (deficiency, adequate, and toxic) are identified in the response of growth to increasing tissue concentrations of a nutrient. When the nutrient concentration in a tissue sample is low, growth is reduced. In this deficiency zone of the curve, an increase in nutrient availability is directly related to an increase in growth or yield. As nutrient availability continues to increase, a point is reached at which further addition of the nutrient is no longer related to increases in growth or yield, but is reflected in increased tissue concentrations. This region of the curve is called the adequate zone. The point of transition between the deficiency and adequate zones of the curve reveals the critical concentration of the nutrient (Figure 1), which may Page | 138

be defined as the minimum tissue content of the nutrient that is correlated with maximal growth or yield. As the nutrient concentration of the tissue increases beyond the adequate zone, growth or yield declines because of toxicity (this region of the curve is the toxic zone).

Fig 1: A plot between plant growth and concentration of nutrient in tissue showing three zones i.e sufficiency, deficiency and toxic zone. (source: Vince and Zoltan, 2011) [8].

Fig 2: Showing some deficiency symptom of nutrient on leaves.

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Fertility or Nutrition Soil Fertility is used to define the inherent capacity of soil to supply nutrients to plants in adequate amounts and in suitable proportions. Whereas soil productivity indicate the capability of soil to produce specified crop yield under well-defined and specified system of management of inputs and Environmental conditions. On the basis of three different properties of soil physical, biological and chemical Soil ferity also categories as: Biological Soil Fertility: Microbial biomass (alive or dead) become a source of nutrients as they increase the availability of nutrient and also the decomposition of departed microbes returns as soluble nutrient in soils. This facility of organisms to provide nutrients to plants, at the same time maintaining biological processes in the soil that improve soil physical and chemical state contribute to biological soil fertility. Chemical soil Fertility: Mineral nutrients in soil generally present in dynamic equilibrium within the soil solution and existing chemical pool (exchangeable and adsorbed).The soil solution is a immense medium that serve the mineral requirement of the plant and this capacity of soil providing suitable chemical and nutritional atmosphere for the plants and maintaining the soil physical and biological processes, in which nutrient cycles are involved refer as chemical soil fertility Physical Soil Fertility: A physically good soil have power to support plant life as well as biological and chemical processes by providing good aeration, water retention and appropriate soil structure without causing loss to soil structure or erosion. This ability of soil affirms as physical soil fertility. All the productive soils must be fertile but this not same for all the fertile soil that they are also productive. A fertile soil is far most important for obtaining a high productivity and if there is deficiency of any nutrient then it affect the yield of crop adversely. According to Justus von Liebig's Law of the Minimum yield is proportional to the amount of the most limiting nutrient, whichever nutrient it may be. Or in simple words it states that a deficiency of any single nutrient is enough to limit yield.

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(Source: Lancrop Laboratories Technical Bulletin No 21) [7].

Plants need this supply of nutrient in a well organised or balanced way. The ratio of nutrient in the plant is differ from the ratio of these nutrient in soil because plants involve a highly controlled selectivity process in uptake of nutrients. According to the genetic potential and genotypic characteristic a pre-determined ratio of nutrients is required by plant throught out its life cycle. This fraction of elements is more critical than the definite concentration of the individual elements as imbalance and improper application of these nutrient leads to various such interaction among them in the soil that further affect the plant growth, yield, quality due to change in their nutrient uptake. Nutrient Interaction: Interactions between different nutrients arise when the presence of one nutrient affect the availability of another nutrient. Availability of nutrient include two expressions, one is absorption and second is utilization Absorption of nutrient comprises the uptake of these nutrients in different ionic form through passive (without direct expenditure of metabolic energy) or active (involve expenditure of metabolic energy) method. Utilization: These absorbed nutrients are further distributed into different parts of plant where these are assimilated and converted into different organic or biologically active form. In relation to plant nutrients there are generally two kinds of interaction which are usually defined in terms of changes occur in content of these nutrients in plant and response of plant in terms of growth due to these changes in concentration. These are: 1) Synergism interaction: When level of one nutrient stimulate or favour the uptake of other nutrient by increasing its availability then this interaction between these two nutrient considered as synergistic Page | 141

(positive) interaction. And if it is defined in terms of crop yield, then the combined application of these nutrient increases the crop yield as compare to the individual application of these nutrients 2) Antagonism: In antagonism interaction level of one nutrient may hinder the uptake of other or on addition of two nutrients mutually, a decrease in crop yield noticed as compared to the application of individual ones When there is no change in availability of one nutrient on addition of any other nutrient then there is no interaction take place between them. on the other hand, most interactions are found complex. A nutrient interacting at once with more than one nutrients present in soil solution. This may provoke the deficiencies, toxicities, changes in nutrient composition which further alter the growth responses. In this modular chart interaction between different nutrient are shown

Fig 3: Mulder’s chart showing some synergistic and antagonistic interation between different nutrients. Source: (Lancrop Laboratories Technical Bulletin No 21) [7].

Soil type, physical properties, pH, ambient temperatures and fraction of nutrients that involved in interaction are the major factors on which these interactions are based. These interaction takes place at the three different sites like: Page | 142

1) Within soil 2) At root interface and soil colloids 3) Within plant A few examples from agricultural laboratory research and field based experiments have shown us that an: Synergism Optimum level of nutrient

Increase the uptake of nutrient

Nitrogen

K, P, Mg, Fe, Mn and Zn

Phosphorus

N and B

Calcium

P and K

Sulphur

Mn and Fe

Mo

P, also improve utilisation of nitrogen

Mn

Cu

Cu and B (Source: Malvi, 2011) [6].

N

Antagonism Excess of Nutrient

Uptake Reduction

N

P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu

P

Cationic micronutrients like Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu

K

Mg (greater extent) and Ca (lesser extent)

Ca

Fe

S

Mo

Fe

Zn and Mn

Zn

Mn, Fe and B

Mo

Cu

B (Source: Malvi, 2011) [6].

Zn and Ca

A brilliant knowledge about the nutrient interaction must be taken into consideration while desigining the fertilizer application so that a balanced supply of nutrient should be provided for increasing fertilizer use efficiency, crop production and maintaining soil health for sustainable agriculture. · References 1.

Arnon DI, Stout PR. The essentiality of certain elements in minute quantity for plant with special reference to copper. Plant physiol. 1939; 14:371-375

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2.

Bareja BG. What are Essential Elements and How Many are there in Plants? Cropreviews, 2012.

3.

Bray, RH. In: Diagnostic Techniques for Soils and Crops. H.B. Kitchen, Ed., American Potash Institute, Washington, DC. 1948, 53-86.

4.

Epstein E. Review: The anomaly of silicon in plant biology. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994. http://www.pnas.org/content/91/1/11.full.pdf

5.

Hopkins WG. Introduction to plant physiology.2nd edition. New York: John Wiley & sons.1999, 61-76.

6.

Malvi U. Interaction of micronutrients with major nutrients with special reference to potassium. Karnataka J Agric. Sci. 2011; 24:106-109.

7.

Understanding Soil Nutrient Technical Bulletin No 21

8.

Vince O, Zoltan M. Nutrient supply of plant. Plant physiology, 2011.

Interactions

Lancrop

Laboratories

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Chapter - 9 Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) On Agriculture DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a09

Authors Rupender Kumar Department of Extention Education Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana, India Manjeet Department of Extention Education Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana, India

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Chapter - 9 Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) On Agriculture Rupender Kumar and Manjeet DOI No.: https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book18a09

In any scientific investigation, a comprehensive review of relevant literature is imperative. Besides giving knowledge of work already done in the area and providing insight into methods and procedure, it also provides a basis for operational definitions of major concepts. Till now very few studies have been conducted on impact of information and communication technologies on farming community. However, studies having direct or indirect link with the present investigation have been reviewed and presented under following major heads: 2.1 Importance of information and communication technologies in agriculture 2.2 Access and usages pattern of information and communication technologies by farmers 2.3 Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on farming system 2.4 Constraints faced by farmers during usage of information and communication technologies 2.1. Importance of Information and Communication Technologies in Agriculture. Keniston (2002) reported that most of the projects never revealed actual evaluation results, generally they reported ‘positive’ results, and most common difficulties such as; inadequate rural ICT infrastructure (especially frequent power-cuts) and difficulty in content localization and customization were indicated. Systematic and objective evaluation or impact of the projects was seldom done. Similar types of project, with little modification, were implemented in isolated manner. Except few projects, large number of projects evaluation results were never published or communicated. Even after experimenting, hundreds of ICT projects for rural development in the last two decades, there was no noteworthy comprehensive comparative Page | 147

evaluation of e-agriculture projects in India. Heeks (2005) indicated that the development projects must be designed around the information chain. They must either provide or draw together an entire "information chain package" of all resources necessary to turn data into effective action. Until this happens, ICTs will not deliver on their developmental potential. Balaji et al. (2007) revealed that content need to be aggregated from different sources but it needs to be sorted in granular format for rapid adaptation for local use. Localization and customizability of content still are not practiced on a significant scale. If sufficient scientific information is not available, content need to be generated, tested, refined and used for further advisory services through ICTs. Most of the web portals lacked relevant content in local language. Saravanan (2008) found that most published projects were from educational/research institutions, which generally, ignored traditional extension system and extension personnel, those who are serving over a long period in rural India. They implemented time bound ICT projects and hired “facilitators”/ “intermediaries”. Once, project completed stated objectives and targets, facilitators also disappeared along with the project. In this regard, Digital Green used the services of the public extension personnel. Even if project winds-up, the learning took place among extension personnel would be remain for a longer time and more useful to the farmers. In e-Arik case, public extension personnel are unwilling to collaborate with the ICT project; because of most of the field level extension personnel never used internet and lack of skill in using other ICTs. However, Subject Matter Specialists from Farm Science Centre (KVK-Krishi Vigyan Kendra) willingly collaborated with the e-Arik project. Mathur et al. (2009) National e-Governance Plan indicated that the typical services envisaged in Agriculture as a Mission Mode Projects (MMP) to provide information to the farmers on seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, Govt. Schemes, Soil recommendations, Crop management, Weather and marketing of agriculture produce. Several projects such as ASHA in Assam, KISSAN and e-Krishi in Kerala and Krishi Maratha Vahini in Karnataka were initiated by the Department of agriculture and cooperation (DoA&C), Government of India. To spearhead implementation of MMP in agriculture, DoA&C adopted twin strategy through AGRISNET & two portals AGMARKNET & DACNET. Sideridis et al. (2010) studied that most of the ICT initiatives Page | 148

disseminated generic information on crop cultivation practices of major crops and also weather and market information. Multimedia portals and one stop centers for various operations in agriculture are known as academic exercises. Sulaiman et al. (2012) reported that there was a limited scope for interaction. Projects such as Farmers Call Centre, Village Resource Centre, e-Arik, e-Sagu, digital green, Lifelines India and IKSL provide opportunities for interaction among farmers and experts. 2.2. Access and Usages Pattern of Information and Communication Technologies by Farmers Munyua (2000) found that the presence of e-village centers in East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh also helped people from surrounding villages to access IT infrastructure and knowledge (One World Foundation, 2012). Another significant use of new ICTs was also the World Wide Web or the Internet which enabled people to access information. Annamalai et al. (2003) studied that the farmers used these centers to access commodity prices at local and global markets, information on new farming techniques, place orders for inputs (seeds, fertilizers, etc.) at prices lower than the local market. During the procurement season, ITC buys the crop directly from the farmers at a competitive price. The farmer usually gets on an average, about a 2.5% higher price when compared to the government market. The key reasons behind the success of the e-Choupal initiative are: customization to suit local conditions and the agriculture sector, the leadership role played by e-Choupal operators, and the trust, transparency, equitable and tangible benefits that can be traced to the use of e-Choupal (and technology) covering all aspects of the agriculture supply chain. Chauhan et al. (2004) was really pleased to note the majority (86 %) of the farmers. Out of them 56 per cent totally and 30 per cent partly assumed that development of Indian farmers was possible through Internet. Internet was best mean to learn all new things for young generation, thus, 82 percent of the farmers wished their children to make positive use of internet at the same time 81 per cent of them had judgment that farmers should make use of internet. Narender et al. (2008) for instance, reported that Internet kiosks in Tamil Nadu, India were reported to be owned by rural women to encourage savings and form credit groups. Adejo et al. (2009) emphasized the use of ICTs in boosting agricultural production among farmers. Farmers who were hooked up to new Page | 149

technologies fared better. ICTs promoted access to and sharing of information in agriculture and allied fields. ICTs included the use of radio, television and computer/internet, global system of mobile telecommunication (GSM) and the other fixed telephone network, fax, etc. Nkwocha, et al. (2009) showed that ICT played an essential role in poverty alleviation by providing powerful tool to rural farmers and other citizens to grow their business and create new opportunities and delivery of services to rural areas. Fish farmers needed information to enhance agricultural management, research and development. Chauhan (2010) studied the major purposes to have Community Internet Centre (CIC) explained by the respondents were to collect agricultural information, to collect information on government’s programmes, to speed up communication, to exchange information, and to know more about market prices. Majority of the respondents expressed their desire to use Internet daily or twice in a week by their own. All the respondents expressed positive response to have proper training about the use of Internet facility through government agency, at CIC for sustainable agricultural development. It can be concluded from the results that independent variables like education, land holding, experience of internet use and mass media exposure are significantly and positively correlated with the opinion of the farmers about the use of Internet for farming community. Michailidis et al. (2010) explained why the mobile technology was accepted and adapted much faster compared to other ICTs in rural areas. In their paper, they categorized the benefits from using mobile technology into two groups: (a) socio-economic, for example, reducing the distance between individuals and institutions thus making the sharing of information easier and more effective, and (b) rural, for example, making local content available and making rural services more efficient in terms of logistics and coordination, and cost-effective. Mittal (2010) revealed that ICT tools used in these initiatives present an impressive list and included video conferencing, voice activated call centre facility, internet enabled PC based networking, voice and text messaging via mobile phones, internet-based crop specific digital video, and interactive community radio. Kameswari (2011) found that farmers in the study area had access to a wide range of sources/ media for seeking agricultural information. These range from interpersonal sources (friends and elders) to new ICTs (mobile phones). Despite wide ownership, some media like television or mobile Page | 150

phones were rarely used for this purpose. Access to ICTs (in this case mobile phone) and the ability to use them does not alter the relationship between the producers and sellers in the rural context. Farmers are often forced to accept the price quoted by the middlemen due to the perishable nature of the produce, lack of storage facilities and the inaccessibility of markets and other institutions. Also, in the study area, the middlemen are major creditors for smallholder farmers in the absence of rural financial institution. Saravana (2011) showed that most farmers had access to a variety traditional information sources (TV, radio, newspapers, other farmers, government agricultural extension services, traders, input dealers, seed companies and relatives), which they regularly accessed for agricultural information. Jain et al. (2012) observed that the extent of the farm women’s access to ICT depicted a direct relationship with farm size. Radio and TV was accessible to nearly one-third of women farmers up to medium size farms, while 4 out of 5 women farmers of large farms had access to ICT tools. Access to more modern means of ICT like phones and mobiles was less than 10 per cent for women having no land or very small farms, while it increased to 67 per cent for large farm size women. Access to computers was virtually nil in all categories barring few cases (10 per cent each) among large farm size categories. About one-fourth of the women farmers used radio, TV and phones on a daily basis, while only one out of eight women viewed TV on weekly basis. The rest of the women did not use any means of ICT. The pattern suggested that TV being the most popular means of communication among farm women could be used for dissemination of essential agricultural knowledge to them on a day- to- day basis. Agwu et al. (2013) conducted a study on “Access and Use of Information Communication Technologies by Women Staff of Public Extension Service in the North Central Zone of Nigeria” which illustrated that majority of the Women in Agriculture (WIA) staff had access to telephone, television and radio, respectively and very few of them had access to digital ICT facilities (computer, internet and printer). Radio, video machine, television and telephone were used by the respondents to a large extent in reaching out to farmers. Lack of training opportunities, insufficient availability of ICT facilities and lack of technical know-how were serious constraints to the use of ICTs. Jayade et al. (2014) reported that many initiatives in the recent past portrayed the significant role that the Information Communication Technology (ICT) played in the realm of rural development. Several projects Page | 151

reduced the costs, and it also increased transparency. It was noted that many scientists using these ICTs for information retrieval or data updating, data analysis, for finding references, and for searching details related to their research for farming communities.. In developing countries ICT played very important role in the development of education, health, rural development as well as in agricultural development. This technology brought a significant change in agriculture development in Maharashtra and India in particular where farmers were directly connected with research centers, universities, government, market, buyers, customers and meteorological department to get information regarding inputs, practices, weather forecast and prices. ICT also increased the income of farmers in Maharashtra. Ferris et al. (2008) also reported that 86 per cent of the farmers had access to a mobile phone which therefore contributed towards developing farmer’s linkage with other people including extension experts. 2.3. Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Farming System Lawlor et al. (2001) revealed its social impact in terms of more avenues of computer education for girls and women, increased self-confidence among rural children leading to entrepreneurial efforts and better crop price due to readily available mandi rates. Bertolini (2004) revealed in his study that the knowledge and information were important factors for accelerating agricultural development through increased production and improved marketing and distribution. ICT could make the greatest contribution by telescoping distances and reducing the cost of interaction between stakeholders. Singh et al. (2004) found that extension services were an important element in farming, but poor and marginalized farmers in remote villages remained beyond the reach of appropriate services. Internet allows efficient and transparent storage, processing and communication of information and that entrepreneurial innovation in this field may affect economic and social chain. Davison et al. (2005) reported the perspective of agricultural knowledge and information systems (AKIs), ICTs can be seen as useful in improving linkages between the research and the extension sub systems. The experience of rural telecenters in the developing world shows that ICT can help in enabling rural development workers to gather, store, retrieve, adapt, localize and disseminate a broad range of information needed by rural families.

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Krishnareddy et al. (2005) reported that deploying e-Sagu prototype increased income of the farmers for the tune of INR. 3075 (63 USD) per ha and also reduced the pesticide usage. Further, their rudimentary estimate of economic advantage indicated that if the e-Sagu prototype used for 1000 farmers, overall net benefit with the proposed ICT based system was INR 100 Million (USD 204800). Singh (2006) was found that some initiatives involved the establishment of information kiosks and information shops. Farmers were provided with information on crop technology and farmers' rights, loans, and the availability of grants. Abraham (2007), who looked at Kerala fishermen, found that the widespread use of mobile phones increased the efficiency of markets by decreasing risk and uncertainty, although it noted that realising potential efficiencies depended on easy access to capital. Using mobile phones at sea, fishermen were able to respond quickly to market demand and prevented wastage from the catch a common occurrence before the adoption of phones. Mobile phones helped co-ordinate supply and demand, enabling traders and transporters to take advantage of the free flow of price information by catering to demand in undersupplied markets. Gandhi et al. (2008) indicated that the Digital Green project increased the adoption of certain agricultural practices seven-fold over a classic extension approach. Digital Green project was shown to be ten times more effective per dollar spent. Further, 85 per cent of adoption of improved technologies achieved as against 11 per cent of adoption by traditional extension methods. Saravanan (2008) reported the cost and time indicators comparing traditional extension system and e-Arik (e-agriculture) project, sixteen and three fold less time was required to the clientele availing and extension system delivering extension services, respectively. He further reported 3.4 fold economic benefit as compared to the expenditure of deploying eagriculture prototype. Rashid et al. (2009) stated that mobile telephony was the predominant mode of communication in the developing world. Furthermore, these studies found that mobile phones usage appeared to be an effective and low-cost mean of providing information, and as a consequence was considered to be an effective tool for poverty reduction for poor rural households. Aker (2010) found that mobile phone infrastructure could have a positive spillover effect on markets with higher transport costs, with a Page | 153

reduction of 10 to 16 per cent in price dispersion across markets. Tripathi (2011) found that radio and television made significant impact in the socio-economic and cultural development in our country. It worked not only as informer, educator and entertainer but also as a good interpretive. Because of these qualities, it helped to eradicate poverty and illiteracy, ensure employment in rural regions, enhance their capacity building and talents for a comprehensive development and connected them with the main stream. Keeping all these points in views, Doordarshan started a project named “KRISHI DARSHAN” on January 26, 1966 for communicating agricultural information to the farmers on experimental basis. Eighty villages of union territory of Delhi were selected. Experiment was successful as substantial improvement was observed in adopting better agricultural practices by the farmers. And with the passing of time many more agricultural programmes were added in this bucket to empower agricultural sector of our country. Irungu et al. (2015) found that using radio, short message services (SMS) and social media and they discussed agricultural topics and shared successes. Mkulima Young’s Facebook was vibrant. The youth posted photographs and videos, asked questions, discussed issues and interacted. Most of the youth obtained information from the internet, hence, the internet was the best platform to market and promote agriculture to the youth. They used internet and social media to obtain production technologies, market information and for information sharing. Most commonly used tools were MS Office and spreadsheets for record keeping. Voice messages and SMS assisted timely accessing of market prices, reaching clients, sharing production information and money transactions. The ICT content should be relevant to targeted youth, valuable, localized and dependable. The ICTsavvy youth operated intensive, efficient and profitable farms, producing diverse and branded products for niche markets. 2.4. Constraints Faced by Farmers during Usage of Information and Communication Technologies Annamalai et al. (2003) conceptualized that private sector initiatives in the area of agricultural extension services delivery were extremely limited. The technologies depended on computers, internet and land line connections. The problems also included slow and disruptive internet connectivity, poorly maintained land lines, the unreliability of electricity supply and power backup systems and operational constraints from the inadequate maintenance and support of the equipment. They studied that the private sector initiatives

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in the area of agricultural extension services delivery are extremely limited. Widely discussed initiative was e-Choupal, an ICT enhanced initiative of the Indian Tobacco Company. The technologies depended on computers, internet and land line connections. The problems also included slow and disruptive internet connectivity, poorly maintained land lines, the unreliability of electricity supply and power backup systems and operational constraints from the inadequate maintenance and support of the equipment. Selvi (2003) stated that the problems of using computer assisted instruction (CAI) were lack of quality educational software, inability of teachers to start use of computers in school, cost of software production, the length of time needed to develop and test programmes and lack of rewards for pioneering efforts to individuals. Omotayo (2005) studied that the ICTs boosted information supply on improved farm technologies and the resultant effect on productivity and income of farmers, the great challenge was that most Nigerian farmers were illiterate, living in the rural areas; hence they had no knowledge of the use of ICTs facilities like computer and internet. Barala (2006) found that only 3 per cent of farmers in the study area had visited these centers. The study, conducted in Nainital district of Uttarakhand, India, revealed that time lag, high cost, low technological literacy and infrastructural problems were the major impediments to the use of Rural Knowledge Centers by farmers. Furthermore, the absence of linkages with other input agencies (seeds, fertilizers and pesticides) resulted in low applicability of the suggestions given by the Subject Matter Specialists (SMS). Husain (2006) investigated the use of internet by the faculty including purpose for use, its impact on teaching and research, internet resources that they use, and the problems faced while using the internet a questionnaire, expert- received and pilot-tested was used to collect data from the faculty coming from four colleges of Kuwait University i.e. arts, social science, sciences and responses rate of 62.6 per cent. In this study, he found that large majorities were using the computer and mail, colleagues, slow speed, lack of time and lack of access from homes which are the major problems. Most of them were interested in improving the internet use skills through formal training. Agwu et al. (2008) found that the Poor electrification in villages had always been a common problem which restricted development in different aspects of life. In fact, the low level of electricity coverage was also been Page | 155

found to inhibit the expansion of ICT services to rural areas. The lack of confidence in operating ICTs among farmers also hindered the farmers in using ICTs. Sahota (2009) found that most of the farmers who had purchased the mobile phone as a part of the initiative were using it for social networking. Though the initiative also had provision for sending video clips or still photographs to the experts for seeking advice, it was found that the farmers were not able to use this feature due to their limited technological skills. Further, farmers (especially small landholders) felt that the advice was not practicable, as the inputs suggested by the experts were either not available in the local market or were too expensive. Borthakur et al. (2011) found in his study on problems faced by the internet users in CIC that all the respondents expressed electricity failure as the major problem followed by slow connectivity and downloading (80%), less number of computers (70%), Sunday closed (70%), service only available at office hours (60%), most of the time computers were busy due to ongoing training (50%) and improper services provided in CIC (30%). Hanumankar (2011) found that common reasons of dissatisfaction of farmers were impracticality of advice provided by Kisan Call Centres Agent at level - I, their obsolete knowledge and inability to comprehend local agents and dialects. Delayed access to level-2 experts was also found to be an irritant by the farmers. As regards the reasons for farmers not calling the KCCs, the study unambiguously established that nothing short of a professionally planned and promoted publicity blitz could crack the lack of awareness about the KCCs among the farming community. Senthilkumar et al. (2011) reported that among the constraints perceived by dairy farmers in accessing information kiosks (VICs) the general problem was considered as foremost constraint with highest mean score of 5.11 and was ranked first. General problems included power failure, connectivity problem, inadequacy of computers, etc. This may be due to the fact that in rural areas most of the time there was no power especially in summer days and respondents perceived it a serious constraint. This was followed by socio-personal constraint (4.12), content problem (3.15), physical facilities (0.93) and socio-cultural constraint (0.05) and these were ranked second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Yadav (2011) concluded that 55.00 per cent non-tribal respondents and 50 per cent tribal respondents fell in the category of severe level of constraints. Likewise, 25 per cent non-tribal and 33.33 per cent tribal Page | 156

respondents were placed in the category of highly severe level of constraints. However, only 20 per cent non-tribal respondents and 16.67 per cent tribal respondents were noticed in the category of less severe level in relation to modern communication media used in the study area. Shankariah et al. (2012) problems faced by the farmers in using ICTs were lack of practical exposure, long distance to maintain and repair ICT tools and high cost of hardware and software. References 1.

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10. Annamalai K, Rao S. What works ITC's e-Choupal and profitable rural transformation: Web-based information and procurement tools for Indian farmers. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, 2003. 11. Babu GP, Kadian KS, Kale RB, Kant K. Associative relationship between ICT indicators and socio-personal and economic characteristics of the dairy farmer beneficiaries under ICT enabled i-kisan project in Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian Journal Agriculture Research. 2015; 49(1):92-95 12. Balaji V, Meera SN. ICT enabled knowledge sharing in support of extension: addressing the agrarian challenges of the developing world threatened by climate change, with a case study from India, SAT e Journal icrisat.org, 2007, 4(1). 13. Barala P. A study of rural knowledge centers in Nainital district of Uttaranchal. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, Department of Agricultural Communication, GBPUAT, Pantnagar, 2006. 14. Bertolini R. Making information and communication technologies work for food security in Africa. 2020. IFPRI Brief-Africa Conference Brief II, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, USA, 2004. 15. Bhati SK. A study of the socio-psychological and organization constraints in promotion of biogas technology. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana), 1985. 16. Borthakur B, Chandra M. Internet utilization pattern in community information centre (CIC). A book on information and communication technology for agriculture and rural development, 2011, 349-355 17. Chauhan NM, Thakor RF. Expectations of the farmers towards Community Internet Centres at Village level. Gujarat J Extn. Edu. 2004; 15:55-59. 18. Chauhan NM, Chauhan NB. Judgement of the farmer regarding use of ICT in Agriculture. Paper presented in Seminar on 31st August at JAU, Junagadh, organized by Gujarat Society of Extension Education, 2010. 19. Chhachhar AR, Querestic B, Khushk GM, Ahmed S. Impact of ICTs in agriculture development. Journal of Basic Applied Scientific Research. 2014; 4(1):281-288. Page | 158

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