journal of krishi vigyan vol.1 issue 2

SOCIETY OF KRISHI VIGYAN

CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (CEC)

PresidentMukhtar Singh Gill

Secretary Treasurer Editor Joint SecretaryManoj Sharma N S Dhaliwal Gagandeep Kaur Gurdeep Singh

Member CECA H Hakeem, PC, KVK, Kupwara (Srinagar)

Akhil Kr. Deka, PC,KVK, Karbi Anglong (Assam)

Amrish Vaid, PC, KVK, Kathua (Jammu)

J S Brar, PC, KVK, Faridkot (Retd.) (Punjab)

K B Singh, PC, KVK, Moga (Punjab)

Karamjit Sharma, SMS, Ext. Education, KVK, Mukatsar (Punjab)

Kuldeep Singh, PC, KVK, Jalandhar (Punjab)

Mahendra Kumar, PC,KVK, Nagaur (Rajasthan)

N D Singh, PC, KVK, Dirang (Arunachal Pradesh)

P K Sharma, PC, KVK, Kheda (Gujarat)R D Kaushik, PC, KVK, Jind (Haryana)

Ratnesh Kumar Jha, PC, KVK, Saran (Bihar)

S S Paliyal, SMS, Soil Science, KVK, Sirmour (Himachal Pradesh)

Editorial BoardAbu Kaushar Hazarika, Guwahati (Assam) Anil Dixit, Jabalpur (M P)

Anil Sharma, New Delhi (New Delhi) B K Gupta, Ludhiana (Punjab)

Badaral Hassan, Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) Chander Mohan, Ludhiana (Punjab)

D S Dhillon, Ludhiana (Punjab) G S Butter, Ludhiana (Punjab)

J S Dhankar, Hissar (Haryana) J S Kular, Ludhiana (Punjab)

K S Risam, Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) K Uma Rani, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)

Kalyan Singh, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) Mukesh K. Gupta, Rourkela (Odisha)

P K Sharma, Palampur (Himachal Pradesh) P L Maliwal, Udaipur (Rajasthan)

R S Narang, Ludhiana (Punjab) S K Acharya, Nadia (West Bengal)S S Nanda, Bhubaneswar (Odisha) U S Urkurkar, Raipur (Chhattisgarh)

Manuscripts: Offered for consideration should be sent to the Editorial Office, hard copy as well assoft copy by Email- [email protected] or [email protected] .

Editorial Office :Krishi Vigyan Kendra, J J Farm, Near New Grain Market, PO. Sheikhupur, Kapurthala 144620 (Punjab).

Subscription fee:Fee for 1 year -Rs. 1000/-; for 3 years- Rs. 2500/-; for 5 years - Rs. 3500/-; for 10 years- Rs. 5000/-

General Correspondence: Should be addressed to the Secretary, Society of Krishi Vigyan, J J Farm,Near New Grain Market, PO. Sheikhupur, Kapurthala 144620 (Punjab).

Printed and published by Dr. Manoj Sharma, Secretary on behalf of Society of Krishi Vigyan underthe able guidance of Dr. M S Gill, President, Society of Krishi Vigyan at M/S Foil Printers, Ludhiana.

LIFE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY OF KRISHI VIGYAN64. Anju Ahlawat c/o ECHS Poly Clinic Station HQ, Sadhuwali Cantt. Sriganganagar

(Rajasthan).

65. Arjinder Kaur, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, PunjabAgricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab).

66. Avneet Kaur Ahuja, Subject Matter Specialist, KVK, Kapurthala (Punjab).

67. B. B. Kunjadia, Programme Coordinator, KVK, Amreli (Gujarat).

68. C. K. Timbadia, Programme Coordinator , KVK, Navasari (Gujarat).

69. Gagan Jyot Kaur, Subject Matter Specialist, KVK, Moga (Punjab).

70. Gobinder Singh, Subject Matter Specialist, KVK, Kapurthala (Punjab).

71. Gurpreet Singh, Sr. Marketing Manager, Kheti Dunia, K. D. Complex, Patiala (Punjab).

72. H. C. Chhodavadiya, Subject Matter Specialist , KVK, Amreli (Gujarat).

73. Iqbal Singh, Asstt. Engineer , Deptt Farm Power and Machinery, PAU, Ludhiana. (Punjab).

74. Jagbir Rehal, Subject Matter Specialist , KVK, Moga (Punjab).

75. Minaxi, K. Baria, Subject Matter Specialist , KVK, Amreli (Gujarat).

76. N. S. Joshi, Ph.D. Scholar, KVK, Amreli (Gujarat).

77. Narendra Kumar, Programme Coordinator, KVK, Jairampur (Arunachal Pradesh).

78. Pankaj Kumar, Ph. D Scholar ,Ext. Edu. Deptt of Extension Education, PAU, Ludhiana(Punjab).

79. Rekha Tiwari, Subject Matter Specialist, KVK, Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh).

80. Rima Taipodia, STO, o/o Deputy Commissioner, Dibang Valley, Annini (Arunachal Pradesh).

81. Sanjoy Borthakur, Programme Coordinator, KVK East Kameng , Pampoli (ArunachalPradesh).

82. Sangita Sood, Professor, CSKHP Agricultural University , Palampur (Himachal Pradesh).

83. Sarabjit Singh Aulakh, Subject Matter Specialist, KVK, Gurdaspur (Punjab).

84. Satbir Singh, Subject Matter Specialist , KVK, Sangrur (Punjab).

CONTENTSSr. No. Title Page No.

1. A Study of Organizational Structure of an NGO Working in 1Remote Hills of Uttarakhand.Netrapal Malik

2. Adoption Behaviour and Constraints in Wheat Production Technologies 6for Higher Wheat Productivity in Hills of Uttarakhand.Ajay Kumar

3. An Analytical Study of Livestock Sector in an Adopted Village. 10H. K. Bhattacharyya , S. Baruah, A. K. Sarma and A. Barooah

4. Dairy Farming Practices followed by Different Categories of 13Dairy Farmers in South Western Punjab.Bharat Singh Bhattu, Ajitpal Singh Dhaliwal and Gurdeep Singh

5. Design, Development and Evaluation of Grader for Wild Bitter Gourd. 17Gagan Jyot Kaur, Jagbir Rehal, Kanwar Barjinder Singh

6. Economics of Different Livestock-Carp Integrated Farming Systems over 20Traditional Non Integrated Farming System in Terai region of West Bengal.Soma Banerjee and Sudip Barat

7. Effect of Furrow and Bed Transplanted Rice (Oryza sativa L.) 25with Varying Irrigation Management on Soil Bulk Density andInfiltration Rate on Sandy Loam Soil.Navjot Singh, Krishan Kumar Vashist and S. S. Mahal

8. Effect of Planting Methods and Fertility Level on Growth of Hybrid Maize. 29Rima Taipodia and N. D. Singh

9. Effect of Soy Flour Supplementation in combating Malnutrition among 33School Going Girl Child in Malwa Region of Madhya Pradesh .Rekha Tiwari, D. S. Tomar, A. K. Dixit and S. K. Kaushik

10. Extent of Adoption and Reasons for Non-adoption of Selected Resource Conservation 36Technologies by the Farmers of Ludhiana and Moga Districts of Punjab.D.S. Dhillon, Sukhandeep Singh and V. K. Rampal

11. Impact of KVK Training Programmes on Adoption of Garlic Production Technology. 41K. C. Meena and I. N. Gupta

12. Impact of Vocational Training Programmes on Broiler 44Management Practices in District Hanumangar.Satbir Singh, Anoop Kumar and C.S. Sharma

13. In vitro Regeneration of Wild species of Guar (Cyamopsis serrata and 48Cyamopsis senegalensis).Anju Ahlawat, Hans Raj Dhingra,and Jagbir Singh Dhankar

14. Mithun Husbandry - Issues and Strategies in Papum Pare 56District of Arunachal Pradesh.Tilling Tayo, Taba Heli, Bengia Atul and Nabam Gama

15. Pattern of Investment vis-à-vis Credit Utilization in Dairy sector of Punjab. 60Arjinder Kaur and R. S. Sidhu

16. Relationship of Rural Women’s Characteristics with their 65Training Needs in Animal Husbandry Practices.M. K. Bariya, Kiran Chandravadiya, N. S. Joshi and G. P. Deshmukh

17. Reliability Analysis of Medium Range Weather Forecasts in 70Central Plain Region of Punjab.K. K. Gill and Ritu Babuta

18. Preparation and Nutritional Evaluation of Cheese-Whey and 74Soya-Whey Based Fruit Beverages.Sangita Sood , Sonia Minhas and Suruchi Katoch

19. Technology Transfer Modules of Punjab Agricultural University 78used for Agricultural Development in Punjab.M. S. Gill, Manoj Sharma and Gagandeep Kaur

20. Using Fruit Plants as Ornamentals: An Innovative Practice for 84Beautification and Monetary Benefits.T. Mubarak

Sr. No. Title Page No.

I sincerely greet you all at outset and bringyou the second issue of Journal of Krishi Vigyan.Although Indian agriculture has put tremendousefforts to reduce hunger and made remarkableprogress, we are still facing the problem thatagricultural growth lags behind populationexpansion. Our population is expected to be 1.4billion by 2020. The increasing population, coupledwith growing income will generate increased demandfor food grains and non-food grain crops. In orderto ensure food security without compromisingenvironment and social development, we shouldimprove the technological level of agriculturalproduction, economic benefits and ecologicalefficiency. Speeding up agricultural technologygeneration is one of the crucial solutions. Sinceincrease in net sown area has flattened out, furtherincrease in agriculture production needs to comethrough an increase in gross cropped area (multiplecropping), coverage of area under irrigation andimprovement in the productivity levels.

Indian agriculture also has to diversify intohigh-value crops, raise productivity, restore soilhealth and enhance the application of moderntechnologies including biotechnology. Humanresource development of the persons engaged inagriculture is necessary not only to have greaterpenetration of better technology but also becausetrained underemployed labour in this sector can getabsorbed in other fast growing sectors.

Agriculture sector needs well functioningmarkets to drive growth, employment and economicprosperity in rural areas of the country. To providedynamism and efficiency into the marketing system,large investments are required for the developmentof post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure nearerto the farmers’ fields.

The rapid growth of agriculture is essentialnot only for self-reliance but also for meeting thefood and nutritional security of the people, to bringabout equitable distribution of income and wealth inrural areas as well as to reduce poverty and improve

MESSAGEthe quality of life.Growth in agriculturehas a maximumcascading impact onother sectors, leadingto the spread ofbenefits over the entireeconomy and thelargest segment ofpopulation.

This mission cannot be achieved through thework of one person, or one nation, but only throughnational and global communication and cooperation.In this process, we should expand our knowledgespace and integrate research in agricultural and otherrelated scientific fields. The Society of Krishi Vigyanhas been formed to promote information exchangeamong scientists from all fields of agriculture. Weare trying to bring out this quality academic journaloffering readings into developments in wide forayof agricultural fields.

This journal would not have been possiblewithout the support and contributions from ourmembers and friends from all over the country. Icall on my colleagues in SKV and friends to workmore closely and collaboratively, and to commit toknowledge sharing in this field. With our efforts, Iam optimistic that we will upgrade the research levelof agriculture and agricultural productivity, andensure food security in the future. I wish you all thebest and success in your future undertaking

(M S GILL)

1Journal of Krishi Vigyan

A Study of Organizational Structure of an NGOWorking in Remote Hills of Uttarakhand

Netrapal Malik

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (CS Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur)Aligarh-202 122 (U.P.)

ABSTRACTOrganizational structure of Central Himalayan Rural Action Group (CHIRAG), a non governmentorganization (NGO) working in hills of Uttarakhand was studied. Data were collected from 132employees of the organization. It was found that majority of the employees were of middle ageand married, having rural background, working at low salary with little career and salaryprogression. Most of them got the job at young age and have not changed any organization inspite of not getting even a single promotion while having high experience. Medium level ofparticipation was found in decision making about the allocation of resources and organizationalpolices by majority of the employees of the organization. According to maximum number ofemployees, CHIRAG was slightly authoritative as far as hierarchy of authority is concerned,complete job description and rule manual existed in the organization and their work is specified.Almost half of the respondents found variety in their work. Majority of the employees of theorganization were fulfilling all the qualifications, trainings, experience and expertise requiredfor the position at which they were working.

Key words: Organizational structure, Centralization, Formalization, Routine technology, NGO

INTRODUCTIONAn organization is a structured group of

interacting people equipped with skills, material,resources, working together with the objectivesto fulfill certain need of the society or to provideany service to the society. Every organization hassimple or complex structure. Organizationalstructure can be perceived as the practices beingundertaken in an organization with regard topolicies, procedures and rules. Two importantfeatures of organizational structure areformalization and centralization, which can furtherbe subdivided into four sub-dimensions: decision-making, hierarchy of authority, job codification,and rule observation (Hall, 1991). Under theformalization construct, job codification has beendefined as the level to which an organizationprecisely spells out rules and procedures relatedto jobs in different situations while ruleobservation refers to the extent to which anorganization rigidly adheres to the rules andprocedures. In other words, this constructmeasures how far employees are supervised toensure that they are not committing any offenseagainst the organization’s rules and regulations.

Additionally, centralization deals with the amountof power distributed among employees of variouspositions. This variable can be perceived in termsof hierarchy of authority and centralized decision-making. According to Hage and Aiken (1967),the former examines the level subordinates arereliant upon their supervisors in decision-makingwhile the latter identifies the level of employees’involvement in decisions on resource allocationand policy formation.

The role of organizational structure as adeterminant of various workplace outcomes isevident in many empirical findings. Aizzat et al.(2006) found that formalization has a positiveinfluence on job stress. Tata and Prasad (2004)found stronger relationship between self-management and team effectiveness in theorganizations that have a lower level offormalization. Pandey and Welch (2005) reportedthat a high level of job codification and ruleobservation had resulted in a high level of workalienation among public servants. Sarros et al.(2002) found that hierarchy of authorityexacerbates higher levels of leadership behaviours,which subsequently leads to work alienation.

Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

2 Journal of Krishi Vigyan

It is thus, evident that organizational structureaffects significantly the efficiency and progressof the organizational personnel. Despite a rapidgrowth in academic literature on NGOs and itsmanagement, the organizational structure of NGOsremains largely unexplored, while in the presentrural development scenario NGOs are playing avital role. The NGOs with their advantage of non-rigid, locality specific, felt need-based, beneficiaryoriented and committed nature of service haveestablished multitude of roles which can affectrural development (Bhaskar and Geethakutty,2001). Keeping in the view the importance oforganizational structure in outcomes andefficiency of its personnel, a study was undertakenon an NGO working in the remote hills ofUttarakhand.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe non-government organization ‘Central

Himalayan Rural Action Group (CHIRAG)’working in Nainital district of Uttarakhand wasselected for the study on the basis of its large size,penetration at grass-root level and existence ofwell-defined hierarchy in the organization. 102employees working in this organization wereinterviewed for this study. Different variablesselected were age, sex, educational level,background (rural/urban), marital status, age atfirst job, gross salary of first job, present grosssalary, change in organizations, promotions,experience in the organization, total experience,career progression and salary progression. Careerprogression was calculated by dividing thenumber of promotions of an employee by the totalyears of his/her work experience and multiplyingby 100. Salary progression was calculated bysubtracting the first salary from present salary ofan employee and dividing by total years of his/her work experience.

Dimensions of organizational structure takenin study were centralization, formalization,complexity and routine technology. All thesedimensions were measured with the help of scaledeveloped by Hage and Aiken (1967).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

General profile of the employees:There were total 102 full time employees

working in the organization, out of which sixty

were permanent and forty-two were project based.In addition to full time staff, 128 villagers wereworking as part time staff in the organization asforest caretakers, balwadi workers, environmentaleducation teachers, librarians, communityworkers, community technicians, communityhealth workers and village dais (mid wives) etc.Amongst the full time staff, beside ExecutiveDirector, CHIRAG has adopted four levels ofhierarchy viz., team leaders, developmentassociates, development assistants and extensionworkers.

Majority of the employees were of middle ageand married. Male: female ratio was 4:1.Overwhelming majority of employees was fromrural background working at low salary with lowcareer and salary progression in spite of havinghigh experience. Only few respondents werefound to have negative salary progression. Oneforth employees were educated up to 8th standardand almost similar proportion of employees wasunder-graduate. Employees with education up tohigh school and post-graduation were 18.9 and17.4 per cent, respectively (Table1).

Part- time workers of the organization werehaving less educational level . Employees atmiddle hierarchy were either graduate orpostgraduate. Most of the personnel at upperhierarchy were from urban background andhaving professional post-graduate qualifications.It was revealed that majority of the employees gottheir first job at young age (19 to 43 yr.) and theydid not change the organization in spite of gettingnot even single promotion (Table 1) probably dueto the reason that most of them were from localvillages. Initially, youth from local villages werekept on contract basis without any professionalqualification but CHIRAG continued to work withthem. Due to long experience in the organizationand continuous task specific in-service trainings,these local people became proficient indevelopment work and thus made permanentemployees of the organization. It was worth tomention that few of them had been promoted upto the cadre of policy planner.

It was thus evident that the strategy ofrecruiting non-professional local youth andmaking them proficient in development workthrough continuous in-service trainings washelpful in employment generation at local level.


Table 2. Distribution of respondents according to differentaspects of the organization.

S. No. Parameter Number of PercentageRespondents

1. Extent of participation in decision makingLow 46 34.8Medium 62 47.0High 24 18.2

2. Hierarchy of authorityHighly authoritative 28 21.2Slightly authoritative 72 54.5Democratic 32 24.2

3. Presence of job descriptionComplete 82 62.1Partially complete 40 30.3Just started 9 6.8Non existent 1 0.8

4. Presence of rule manualComplete 88 66.7Partially complete 26 19.7Just started 12 9.1Non-existence 6 4.5

5. Job codificationSpecified 94 71.2Not specified 38 28.8

6. Rule observationDefinitely true 44 33.3Often true 70 53.0Often false 8 6.1Definitely false 10 7.6

7. Routine technologyRoutine work 14 10.6Work with little variety 56 42.4Work with variety 62 47.0

8. ComplexityFulfilling all requirements 94 71.2Fulfilling qualifications, 10 7.6trainings and experiencesbut not expertiseFulfilling qualifications 10 7.6and trainingsFulfilling only qualifications8 6.1Not fulfilling anything 10 7.6

Table 1. General profile of organizational personnel.

S. No. Parameter Number of PercentageRespondents

1. AgeYoung (below 23) 8 6.1Middle (24 to 43) 84 63.6Old (above 44) 40 30.3

2. BackgroundRural 117 88.6Urban 15 11.4

3. Marital statusMarried 90 68.2Unmarried 42 31.8

4. Educational levelUpto 8th 34 25.8High School 25 18.9Intermediate 17 12.9Graduate 32 24.2Post Graduate 23 17.4Doctorate 1 0.8

5. Age at first jobVery young (below 23) 21 15.9Young (24 to 43) 97 73.5Old (above 44) 14 10.6

6. Change in organizationNo change 109 82.6One time change 14 10.6Two time change 7 5.3Three time change 1 0.8Four time change - -Five time change 1 0.8

7. Number of PromotionsNo promotion 87 65.9One promotion 18 13.6Two promotions 16 12.1Three promotions 8 6.1Four promotions 3 2.3

8. First salaryLow 127 96.2Medium 3 2.3High 2 1.5

9. Present salaryLow 112 84.8Medium 18 13.6High 2 1.5

10. Career progressionLow 98 74.2Medium 29 22.0High 5 3.8

11. Salary progressionLow 110 83.3Medium 14 10.6High 8 6.1

12. Total experienceLow 50 37.9Medium 28 21.2High 54 40.9

NGOs mostly depend on time bound projects.Sometimes, NGOs might have been running manyprojects but may face crisis due to non availabilityof appropriate projects. During this crisis periodif a NGO have not sufficient corpus fund to sustaintheir potential employees, they might switchoverto other organizations. It was found that CHIRAGwas recruiting employees at low salary but wassustaining them even after completion of projectduration and thus have created a feeling of jobsecurity among its employees.


Organizational Structure:

CentralizationCentralization is taken to be a measure of how

the power is distributed amongst position. Twofeatures of centralization were taken for the study.

a. Participation in decision-making:It refers to the degree to which occupants on

various positions participate in decision makingabout the allocation of resources andorganizational polices. Employees were asked toindicate their extent of participation in decisionmaking. It was found that there was medium(47.0%), low (34.8%) and high (18.2%)participation of employees in decision-making.

b. Hierarchy of authority:It refers to the extent to which members of

the organization are assigned tasks and providedwith the freedom to implement them withoutinterruption from superiors. It was observed thatthe organization was slightly authoritative.Democratic nature of organization was revealedby 24.2 per cent of the respondents followed byhighly authoritative (21.2%).

c. Formalization:Formalization refers to the degree to which

tasks and work processes are uniform and thedigression allowed from this constancy. Thisdimension was further broken up into four subdimensions namely presence of job description,presence of rule manual, job codification and ruleobservation. It is a measure of closeness ofsupervision.

It can be concluded from the data (Table 2)that 62.1 per cent respondents reported completepresence of job description, 30.3 per centdescribed partially complete, 6.8 per cent juststarted and only 0.8 per cent respondents reportednon-existence of job description. Presence ofcomplete rule manual was reported by 66.7 percent, partially complete by 19.7 per cent, juststarted by 9.1 per cent and non-existence of rulemanual was reported by 4.5 per cent ofrespondents. It was observed that 71.2 per centrespondents reported that their work was specifiedwhereas 28.8 per cent informed unspecified work.When respondents were asked to report the degreeof closeness of supervision, majority of the

respondents (53.0%) responded that it is ‘oftentrue’ that the staff works according to rules manual, Definitely True was responded by 33.3 per centfollowed by ‘definitely false’ (7.6%) and ‘oftenfalse’ (6.1%).

Routine technology:Routine technology is interpreted as

routine of daily work activities. Data indicated that47.0 per cent respondents reported variety in theirwork, 42.4 per cent reported little variety and 10.6per cent indicated that their work was routine work.Complexity was taken as an aspect ofspecialization with emphasis on expertise gainedby trainings as opposed to the division andsystematization of daily routine task. It wasanalyzed by matching the required qualifications,trainings, experiences and expertise for eachposition in each project. It was found that themajority of the employees (71.2%) possessed allthe required qualifications, trainings, experiencesand expertise. There were equal number ofemployees (7.6%) who were ‘fulfillingqualifications, trainings and experiences but notexpertise,’ ‘fulfilling qualifications and trainings’,and ‘not fulfilling anything’. Employees who were‘fulfilling only qualifications’ was 6.1 per cent.

CONCLUSIONIt can be concluded that majority of the

employees were of middle age followed by youngand old age and got education only up to 8th

standard followed by graduate employees.Employees at team leader position were postgraduate. Most of the employees were from ruralbackground, married and got job in young agewith low salary. Present salary of majority of theemployees was also low. Maximum number ofthe employees did not change any organizationand did not get even a single promotion, gainedlow career and salary progression, while they werewith high total experience. Medium level ofparticipation was found in decision making aboutthe allocation of resources and organizationalpolices of the organization. According tomaximum number of employees, CHIRAG wasslightly authoritative as far as hierarchy ofauthority is concerned, complete job descriptionand rule manual existed in the organization andtheir work was specified. Almost half of therespondents found variety in their work. Majority


of the employees were fulfilling all thequalifications, trainings, experience and expertiserequired for the position at that they were working.

There is scarcity of researches onorganizational structure of NGOs working in thecountry. The present study was an attempt toexplore the organizational structure of an NGO.Since NGOs have flexibility in changing theirorganizational structure to cope with dynamicsocial, cultural, political, economic andtechnological dimensions of the stakeholders.Hence, there is a need to conduct more studies inIndian context to address the issue of NGOs’organizational structure.

REFERENCESAizzat, M.N., Ramayah, T. and Yeoh, C.B. (2006). Organizational

structure and organizational climate as potential predictors ofjob stress: Evidence from Malaysia, Int. J. CommerceManag., 16 (2): 116-29.

Bhaskar, Indu and Geethakutty, P. S. (2001). Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Rural Development: A CaseStudy, J. Tropical Agri., 39 (1):52-54.

Hage, J. and Aiken, M. (1967). Relationship of centralization toother structural properties. Administrative Sci. Quarterly, 72-92.

Hall, R.H. (1991). Organizations: Structures, processes, andoutcomes (5th ed.). Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs.

Pandey, S. K. and Welch, E. W. (2005). Beyond stereotypes: Amultistage model of managerial perceptions of red tape,Administration and Soc., 37 (5):542-75.

Sarros, J. C., Tanewaski, G. A., Winter, R. P., Santore, J. C. andDensten, I. L. (2002). Work alienation and organizationalleadership. Br. J. Manag., 13 :285-304.

Tata, J. and Prasad, S. (2004). Team self-management,organizational structure, and judgement of team effectiveness.J. Managerial Issues, 16(2) :248-65.


Adoption Behaviour and Constraints in WheatProduction Technologies for Higher Wheat

Productivity in Hills of UttarakhandAjay Kumar

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Gaina, Pithoragarh -262 530 (Uttarakhand)

ABSTRACTThe study was carried out to determine the farmers’ adoption behaviour on wheat productiontechnologies. The farmers were selected from Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and weredemonstrated production technology during 2008-09 and 2009-2010. It was revealed that 32per cent farmers fully adopted demonstrated wheat production technology whereas 24.9 percent farmers adopted partially .The major constraints observed in wheat production was lackof irrigation facility as well as mechanization. In wheat, under irrigated condition yield of 29.8q/ha was recorded which was 32.4 per cent higher than farmers’ practice while in rain fedcondition demonstrated plot resulted in 16.2 per cent higher yield over farmers’ practice. TheB:C ratio of demonstrated plots under irrigated condition was 1.35 and of farmers’ practicewas 0.90 while under rain fed condition B:C ratio of demonstrated plots was 0.66 and offarmers’ practice was 0.45.

Key Words : Adoption , Wheat production technology, Constraints and B:C Ratio

INTRODUCTIONWheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the second

most important food crop in India after rice, bothin terms of area and production. India is the secondlargest wheat producer and produces 12 per centof the world production. In India wheat is grownbetween 11oN to 55o N latitude and 72oE to 92oElongitude and at an altitude of more than 3000 mabove mean sea level.

In Uttarakhand, diverse agro-climaticcondition from sub-tropical to temperate exits. Inhilly areas of Uttarakhand during the year 2011-12 wheat was cultivated on 1.96 lakh ha. withproduction of 2.64 lakh tonne and the averageproductivity was 13.4 q/ha. On the other hand,the productivity of wheat under plain area was35.7 q/ha and state’s average productivity was23.8 q/ha (Anonymous, 2011). The productivityin the hilly areas is far below the averageproductivity of the state as well as of nation. Themajor reasons for this gap in productivity noticedare prevalence of rain fed condition in hills,improper nutrient management, non availabilityof improved varieties and lack of knowledge ofimproved agronomical practices. In hilly regionsof the state, seed replacement rate is less than 3

per cent and fertilizer use is less than 7 kg/ha/yr.During rabi season most of the cultivated wheatis under rainfed condition (>90%), but whereverirrigation sources are available, even there farmersdo not timely irrigate the crop due to lack ofknowledge.

Hence, a study was undertaken with a viewto assess the adoption behaviour as well as thevarious constraints being faced by the farmers ofthe hilly region regarding wheat cultivation so thatKVK can make changes in their mode adoptedfor technology transfer.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis study was undertaken to demonstrate the

effect of good quality seed and timely agronomicpractices in the enhancement in wheat yield.During the year 2009-10, 57 demonstrations wereconducted under rain fed conditions in fourvillages namely; Kiri, Aincholi, Jakhani andGaina, while 13 demonstrations were conductedunder irrigated condition in three villages namely;Dungri, Jauljibi and Panlot. Selection of thefarmers was done randomly. Under irrigatedcondition, only three irrigations were provided at35 days, 90 days and around 135-140 days after



sowing. Under farmers’ practice seed of locallygrown varieties was used. Yield under farmers’practice was recorded at five farmers’ field eachrandomly under both rain fed and irrigatedcondition from the same villages. The dataregarding adoption of technology and constraintsexperienced by the farmers were collected withthe structured interview schedule from selectedfarmers where wheat demonstrations were laid out.Mean and per cent values were used to classifythe data and its analysis. Similarly, the level ofadoption of the farmers was classified into threecategories viz. low, medium and high.


Wheat grain yield under rain fed condition: The average wheat yield obtained under

demonstration was 12.2 q/ha which was 16.2 percent higher over farmers’ practice (Table 1). Thenet return was Rs 6,895/- ha. and B:C ratio was0.67 while under farmers’ practice net return wasRs 4,540/-ha. and B:C ratio was 0.45. Farmersusually grow tall wheat varieties due to its higherstraw yield because there is an acute scarcity offodder during winter and summer months andthus, extra straw of tall varieties helps in reducingfodder scarcity problem during 2009-10. It wasworth to mention that no rainfall occurred duringrabi season till the month of February, as a resulttillering of wheat crop was reduced under rain fedcondition and poor plant growth resulted in lowwheat yield both under demonstration andfarmers’ practice.

Under irrigated condition:The average wheat yield obtained under

irrigated condition was 29.8 q/ha which was 32.4per cent higher than yield achieved under farmerspractice (Table 1).The net profit underdemonstration was Rs 25,035/- ha. and the B:Cratio was 1.35 while under farmers’ practice, net

profit was Rs 16,090/-ha. and B:C ratio was 0.90.In hilly areas, under farmers’ practice irrigationschedule was not followed properly. Pre sowingirrigation was provided and then irrigation wasapplied in the month of March and April. Further,no irrigation was applied at crown root initiationstage and other vegetative phases of crop, thisreduced the wheat yield as tillering and otherdevelopment phases of crop were affectedadversely. Contrary to the farmers’ practice in thedemonstrated plot irrigations were applied at therecommended time thus recorded an increase of32.4 per cent over the farmers’ practice.

Adoption behaviour :The farmers involved in the wheat

demonstrations were asked questions in order todetermine the extent of adoption of demonstratedpackage of practices. The data (Table 2) indicatedthat 70 per cent of the respondents had completelyadopted the recommended high yielding varieties,64 per cent proper sowing time and 61 per centproper dose of farm yard manure. The respondentsacknowledged the need of proper FYMapplication but its availability was the majorconstraint. About 68 per cent farmers did notadopt seed treatment and 91 per cent did not adoptline sowing due to lack of mechanization, 71 percent did not follow fertilizer application due tonon availability of fertilizer and 81 per cent didnot perform any plant protection measure in wheatcrop due to non occurrence of any disease andpest. These findings were in agreement with Patelet al, (2003) and Kumbhare et al,( 2011).

Constraints perceived:The constraints expressed by the wheat

growers have been given in Table 3. Undertechnological constraints, non-availability ofquality seeds (68.6%) of wheat, followed by highweed infestation (57.1%) and non-availability ofchemical fertilizer ( 50.0%) were expressed as

Table 1. Yield of wheat under irrigated and rain fed conditions.

Condition Number of Yield Cost of Gross Net Return B:Cfarmers q/ha Cultivation return Rs/ha Rs/ha Ratio

Rs/ha

Irrigated – Demonstration 57 29.8 18,590 43,625 25,035 1.35Farmers Practice 15 22.5 17,960 34,050 16,090 0.90Rainfed –Demonstration 13 12.2 10,430 17,325 6,895 0.67Farmers Practice 15 10.5 9,960 14,500 4,540 0.46


perceived constraints by the respondents. Likewiseunder resource constraints, 84.3 per cent farmersreported lack of irrigation facilities is majorconstraint in wheat production followed bymechanization (74.3%). In hilly areas farming isdone on bench terraces and moreover entireploughing is done by bullocks which is timeconsuming and availability of bullocks even onrent was considered as the constraints by therespondents. 62.9 per cent farmers acknowledgedinadequate FYM availability as constraint in wheatproduction.

To overcome these constraints 80 per centrespondent expressed that availability of waterlifting pumps are needed to boost the productivity

Table 2 : Extent of adoption of wheat production technology.

Sr. No. Parameter Extent of Adoption (n=70)Full Adoption Partial Adoption No Adoption

1 High Yielding Varieties 50 (71.4) 15 (21.4) 05 (07.1)2 Seed Treatment 10 (14.3) 12 (17.1) 48 (68.6)3 Sowing Time 45 (64.3) 15 (21.4) 10 (14.3)4 Recommended Seed Rate 25 (35.7) 30 (42.9) 15 (21.4)5 Line sowing 01 (01.4) 05 (07.1) 64 (91.4)6 Time of Irrigation 05 (07.1) 08 (11.4) 57 (81.4)7 Recommended fertilizer Dose 15 (21.4) 20 (28.6) 35 (71.4)8 Recommended dose of FYM 43 (61.4) 22 (31.4) 05 (07.1)9 Proper and effective weed control 18 (25.7) 22 (31.4) 30 (42.9)10 Plant protection measures 05 (07.1) 08 (11.4) 57 (81.4)11 Proper and timely harvesting 30 (42.9) 35 (50.0) 05 (07.1)

Table 3. Constraints perceived in wheat cultivation.

Constraints Number Per cent Rank

Lack of Irrigation Facilities 59 84.29 ILack of Mechanization 52 74.28 IINon Availability of Quality seeds 48 68.57 IIIInadequate Availability of FYM 44 62.85 IVHigh Weed infestation 40 57.14 VInadequate Availability of Chemical Fertilizers 35 50.00 VILack of Market Facilities 15 21.42 VII

Table 4. Suggestion given by the respondents to overcome the constraints in wheat production.

Suggestion Number Per cent Rank

Availability of water lifting pumps 56 80.0 IAvailability of low weight power tiller 48 68.6 IITimely Availability of HYV seed 40 57.1 IIILand Consolidation 37 52.9 IVAdequate support from government agencies 30 42.9 VTimely availability of fertilizers, weedicide 28 40.0 VIGood Market facilities 17 24.3 VII

(Table 4), while 68.6 per cent expressed that lowweight power tiller are required for better andtimely field preparation, 57.1 per cent said thattimely availability of HYV seeds need to beensured and 52.9 per cent reported that landconsolidation should be done. In hilly region ofUttarakhand land consolidation till date has notbeen done and therefore, land holdings arescattered.

CONCLUSION It was concluded that if limited irrigation,

good quality seeds are provided and properagronomic practices are followed then wheat yieldincreased by 32.4 per cent under irrigated


condition and 16.2 per cent under rain fedconditions. Full adoption of wheat productiontechnologies was reported by 32.0 per cent andpartially adopted by 17.5 per cent. The majorconstraint perceived by farmers was lack ofirrigation facility followed by lack ofmechanization. If these constraints are managedsome how then farmers can harvest more yieldwith the same level of inputs which woulddefinitely improve their socio-economic status.

REFERENCESAnonymous (2011). Agricultural Statistics, 2010-11. Department

of Agriculture. Govt. of Uttarakhand.

Kumbhare, N. V. and Singh, K. (2011). Adoption behaviour andconstraints in wheat and paddy production technologies. IndianRes. J. Ext. Edu., 11 (3) 41-44.

Patel, M. M., Chatterjee, A. and Khan, M. (2003). Adoption ofwheat production technology. Indian J. Ext. Edu. XXXIX(1&2) 58-62.


An Analytical Study of Livestock Sector in anAdopted Village

H. K. Bhattacharyya, S. Baruah, A. K. Sarma and A. Barooah

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Assam Agricultural University, Dibrugarh – 786 010 ( Assam)

ABSTRACTThe present study conducted in Phutahola village of Dibrugarh District was an endeavour toknow about the livestock profile of the respondents and their knowledge of animal rearingpractices. Animals reared by the people are of local or indigenous type having low productivity.Although goat population was found highest (56.9%) in the village, but number of householdrearing pigs was higher and most of the people are pig eater. Animals suffer from all commondiseases encountered in other parts of the country and the state in particular. The study alsorevealed that 73.3 and 65.3 per cent of the respondents had knowledge about vaccination andde-worming schedule, respectively. However, other scientific practices of rearing were adoptedto a very less extent.

Key words: Livestock profile, Adopted village, Dibrugarh, Assam

INTRODUCTIONLivestock plays a significant role in the rural

economy of Assam. Every rural household isassociated with livestock rearing but the state stilllags behind in production of milk and meatproducts. In Assam, keeping of livestock is highlylivelihood-oriented and is generally owned bysmall and marginal farmers and landlessagricultural labourers. The livestock populationin the state is very large in numbers but itsproductivity is very low compared to other partsof the country. As per the livestock census (2003),there was a positive growth in the population ofspecies like cattle (7.6%), goat (3.9%) and pig(16.6%) over the population of previous censuswhereas the population of buffalo (9.5%), sheep(10.7%) and horses and ponies (8.3%) haveshown a negative growth trend over the sameperiod. Goat is available throughout the state as itadapts quickly to harsh environment, has highreproductive efficiency, fair milk yield andexcellent meat quality. Pigs are rearedpredominantly by the tribal and also by othercastes. Pork is becoming more popular day byday. There is a tremendous scope of improvementof Desi pigs by crossing with exotic breeds likeHampshire, Berkshire etc. in the region due to thereason that the Desi pigs are poor in productiveand reproductive efficiency.

Keeping in view the different livestock speciesbeing kept by the farmers in the region, an effortwas made to know the present scenario of differentlivestock species available with the farmers in theadopted villages so that a comparison can be madeafter few years of implementation of differentscientific interventions by the KVK.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was conducted in the four

selected villages of Dibrugarh district of Assamduring the year 2011-12. A total of 150 livestockfarmers were selected and interviewed throughpersonal interview method on random basis. Thedata were collected by using a pre designedinterview schedule developed for the purpose. Thedata were analysed using frequency andpercentage in order to draw the inferences.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe average number of cattle, goat and pig in

the study area was 2, 6.5 and 2.9 respectively.Out of the total cattle population, 38.3, 44.0 and17.7 per cent were male , cow and calves,respectively (Table1). These findings with respectto average herd size of cattle were in agreementwhereas the population of adult female in thestudy area was comparatively lesser than thefindings of study done in other rural tract of the



country (Bhattacharyya et al., 2009). This wasmainly due to the reason that in this part of thestate, farmers give less emphasis on rearing ofanimals for milk production but more on meatproduction which was also evident from thefindings of herd size of other species i.e. goat andpig.

Although numbers of goat in the selected areawas highest but number of respondents rearingpigs were more followed by goat and cattle. Nearlyall the household (96.7%) rear few pigs inbackyard system of local types. Pigs are generallyreared either with goat (24.0%) or with cattle(18.0%) or with both goat and cattle (53.3%)because rearing of pigs under backyard systemare generally easier in comparison to rearing ofother species and return is also very fast.Moreover, people generally keep bullock forploughing purpose and carrying load whereassome local cows for getting milk as they do notrequire extra care for feeding and management.It was also observed that people do not depend

on a single income generating activity with theassumption that if ever they fail in one componentthen loss could be substantiated by one of theother components. The common diseasesencountered during the last one year were footand mouth disease (FMD) in cattle, contagiousecthyma in goat, swine fever in pig and ranikhetand duck plaque in poultry (Table 3).

ii.) Knowledge about animal rearingpractices:

Out of the seven practices selected, 73.3 and65.3 per cent respondents had knowledge aboutvaccination and de-worming schedule,respectively but only few of them adopted it andothers had no knowledge on vaccination scheduleand cold chain maintenance of the vaccine.Similarly, people were not interested in followingthe recommended de-worming schedule at theirown. In case of other package of practices therespondent’s knowledge was below 50.0 per cent.The respondents had no knowledge about

Table 2. Prevalence of common diseases encountered.

Prevalence of diseases No of respondents (%)

CattleFMD 111(74.0)

GoatContagious ecthyma 148 (98.6)

PigSwine Fever 98 (65.3)

PoultryRanikhet disease 150 (100.0)Duck Plague 150 (100.0)

Table 1. Livestock population.

Species No. of livestock animals Percentage Total population covering150 respondents

Cow Bull 115 38.3 300 (17.5%) Cow 132 44.0Male calf 34 11.3Female calf 19 6.4

Goat Dam 224 22.9 976 (56.9%)Ewe 354 36.3Male kids 298 30.6Female kids 100 10.2

Pig Male pigs 162 36.8 440 (25.6%)Sow 126 28.7Male piglets 87 19.8 Female piglets 65 14.7

Total 1716


Table 3. Knowledge of farmers regarding scientific animal husbandry practices.

Sr. No. Husbandry practice No. of respondents Percentage

1 Balanced feed 0 02 Preparing silage 0 03 Artificial Insemination 43 28.74 Vaccination 110 73.35 Castration 24 16.06 Deworming 98 65.37 Disposal of animal waste 11 7.3

balanced feeding of livestock and silage makingmainly due to the reason that the cattle are verylow producing and thus farmers do not botherabout their upkeep and maintenance. Although28.7 per cent of the respondents had knowledgeon artificial insemination of cattle but only few ofthem (<10%) practically interested to adopt it.Sixteen per cent people knew about the castrationprocess and its importance. Farmers keeping pigsand bulls adopt the technique of castration becausecastrated male pigs gain more body weight overuncastrated one and bullocks are used forploughing and load carriage.

Every farmer in the area had constructed aseparate shed for their cattle with locally availablematerials like bamboo, thatch, mud plastering etcand paddy straw is commonly used for feedingduring scarcity period. Goat and pigs are rearedusually in backyard system by following their

traditional feeding practices i.e. locally availablefeed stuffs and kitchen waste.

CONCLUSIONAs livestock is less prone to global warming

and climate change, it can be considered morereliable than other practices of agriculture. Highcost of feed stuffs and medicines has always beena constraint. Due to reduction in grazing areas andpastures the farmers are over dependant on feedthat costs them heavily. Therefore, priority shouldbe to develop some low cost feed formulations aslivestock has assumed the most important role inproviding employment and income generatingopportunities.

REFERENCESBhattacharyya, H. K., Fazili, M. R. and Hafiz, A. (2009). Farm

animal rearing in rural Kashmir- some observations. J.Dairying, Foods and Home Sci., 28 (2): 127-29.


Dairy Farming Practices followed by DifferentCategories of Dairy Farmers in South Western Punjab

Bharat Singh Bhattu, Ajitpal Singh Dhaliwal and Gurdeep Singh

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mansa-151 505 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTThis investigation was undertaken to study the adoptability of various recommended practicesand major constraints faced by dairy farmers in adoption of improved dairy technologies inBathinda and Mansa districts of Punjab. A total of 78 dairy farmers belonging to small, mediumand large categories were selected for the collection of data. It was noticed that that majority ofthe large dairy farmers and very few small farmers have adopted the recommended package ofpractices. 80.8 per cent of the small dairy farmers reported lack of knowledge as the majorconstraint in the adoption of recommended dairy farming practices followed by the non-availability of improved cattle breeds, buffaloes and breeding bulls. On the other hand, 73.1per cent of the farmers selected for this study expressed high cost of inputs as the major problemin dairy farming. Similarly, availability of poor quality of feed was the major problem for boththe medium as well as large category dairy farmers. Majority of medium category farmers’informed about the non availability of improved breeds. Very few small and medium categoryfarmers had adopted cow dung disposal and management practices.

Key words: Adoption, Constraints, Feeding, Breeding, Housing, Cow dung management.

INTRODUCTIONDairy Farming in Punjab continues to be an

integral part of sustainable crop-livestockproduction system and is being adopted oncommercial scale especially by large farmers.Small and marginal dairy units are followingtraditional practices and are still contributing tothe bulk of production. The total milk productionin the country for the year 2008-09 was estimatedat 108.5 million MT and the demand is expectedto be 180 million MT by 2020. To achieve thislevel, the annual growth rate in milk productionhas to be increased from the present 2.5 per centto 5.0 per cent. Thus, there is a tremendous scopefor increasing the milk production throughprofitable dairy farming.

Most of the dairy farmers are not adoptingrecommended technologies which have beendeveloped through considerable quantum ofresearch work carried out by the scientists duringthe past several decades. Moreover, dairy farmerswork in different socio-economic environmentand they also differ with respect to extensioncontact, media exposure and reach to developmentagencies. Therefore, adoption of different aspectof dairying and constraints faced by them differ

for different categories of farmers. Hence, a needwas felt to find out the reasons that why dairyfarmers are not adopting the recommendedtechnologies and scientific interventions in dairyproduction, in order to enhance milk productionand milk quality from dairy animals? In fact, theidentification of these problems is essential toformulate adequate measures to circumvent thecrisis befalling the dairy industry. Therefore, thepresent study was undertaken to assess theadoption status of recommended dairy farmingpractices by the dairy farmers and the majorconstraints faced by them in the adoption of dairytechnologies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Area of the study:To undertake this study, all 8 blocks of

Bathinda and 5 blocks of Mansa districts wereselected. From each block, a cluster of 2-3 villageswas selected where dairy farming was highlyconcentrated. In each block, 6 dairy farmer’s viz.2 small farmers (up to 5 milch animals), 2 mediumfarmers (6 to 20 milch animals) and 2 largefarmers (> 20 milch animals) were selected atrandom. Thus, from 13 development blocks of



two districts, a total of 78 dairy farmers wererandomly selected for the collection of data(Table1).

Collection of data:Data were collected by semi-structured

interview schedule. The responses of dairy farmerswere collected on a two point continuum viz.“adopted” and “not adopted” during the year 2012.Farmers possessing passing marks (33%) in givencategory were considered as having adopted therecommended practices in the given areas viz;breeding, feeding, housing, disease preventionand control, calf rearing practices and clean milkproduction practices etc. Thus, a cut list of adopterand non-adopters was prepared. The frequenciesof each response/constraint were worked out andexpressed in percentage and ranking.


i.) Milk Production:It was found that the average milk yield of

cross bred cows (15.0 l/d) was more than gradedbuffaloes (12.0 l/d) while average milk yield of

Table-1: Selection of dairy farmers.

Name of District Name of Block Name of selected villages Total number of farmers selected

Bathinda Bathinda Goniana Khurd, Goniana Kalan, Haraipur 06Phul Phul, Mehraj, Dhapali 06Nathana Nathana, Gobindpura, Ganga 06Rampura Rampura, Waliawali, Dikh 06Maur Maur Khurd, Maur Kalan, Sandoha 06Talwandi Sabo Talwandi Sabbo, Singo, Lehri 06Sangat Sangat, Kotguru, Bhagwangarh 06Bhagta Bhai Bhagta, Jalal, Kotha Guru 06

Mansa Mansa Mansa, Khiala, Burj Dhilva 06Sardulgarh Ahloopur, Fattamaluka 06Bhikhi Kotra Kalan, Khiva, Kishangarh Pharmahi 06Budhladha Budhladha, Fafrebhaike 06Jhunir Bajewala, Dasomdia 06

Total 78

local buffalo (10.0 l/d) was more than of localcows (7.0 l/d). Local buffaloes are mainly rearedby small and/or landless farmers where as gradedbuffaloes are reared by large farmers. Further, thecommercial dairy units established by largefarmers were possessing more numbers ofcrossbred cows and graded buffaloes whilelandless families were keeping more numbers oflocal cows and local buffaloes (Table2).

ii.) Adoption status of recommended dairyfarming practices:

It was noticed that very few number of smallfarmers had adopted recommended dairy farmingpractices while more number of large farmers hadadopted recommended dairy farming practices.26.9 per cent of the small farmers had adoptedthe recommended feeding practices and 23.1 percent had adopted recommended housing practiceswhereas, only 0.04 per cent of the small andmarginal farmers had adopted the recommendedcow dung disposal and management practices.Thus, from the data (Table3), it was evident thatadoption of recommended dairy farming practiceswas very less.

Table 2: Status of dairy farming in south western Punjab

Sr. No. Particulars Existing situation

1. Average milk of local cows (l/d) 7.02. Average milk of cross bred cows (l/d) 15.03. Average milk of local buffaloes (l/d) 10.04. Average milk of graded buffaloes (l/d) 12.05. Availability of local cows/ buffaloes Mainly available with small/medium/landless farmers6. Availability of cross breed cows/ buffaloes Mainly available with medium/ large farmers


Among medium category of farmers, majorityof the farmers (46.2%) had adopted diseasecontrol and prevention practices followed byfeeding practices (38.5%), housing practices(34.6%), calf management practices (30.8%)breeding practices (26.9%), clean milk productionpractices (26.9%) and calf management practices.Very few dairy farmers especially the medium andsmall category of cattle and buffalo keepers didnot adopt the recommended as well as scientificmethod of animal feeding. Similar findings havebeen reported by Awasthi et al., (2000) and Intodia(2001) who concluded that the buffalo keeperswere not following the scientific practices in caseof feeding. In case of small farmers 11.5 per centof farmers had adopted recommended practicesin the area of cow dung disposal and itsmanagement practices.

Among large category of farmers maximumnumber of farmers i.e. 80.8 per cent of the farmershad adopted recommended housing practicesfollowed by disease control and managementpractices (76.9%). High adoption of housingpractices among large dairy farmers may be dueto their well established and mechanized dairyfarms. Similarly, clean milk production practiceswere also adopted by 76.9 per cent of the largedairy farmers. Less than half i.e. 46.2 per cent ofthe large dairy farmers adopted calf managementpractices. The more number of large dairy keepersadopting recommended dairy farming practicesin different areas viz., housing, health care andclean milk production was probably due to theirbetter knowledge regarding these practices as wellas their good financial position. Chug (1998),Mathur (2001) and Meena et al., (2007) observedthat maximum adoption was found inmanagement/housing practices followed byfeeding, health care and least in breeding.

iii.) Constraints in the adoption of dairyfarming practices:

a.) Lack of knowledge:It was found that lack of knowledge was the

major reason for non-adoption of recommendedpractices among small farmers (80.8%) and thuswas ranked at number I. They were ignorant aboutthe exact time of removal of placenta and due tolack of veterinary facilities at the door steps ofthe farmers, they were not in a position toapproach any trained person or veterinarian forthe problem of anoestrus. These findings were inagreement with those of Mathur (2001) and Walliet al., (2005) who found that there was pooradoption of improved practices by the cattleowners. Non availability of improved breeds ofanimals (73.1%) and high cost of inputs (69.2%),non-availability of quality feed materials (57.7%)were the main constraints reported by the smallfarmers. The availability of mineral mixture andurea molasses mineral block ( UMMB) licks wasalso a problem. Similarly, majority of therespondents did not adopt the practice of treatingof dry fodder with urea to improve its nutritivevalue. This was due to lack of adequateknowledge regarding quantity of urea required fortreatment of straw and fear among the farmersabout harmful effect of urea on animal health.

b.) Improper feeding practices:Discussion with the farmers regarding feeding

practices of dairy animals revealed that all therespondents fed green and dry fodder and majorityof them gave concentrate to the milch animals butnot in the required quantity. This could beattributed to lack of green fodder availabilitythroughout the year as well as poor economiccondition of the respondents.

Table 3: Adoption status of recommended dairy farming practices.

Sr. No. Particulars Small Farmers Medium Farmers Large Farmers

1. Feeding practices 26.9(07) 38.5(10) 61.5(16)2. Housing Practices 23.1(06) 34.6(09) 80.8(21)3. Diseases control and prevention practices 19.2(05) 46.2(12) 76.9(20)4. Breeding practices 15.4(04) 26.9(07) 69.2(18)5. Calf management practices 11.5(03) 30.8(08) 46.2(12)6. Clean milk production practices 07.7(02) 26.9(07) 76.9(20)7. Cow dung disposal/management practices 0.04(01) 11.5(03) 38.5(10)

(Multiple responses)(Figures in parenthesis indicate number of dairy farmers)


Among medium farmers’ category, nonavailability of quality feed was considered asconstraint by 76.9 per cent of the medium categorydairy farmers. Use of mineral mixture and salt foranimal feeding was not common practice in allcategories of farmers and only large dairy keeperswere giving it on regular basis to their animals.

Non availability of quality feed was aconstraint for 76.9 per cent of large dairy farmersand was at ranked I. Labour was not consideredas the major constraints by majority of the farmersperhaps due to mechanization in commercial dairyunits. This was followed by non-availability ofimproved animals (26.9%) and high prices ofinputs (23.1%). Lack of knowledge ofrecommended practices was reported as constraintby about one fifth (19.2%) of the large categorydairy farmers probably due to the reason that theywere getting information through various mediaviz; television, radio, newspaper ,magazines andinternet and were well in contact with the dairyexperts.

CONCLUSIONFrom the present study, it was concluded that

majority of the small farmers were not adoptingthe recommended dairy farming practices. Lackof knowledge among small dairy farmers wasconsidered as the major constraint in the adoptionof the recommended dairy farming practices.Therefore, it is imperative for the training agenciesto approach the small and marginal farmers. Poor

quality animals available with majority of smalldairy farmers is also cause of concern as still majorportion of the milk production is contributed bysmall farmers in India. The study also revealedthat non-availability of improved cow breeds,buffaloes and breeding bulls, high cost and poorquality of inputs were also the major constraintsMedium and large category dairy farmers needtrainings in the preparation of feed at domesticlevel as they reported poor quality of compoundcattle feed available in the market as majorconstraint.

REFERENCESAwasthi, H. K., Singh, P. R. and Sharma, R. N. (2000). Knowledge

and attitude of dairy farmers towards improved dairy practices.Maharashtra J. Extn. Edu., 19: 290-92.

Chug, M. (1998). An exploratory study of dairy farms owned byex-serviceman in Karnal district (Haryana). M.Sc. Thesis,NDRI, Karnal.

Intodia, S. L. (2001). Documentation of farming system inoperational area (Udaipur district): A brief survey andanalysis. Agriculture perspective of Udaipur district, 103-104.

Mathur, P. (2001). Problems and prospects of improved cattlemanagement in Arid Western Plain Zone of Rajasthan. M.Sc.Thesis, Udaipur.

Meena, M. L., Sharma, N. K. and Aishwarya, Dudi. (2007).Buffalo Keepers’ Adoption about Improved BuffaloProduction Practices. Indian Res. J. Ext. Edu., 7 (2&3): 65-68.

Walli, T. K., Joshi, B. K., Shiv Prasad, Mahendra Singh andSingh, R. R. B. (2005). Dairy Farming - A Technical Bulletinon Modern Dairy Farming Practices. National Dairy ResearchInstitute (ICAR), Karnal.

Table 4: Constraints faced by dairy farmers in adoption of recommended dairy technologies.

Sr. No. Particulars Small Farmers Medium FarmersLarge Farmers

1. Lack of knowledge regarding recommended practices 80.8 (21) 65.4(17) 19.2(03)2. Non-availability of improved cow / buffaloes 73.1 (19) 84.6(22) 26.9(07)

breeds/breeding bulls3. High prices of inputs 69.2(18) 53.8(27) 23.1(06)4. Non availability of veterinary facilities in nearby areas 65.4 (17) 61.5(16) 16.0(04)5. Non availability of quality feed 57.7(15) 76.9(20) 76.9(20)

(Multiple responses)(Figures in parenthesis indicate number of dairy farmers)


Design, Development and Evaluation of Grader forWild Bitter Gourd

Gagan Jyot Kaur, Jagbir Rehal, Kanwar Barjinder Singh

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Moga-142 001(Punjab)

ABSTRACTA grader for wild bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) was designed on the basis of the

dimensional studies of the produce. It was observed that breadth and thickness of the sampleranged from 1.19-2.5 cm whereas the length varied from 1.70-4.0 cm with a sphericity of 0.68-0.91. On the basis of graphical representation it was found that the produce fell in three discreetsections with an average diameter of less than 1.75 cm, 1.75-2.5 cm, and more than 2.5 cm. Agrader was designed with two aperture sizes for the grading of produce. Validation of thedesigned and fabricated grader was done with the five samples obtained from different fieldsand evaluated for its efficiency. The grader was economical and efficient for farm level operations.

Key Words: Design, Fabrication, Grader, Wild bitter gourd.

INTRODUCTIONMomordica charantia often called bitter

melon, balsam pear, bitter gourd or bitter squashis a tropical and sub-tropical vine of the familycucurbitaceae widely found in Asia, Africa andCaribbean for its bitterest fruits edible fruit. Itoriginated from India and was carried to China inthe 14th century. ‘Jhaar Karela’ (Momordicacharantia var. abbreviata) is a variety of bittergourd found in wild (Fig 1). Its varieties differsubstantially in the shape, size, texture andbitterness.

Fig 1. Wild Bitter Gourd(Momordica charantia var. abbreviata)

It is commonly used in the folk lore medicinesto cure diabetes, gastro intestinal diseases,nematode worms, preventing and treating malaria,viral diseases such as measles and chicken

pox(Grover and Yadav, 2004; Basch et al.,2003).The availability of the produce is scanty in themarket but due to its medicinal properties itspicking up fast and farmers have started itscultivation to get higher returns. As thecommercial cultivation has picked up, there is aneed for proper handling, marketing andprocessing of the produce.

In WTO scenario grading of horticulturalcrops is the basic requirement for the national andinternational marketing system. Grading is anoperation carried out after the cleaning to classifythe produce in different fractions. The economicalreturns are dependent on the grade of the produce(Fig 2).

Fig2: Classification of the different grades/classesdepending upon the quality of produce.



Grading is done depending on the physicalcharacteristics of shape, size, weight, color etc.Different grades for the agricultural produce andquality grading have been standardized (Wit,1984; Murthy et al.,1996; Jaiswal, 2000). Otherwork reported includes online fruit grader(Leemans et al., 2002), multi fruit grader (Moreand Saxena, 2003), potato grading machine(Ghanbarian et al., 2010) and grading prototypefor fresh Kinnow fruits( Sharma and Ghuman ,2009). No existing grader was found suitable forjhaar karela as the reported grading machinesare product specific due to variation in size, shapeand color. The present study was carried out withthe objective to design and develop a farm leveleconomical grader for grading of wild bitter gourdand to test the performance for grading ofproduce.


Produce:5 kg of wild bitter gourd were procured from

different fields of Western Punjab (N=5) for theyear 2012. The respective length (l), breadth (b)and thickness (t) of n (n=200) sample wererecorded with the digital vernier calipers (LC=0.01mm).

Design:Sample size of n=200 were analyzed. The

produce broadly fell in three different sizecategories: small (<1.75 cm), medium (1.75-2.5cm) and large (>2.5cm).Grader was designed withtwo sieves top and bottom with aperture size of2.5 cm and 1.75 cm respectively for the produceas shown in Fig 3.Geometric mean diameter(GMD) and the average values of differentparameters like sphericity, surface area and unitvolume are detailed in Table 1.

Fabrication:Galvanized Iron (GI) sheets are commonly

used for the fabrication of grain storage bins wasselected due to its durability, strength andinertness. The grader was designed in circularshape which gave a smooth surface thus avoidingthe clogged corners and damage to both theproduce and operator. The selected apertures wereplaced in alternate concentric rings keeping thedifference between two consecutive rings equalto the size of the aperture. The distance betweentwo consecutive apertures (equidistant from thecentre) was equal to the aperture itself. The heightof the lower sieve was kept 6 cm to facilitate theeasy movement of the produce during themechanical movement (Fig 4).The grader weighed3.3 kg and had a capacity to grade 5 kg of theproduce in a single operation. It had aninterlocking arrangement and the lower grader wasprovided with two handles to facilitate themechanical movement (Fig 5).

Fig 4: Set of two sieves with interlocking arrangement

Table 1: Geometric Properties of the produce

Parameters l(cm) b(cm) t (cm) GMD(cm) Sphericity Surface Unit volume(%) area (cm2) (cm3)

Values 2.85 1.87 1.83 2.13 75.12 15.20 61.91

Figure 3: Variation of produce diameter

Fig 5: Placement of the apertures in concentric rings


RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONA 5 kg of sample was taken and shaken

manually for 2 minutes in the grader. The gradedsample was collected in three different groups i.e.over of top sieve (large), over of bottom sieve(medium) and through bottom sieve (small).Thebreadth/thickness of the produce was measuredwith the calipers. The breadth/thickness of 90-95%samples were found to be below the size of theaperture.

CONCLUSIONThe grader was designed keeping in view

farmers’ requirement, locally available materialsand ease of operation. Performance of the graderwas evaluated for grading efficiency withnegligible damage to the produce. The efficiencyof the grader varied from 90-95 per cent. Singleoperator was capable of operating it for efficientgrading of the bitter gourd to increase the marketreturns to the farmers. The large produce can beused for seed production while medium and smallgrades are the most desired and fetch higher priceas they are tender, have less number of seeds andcan be exploited for value addition. The designedand fabricated grader can be made available inthe market at a price of Rs 600-700/-.

REFERENCESBasch, E., Gabardi, S. and Ulbricht, C. (2003). Bitter melon

(Momordica charantia): A review of efficacy and safety. Am.J. Health Syst.Pharm.,60 : 356-59.

Ghanbarian, D., Kolchin N. N., HasanBeigi, S. R. and Ebrahimi,R. (2010). Design and development of small potato-gradingmachine using capron net. J. Food Process. Eng., 33 (6):1148-58.

Grover, J. K. and Yadav, S. P. (2004). Pharmacological actionsand potential uses of Momordica charantia: A review. J.Ethnopharmacol., 93: 123-132.

Jaiswal,P. K.(2000). Grading and standardization in agriculturalfood products- a view. Agril. Mktg., 43 (3): 33-34.

Leemans, V., Magein, H. and Destain, M. F. (2002). On-line fruitgrading according to their external quality using machine vision.Biosystem Engg., 83, 397–404.

More, P. K. and Saxena, R. P. (2003). Design and development ofmuti-fruit grader. J. Agril. Mech. Asia, Africa and LatinAmerica, 34 (3):39-52.

Murthy, C., Wader, L. K. and Shankaramurthy. (1996).Development of Grade standards for ground nut in Chitradurgadistrict of Karnataka. Indian J. Agril. Mktg., 10 (1): 27-42.

Sharma, A. and Ghuman, B. S. (2009). Evaluation of on-farmwaxing and grading prototype for fresh Kinnow fruits.Industrial J. Hort., 66 (2). 288-90.

Wit, W. D. E. (1984). Quality grading of Agricultural produceand food shafts. Bedrifsunt Wikkeling, 15 (3): 185-88.


Economics of Different Livestock-Carp IntegratedFarming Systems over Traditional Non IntegratedFarming System in Terai Region of West Bengal

Soma Banerjee and Sudip Barat*

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences),Jalpaiguri 735 101( West Bengal)

ABSTRACTEconomics of different integrated farming systems in Terai region of West Bengal were studiedby observing three treatments as T1 (Control): Traditional farming system, T2: Integrated cattlefarming with aquaculture and T3: Integrated cattle and ducks farming with aquaculture. Thefish and milk production was significantly higher (Pd”0.05) in T3 as 27.8±0.5 kg and 441.3±81.4l., respectively followed by T2 as 20.6±0.3kg and 405.4±27.8 l., respectively and T1 as10.7±0.3kg and 219±5.6 l. with addition of 2,939±32.0 numbers of eggs in T3. Hence, theprofit was significantly higher in T3 (Rs 25,126.8±394.0) than T2 (Rs 9,566.8±185.7) and T1(Rs 4,982.2±206.1).

Key Words Cow-dung, Grass carp, Indian Major Carp, Livestock-Carp Integrated FarmingSystem, Water Quality, Economics

INTRODUCTIONIntegrated Farming Systems (IFS) have

received considerable attention in recent years dueto the reason that the resources being used undernon-integrated farming system are depleting andthus the prevailing farming system is notsustainable in long run resulting threat to theenvironment. During past three decades greatemphasis was given on the incorporation of animalmanures as fertilizer and nutrients for promotionof feed and fauna in fish ponds and utilized bythe fish . According to Dhawan and Toor (1989)more than 50 per cent of the total input cost infish culture may be reduced by recycling theanimal waste. Hence integrated livestock- carpfarming became important to ensure wastemanagement as well as in reducing the productioncost (Nnaji et al., 2011)

As the integrated farming system seems to beprofitable by reducing the input cost and probablesolution to meet the increased demand for foodstability, the present study was therefore executedto observe the economics of two IFS models, usingdifferent existing components such as cow, ducksand fish ponds in Terai region of West Bengal.


Study areaThe experiment was carried out during the

years 2010 and 2011 at a village Belacoba ofJalpaguri district, situated in the northern regionof West Bengal, India having a sub- tropical humidclimate at 26Ú58´N latitude and 88Ú58´Elongitude ( 43 m above msl). The soil of theresearch field was sandy - loam in texture.

Experimental designNine ponds were selected in triplicates for each

treatment of same size 0.01 hectare (ha) to carryout the three treatments T1, T2 and T3 (Table 1).Ponds were stocked with Indian Major Carp (IMC)as Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhina mrigalaand Exotic Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, in thestocking ratio of 3:3:3:1 as suggested by Jena etal., (2007).

Pond Management under different treatmentsAll the ponds under experiment were seasonal

(April to September) from 2010 to 2011 with anaverage size of 0.01 ha and depth of 1.5 to 2.0 m.During March, ponds were dried and the bottom

* Aquaculture and Limnology Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of North Bengal, District Darjeeling, West Bengal.Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


soil along with aquatic weeds and unwanted fisheswere removed. Raw cow-dung at 3 t/ ha wasapplied as the basal dose 15 days prior to stocking.Lime was applied @250 kg/ha three to four daysprior to stocking. The fingerlings were stocked inthe month of April @ 10,000 fingerlings/ha in theponds under T1, T2 and T3. The average weightsof the fingerlings were 14-15g. Application of cowdung @ 2600kg/ ha once in ten days was followedfor the ponds under T2 and T3. Optionalapplication of lime @ 200kg / ha was done tomaintain the pH of the ponds between 6.5 to 8.5.Supplementary feed in the form of Mustard OilCake and Rice Bran in the ratio 1:1 was appliedafter stocking @ 2 per cent of total body weightonce a day. The cow-dung was collectedeveryday and stored for application in the pondafter each 10 days. The cow-dung was spreadequally covering the whole pond. Startingapplication of manuring was 10days after stockingof fingerlings. The methology followed was assuggested by Jha et al., 2004 and Jena et al., 2007.

Livestock Management under differenttreatments

The livestock considered in this study was nondescriptive (local variety with no specific breedcharacter) cows and ducks mostly prevalentamongst small and marginal farmers of this areawith the production potentiality of 500 to 800 l./lactation and 80-120 eggs/year , respectively. InT1 the cattle was reared in extensive system ofrearing where, the cow was allowed to grazewhole day and at night shelter was provided alongwith some paddy straw and water. The cow dungwas not stocked to integrate with aquaculture.Milking of the cow was done twice a day.

The cattle under T2 and T3 were reared insemi-extensive system where the cows wereallowed to graze for 6 hours every day consideringthe climatic condition to avoid stress. In cattlehouse, the cows were provided concentrate feed@ 1kg /day along with some green grass andpaddy straw. The cow dung was collected tointegrate with aquaculture. De-worming of thecows were done routinely thrice in a year.

Additional twenty ducks were reared inextensive system in T3 along with the cattle. Afterone month of stocking five months old ducks werebrought into use. Ducks were allowed to graze

on the pond from 9.00 am to 5 pm daily and fedwith kitchen left overs and agricultural by -products @75g/d. The eggs produced werecollected in the morning.

Sampling of pond waterWater samples were collected from different

sites of the ponds at bimonthly intervals at a fixedhour of the day (9:00 am). The water qualityparameters were analysed following the standardmethods as described by APHA (2005).

Cost-benefit analysisCost-benefit analysis of the data was carried

out on the basis of current market prices for theinvestment made as input cost and the total returnsof fish harvested , milk and egg produced as grossoutput from the farm and following the simpleprocedure as suggested by Jolly and Clonts(1993).

Profit = Gross output –Total Cost

Statistical analysesOne-way ANOVA (Gomez and Gomez, 1984)

was used for the analysis of data. If the main effectwas found significant, the ANOVA was followedby a least significant difference (LSD) usingDuncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Allstatistical tests were performed at a 5 per centprobability level using the statistical packageSPSS-18.


Water QualityIt was found that within the treatments i.e.,

T1, T2 and T3 the values of all physico-chemicalparameters except total hardness weresignificantly different (pd” 0.05). Total alkalinity,concentration of chloride, ammonium-N, nitrite-N, nitrate-N and phosphate- p were found to besignificantly higher (pd”0.05) in T2 and T3 thanthe Control (T1). T3 significantly had the higher(pd”0.05) Phosphate- p concentration indicatingthat duck grazing may have affected thePhosphate- p concentration in pond water.Phosphorus is commonly considered the majorlimiting nutrient in freshwater, and additions ofphosphorus often result in increased primaryproduction in aquaculture systems (Daina et al.,1991).


Table 1. Experimental Designs under different Integrated Farming Systems.

Treatment T1(Control) T2 T3

Components of farming Fish and cow Fish cum cow Fish cum cow cum duck

Type of farming Non-integrated (Traditional) Integrated Integrated

No. of ponds 3 3 3

Average size of pond(ha) 0.01 0.01 0.01

Manuring No manuring Manuring @ 2600kg/ ha / Manuring @ 2600kg/ ha ten days with cowdung / ten days with cowdung

No. of ducks per pond nil nil 20

Stocking density of 10,000 10,000 10,000

fingerlings/ha

Types of fish stocked IMC+Grass carp IMC+Grass carp IMC+Grass carp

Stocking ratio 3:3:3:1 3:3:3:1 3:3:3:1

Fish feeding schedule @ 2% of total body weight @ 2% of total body weight @ 2% of total body(on daily basis) with Mustard oil cake and with Mustard oil cake and weight with Mustard oil

Rice Bran (1:1) Rice Bran (1:1) cake and Rice Bran (1:1)

No of Cattle 1 1 1

System of cattle rearing Extensive Semi extensive Semi extensive

Feeding schedule of cow 12 hours grazing with 6 hours grazing and 6 hours grazing andConcentrate feed and Concentrate feed andgreen grass along green grass alongwith paddy straw with paddy straw

Type of cow Non descriptive Non descriptive Non descriptive

System of duck rearing Nil Nil Extensive

Type of Duck Nil Nil Non descriptive

Duration of Study 2008-2011(4 years) 2008-2011(4 years) 2008-2011(4 years)

Harvesting of Fish Six months Six months Six months

Table-2: Mean ± SE of water quality parameters under T1, T2 and T3.

Parameters T1 T2 T3

Temperature (°C) 29.70±0.23b 28.67±0.20a 28.86±0.20a

pH 8.17±0.07b 8.11±0.05b 7.74±0.07a

Dissolved oxygen (mg l-1) 7.38±0.08b 6.72±0.05a 9.25±0.15c

Free carbon dioxide (mg l-1) 11.02±0.17c 10.34±0.13b 9.45±0.09a

Total alkalinity (mg l-1) 22.64±0.33a 23.15±0.28ab 23.97±0.29b

Total hardness (mg l-1) 44.54±0.62a 44.17±0.59a 44.58±0.76a

Chloride (mg l-1) 17.14±0.54a 24.17±0.70b 29.18±0.67c

Ammonium-N (mg l-1) 0.04±0.01a 0.08±0.02b 0.08±0.02b

Nitrite-N (mg l-1) 0.40±0.02a 0.40±0.03ab 0.49±0.03b

Nitrate-N (mg l-1) 0.21±0.04a 0.49±0.03b 0.48±0.03b

Phosphate (mg l-1) 0.24±0.023a 0.41±0.03b 0.59±0.02c

Different superscripts (a, b and c) denotes significant difference and similar superscripts denote non-significantdifference between treatments at 5% level. N=72 for all the parameters.


The pH and temperature were found to bewithin the moderate range maintaining thefavourable condition for fish growth (Jana et al.2012). Biswas, et al. (2006) expressed the valuesat three different concentration levels ofammonium (a) favourable concentration range :0.262 to 0.294 mg/ l , (b)growth-inhibitingconcentration range : 0.313 to 0.322 mg/ l and (c)lethal concentration range : 0.323 to o.422 mg/ l.In the present study, all the values of ambientammonium concentration in T1, T2 and T3remained lower than the threshold concentrationof 0.313 mg/ l and, therefore, perhaps favourablefor fish culture under waste fed condition. Muradand Boyd (1991) stated that ponds should haveat least 20 mg/ l total alkalinity for good fishproduction. In the present study, the total alkalinitywas found to be more than 20 mg/ l in threetreatments throughout the experiment where T3had significantly higher total alkalinity than T2and T1. Hence, the use of organic inputs may keeptotal alkalinity at higher levels.

T3 has significantly highest dissolved oxygenfollowed by T1 then T2 indicating that manuringdecreases the dissolved oxygen and Duck grazingon pond increases the same. Ammonia is moretoxic when dissolved oxygen concentration is low.No significant difference were observed in T2 andT3 regarding total alkalinity, ammonium-N,nitrite-N and nitrate-N. Free carbon dioxide isobserved to be significantly higher in T1 followedby T2 and T3, respectively.

Economics Under Different Treatments:Total Mean±SE of yearly production during

the study period was significantly (pd”0.05) higherin T3 (27.8 ± 0.5 kg) followed by, T2 (20.6 ±0.3kg) and T1 (10.7± 0.3 kg) (Table 3). High fishyield were also obtained in Israel, 30 kg/ha/d withcattle manure (Schroeder, 1975), 40 kg/ha/d withduck manure and waste feed (Wohlfarth, 1978)and 20 kg/ha/d with chicken manure (Milstein etal. 1995). It has also been reported that theapplication of 15,000 kg/ ha of cow manureresulted in an average fish yield of 300 kg/ hawhile the control ponds averaged 97 kg/ ha offish. T3 has significantly highest production ofCatla catla (12.6±0.3 kg); Labeo rohita (8.8±0.2kg); Cirrhina mrigala (2.93±0.2 kg) andCtenopharyngodon idella (3.4± 0.2 kg) followedby T2 then T1. It was also reported by Schroeder(1975), that manures could achieve75 per cent ofthe yields attained by using supplementary feedingof grains and 60 per cent of the yields possiblewith protein-rich pellets. Fish yield in properlydesigned and managed manure loaded ponds canreach 5 to 10 t/ha./yr without any supplementalfeeding (Schroeder, 1978). The Mean±SE of milkyield was also observed to be significantly higherin T2 (405.4 ± 27.8 lt.) and T3 (441.3±18.4 l. thanT1 (219±5.6 l.). This was due to the improvedfeeding practice followed during the integratedfarming systems. T3 had additional production ofduck eggs (2939±32.41 ). Sharma and Olah(1986) and Sharma et al., (1988) observed, that

Table 3. Mean ± SE of different productions of fish, milk and eggs under different Treatments.

Treatments Catla catla Labeo Cirrhina Ctenopharyng Total fish Milk Eggsrohita mrigala odon idella production (l/year/cow) (no./year)

(kg/six month)

T1 4.93± 0.11a 3.65±0.22a 0.48±0.04a 1.61±0.11a 10.67±0.33a 219±5.56a .0000a

T2 9.48± 0.19b 6.65±0.14b 1.37±0.11b 3.07±0.14b 20.57±0.33b 405.42±27.81b .0000a

T3 12.59± 0.26c 8.84±0.17c 2.93±0.15c 3.42±0.15b 27.78±0.50c 441.25±18.42b 2939±32.41b

Different superscripts (a, b and c) denotes significant difference and similar superscripts denote non-significant differencebetween treatments at 5% level. N=12 for all the parameters.

Table 4. Mean ± SE of net income (profit) under different Treatments.

Treatments Total Expenditure (Rs) Gross income (Rs) Net Income(profit) (RS)

T1 1175.50±50.70a 6157.75±212.22a 4982.25±206.09a

T2 2812.50±81.48b 12379.25±257.76b 9566.75±185.74b

T3 3873.00±153.03c 28999.75±541.07c 25126.75±393.99c

Different superscripts (a, b and c) denotes significant difference between treatments at 5% level. N=4 for all theparameters and 1$=50 Rupees.


the excreta of 35 to 45 pigs, 200 to 300 ducksand 250 to 300 layer poultry birds or 150 to 200broiler birds produced 6 to 7 t, 3 to 4 t and 4 t offish /year, respectively when recycled in onehectare of water area under the polyculture ofIndian and exotic fish.

Cost benefit analysis was done consideringthe expenditure incurred on the fingerling(@Rs250/kg) and feed (@Rs14/kg). It wasobserved, that T3 has achieved significantly(pd”0.05) higher profit (Rs 25,126±394.0) thanT2 (Rs 9,566±185.7) and T1 (Rs 4,982.3±207.0),indicating that the undigested fraction in animalwaste was eaten by fish which may reduce thefeeding cost of aquaculture along with the higherzooplankton production which further facilitatesthe fish growth rate resulting in maximum profitinT2 and T3. Studies of Afzal et al. (2007), Sarkaret al.(2011) and Bhakta et al (2004) on animalwastes revealed that fish yield in ponds fertilisedwith animal excreta was 5-7 times higher thannormal fish pond. Panda (2002) indicated, thatthe approach of integration of duck farming isprofitable and acceptable to the farmers in thedeveloping world for maximum utilization of landand water resources. The droppings of ducks actas a substitute to fish feed and pond fertilizer upto 60 per cent of total feed cost.

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that integrated farming

system responds well when the number ofcomponent involved are increased. T3 had ducksas additional component which increased thepotentiality of the farming system resulting inhighest return (BC ratio 7.5) than T2 and T1. TheBC ratio in T2 (4.4) was found to be lower thanT1. Hence, in the northern part of West Bengal,integration of livestock-carp and duck can beconsidered the best integrated farming systemmodel for income generation among the small andmarginal farmers.

REFERENCESAfzal, M., Rab, A., Aktar, N., Khan, M. F., Barlas, A. and Qayyum,

A. (2007). Effect of organic and inorganic fertilisers on thegrowth performance of bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) inpolyculture system. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 9 (6): 931-33.

APHA. ( 2005). Standard methods for the examination of waterand Waste Water. 21st Edition. American Public HealthAssociation, American Water Works Association and WaterPollution Control Federation, Washington, DC.

Bhakta, J. N., Sarkar, D., Jana, S. and Jana, B. B.( 2004).Optimising fertilizer dose for rearing stage production of carpsunder polyculture. Aquaculture, 239:125-39.

Biswas, J. K., Sarkar, D., Chakraborty, P., Bhakta, J. N. and Jana,B. B. (2006). Density dependent ambient ammonium as thekey factor for optimization of stocking density of commoncarp in small holding tanks. Aquaculture, 261: 952-959.

Daina, J. S., Lin, C. K. and Schneeberger, P. J. (1991).Relationships among nutrient inputs, water nutrientconcentrations,primary production and yield of Oreochromisniloticus in ponds. Aquaculture, 92:323.

Dhawan, A. and Toor, H. S. (1989). Impact of organic manureand supplementary diet on plankton production and fish growthand fecundity of an Indian major carp Cirrhina mrigala (Ham.)in fish ponds. Biol waste, 29 (4): 289-97.

Gomez, K. A. and Gomez, A. A. (1984). Statistical proceduresfor agricultural research. 2nd edn. Wiley, New York.

Jana, B. B., Bag, S. K. and Rana, S. (2012). Comparativeevaluation of the fertilizer value of human urine, cow manureand their mix for the production of carp fingerlings in smallholding tanks. Aquaculture Intl., 20 (4):735-49.

Jena, J. K., Das P.C. and Sarangi, N. (2007). Carp farming; avenuesfor rural livelihood and entrepreneurship. Indian Farming,56 (7) : 25-27, 36.

Jha, P., Sarkar, K. and Barat. S. (2004). Effect of DifferentApplication Rates of Cowdung and Poultry Excreta on WaterQuality and Growth of Ornamental Carp, Cyprinus Carpio vr.Koi, in concrete Tanks. Turkish J. fisheries and AquaticSci., 4 : 17- 22.

Jolly, C. M. and Clonts, H. A.(1993). Economics of Aquaculture.The Haworth Press, USA. pp 319.

Milstein, A., Alkan, A. and Karplus, I. (1995). Combined effectsof fertilization rate. Manuring and feed pellet application onfish performance and water quality in polyculture ponds.Aquaculture Res., 26: 55.

Murad, H. and Boyd, C. E. (1991). Production of sunfish(Lepomisspp.) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) in acidifiedponds. Aquaculture, 94: 381-88.

Nnaji, J. C., Uzairu, A., Gimba, C. and Kagbu, J. A. (2011).Heavy metal risks in integrated chicken-fish farming. J. AppliedSci.,11 (12): 2092-99.

Panda B. K. (2002). Integration of ducks into fish farming. IndianFarming, 52 (6): 29-33.

Sarkar Paria, D., Bag ,S. K., Lahiri (Ganguly), S., Jana, S. andJana, B. B. (2011). Indian carp polyculture integrated withducks and poultry: ecological and economic benefits. IndianJ. Anim. Sci., 81: 773-80.

Schroeder, G.L. (1974). Use of fluid cowshed manure in fishponds. Bamidgeh. 26(3):84-96

Schroeder, G.L. (1975).Cow manure in fish culture. FAOAquaculture Bull., 7: 6.

Sharma, B. K., Das, N. K. and Das, S. R. (1988). Carp farmingintegrated with pig raising in India. Environ. Ecol.,6 (1):159-68.

Sharma, B. K. and Olah, J. (1986). Integrated fish-pig farming inIndia and Hungary. Aquaculture, 54: 135-139

Wohlfarth, G. W. (1978). Utilization of manure in fish farming.Proc. Fish farming and Waste Conf., University of College,London, Janssen Services, pp. 78.


Effect of Furrow and Bed Transplanted Rice (OryzaSativa L.) with Varying Irrigation Management onSoil Bulk Density and Infiltration Rate on Sandy

Loam SoilNavjot Singh, Krishan Kumar Vashist and S. S. Mahal

Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana -141 004 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTA field experiment was carried out at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to evaluate theeffect of furrow and bed transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.); varying irrigation managementpractices; and weed control on soil bulk density and infiltration rate on sandy loam soil. Theexperiment consisted of seven planting x irrigation and two weed control treatments. Soil bulkdensity was higher after harvesting as compared with that before planting. The bulk density atcrop harvest, at soil depth of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm was 1.86 and 1.24 per cent more over thebulk density before sowing in flat plots. Among rice transplanting methods, wet levelling(puddling process) in flat fields increased bulk density compared with unpuddled furrows andbeds. The cumulative infiltration rate reduced after land preparation as compared to beforesowing. Cumulative infiltration rate reduced by 65.6 per cent in unweeded flat plots as comparedto that before sowing whereas the reduction of 63.1 per cent was observed in herbicide treatedflat plots. Also, the cumulative infiltration rate was higher in bed and furrow transplanted rice(10.3- 10.8 cm/min) than puddled flat treatments (5.5-5.9 cm/min).

Key words: Bed/furrow transplanting, Border method of irrigation, Bulk density, Infiltrationrate

INTRODUCTIONTraditionally rice is grown by manual

transplanting of 25-30 day old seedling afterpuddling (PTR). Puddling is done by extensivetillage in standing water (>300 mm), which createsimpervious layer 10-15cm below soil surface.Puddling is done to reduce percolation losses, tocontrol weeds and to makes transplantingoperation easier. Puddling, however, has beenreported to destroy soil structure, which affectsgrowth and development of succeeding uplandcrops in the rotation, thereby reducing systemproductivity (Hobbs et al., 2002). Puddlingreduce macropore volume in the upper portion ofthe soil profile while increasing bulk density inthe compacted, anthropogenic horizon that isalternately termed the plough sole or tillage pan(Ghildyal, 1978; Sharma and De Datta, 1985;Adachi, 1990). Excessive pumping of water for

puddling in peak summers in North West Indo-Gangetic Plains lead to problem of declining watertable.

The strength of puddled soil increases rapidlyupon drying and may restrict root growth of thesecondary crop. As a result, these crops cannotaccess the considerable amount of water andnutrients that are stored in the subsoil after theprolonged period of inundation during the ricephase. To increase the yield and yield stability ofsecondary crops after rice, it has been suggestedthat the effects of adverse soil physical conditionscan be minimized by manipulation of soilpuddling during land preparation for rice (Sharmaand De Datta, 1985; Utomo et al., 1985). It isimportant that any manipulation of the puddlingintensity should not affect the growth and yieldof the primary rice crop.



Depth(cm) ph(1:2) EC Organic Available N Available P Available K(mmhos/cm) Carbon (%) (Kg/ha) (Kg/ha) (Kg/ha)

0-15 7.15 0.12 0.27 210 18.9 18515-30 7.11 0.25 0.21 182 17.8 140

S.No. Treatment Description[Planting method x (Irrigation Method)]

1. Flat (BM) Transplanting puddled flat × (Border method of irrigation)2. 2R/F (Inun. B+F) Transplanting 2 rows/furrow×(Irrigation inundating beds during establishment

phase and in furrows thereafter)3. 2R/B (Inun. B+F) Transplanting 2 rows/bed × (Irrigation inundating beds during establishment

phase and in furrows thereafter)4. 2R/B (Inun. B) Transplanting 2 rows/furrow × (Irrigation inundating beds throughout

after transplanting)5. 2R/B (Inun. B) Transplanting 2 rows/bed × (Irrigation inundating beds throughout after transplanting)6. 2R/F (F) Transplanting 2 rows/furrow × (Irrigation in furrows throughout after transplanting)7. 2R/B (F) Transplanting 2 rows/bed × (Irrigation in furrows throughout after transplanting)

Thus the present investigation was undertakento evaluate the effect of furrow and bedtransplanted rice (without puddling) with varyingirrigation management on soil bulk density andinfiltration rate on sandy loam soil

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe field investigation was carried out at

student’s farm, Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana (300 56’ N latitude with 750 52' Elongitude, 247 m mean sea level). The soil textureof the experimental site was sandy loam, thepercentage of sand, silt and clay in 0-15 cm depthwas 76.9, 7.8 and 15.3 whereas, at 15-30 cm, thevalues were 73.8, 9.8 and 16.4, respectively. Thephysicochemical properties of the soil are givenas below:

Nursery of pre-germinated seed of var. PR 116was sown during first fortnight of May to have30-35 days old seedlings. Uprooted seedlingswere transplanted on during first fortnight of Juneas per treatments keeping the plant populationconstant i.e. 33 hills/m2. The experiment was laidout in a randomized block design with fourreplications. The experiment comprised of 14treatment combinations resulting from sevenplanting methods + irrigation treatments and twoweed control treatments. The details of treatmentswere as given below:

Two weed control treatments i.e. (i) Unweededcontrol [-UWC] (ii) Use of pretilachlor @ 0.75kg/ha and metsulfuron @ 0.015 kg/ha [Herbicide].

Pretilachlor was mixed with sand and applied at 2days after transplanting and Metsulfuron wassprayed 22 days after transplanting. The nutrientsnitrogen, phosphorus, potassium at the rate of 125,30 and 30 kg/ ha were applied through urea, di-ammonium phosphate and murate of potash.Whole of phosphorus, potassium and one-thirdnitrogen was applied before last puddling. Zincsulphate was also applied at the time of puddling@ 62.5 kg/ ha. The remaining N was applied intwo equal splits at three weeks interval. Irrigationwater was applied daily for the initial two weeksafter transplanting and subsequent irrigations wereapplied two days after the ponded water hasinfiltrated in to the soil.

For determination of bulk density, soil samplesof undisturbed soil were taken before sowing andafter the crop harvest by using a 5 cm long scoophaving 2.5 cm internal diameter. The samples weretaken from 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth fromthe top in bed transplanted treatments and furrowbase in the furrow transplanted treatments. Thesoil samples were oven dried and bulk densitywas expressed as g/cm3 (Blake, 1965). Theinfiltration rate was measured before sowing andafter the crop harvesting from the top in bedtransplanted treatments and furrow base fromfurrow transplanted treatments with the help ofdouble ring infiltrometer of 34 and 40 cm diameterand 28 cm height as specified by Black (1965)from all the experimental plots representingdifferent treatments.


In order to test the significance of results, thedata were subjected to statistical analysis ofvariance according to method given by Cochranand Cox (1967).


1. Bulk densityThe data on bulk density of soil profile up to

30 cm depth at harvest is presented in Table 1.Bulk density of different depths of soil profile washigher at harvest as compared to start of theexperiment, in all the treatments. The per centincrease in bulk density at harvest in 0-15 cm and15-30 cm soil depth under both UWC andHerbicide Flat (BM) was 1.86 and 1.24 over thebulk density determined before sowing. The slightincrease in bulk density in Flat (BM) can beattributed to the puddling operation done at thetime of transplanting in these treatments. Aspuddling forms compact layer due to depositionof dispersed clay which leads to higher value ofbulk density. In other treatments, the bulk densityat harvest in 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth was1.24 and 0.62 percent more over the bulk densitydetermined before sowing but lower than Flat(BM). Though there is no puddling operation in

these treatments but the more number of irrigationthroughout crop season might have resulted intemporary compaction of soil layer in furrow andbed transplanting method which resulted in slightincrease in bulk density over unsown soils.

2. Infiltration rateThe data on infiltration rate (Table 1) shows

that it was lower in both UWC and Herbicide usedconditions under Flat (BM) conditions ascompared to other treatments of rice transplantingin unpuddled field. UWC, Flat (BM) and HerbicideFlat (BM) resulted in 65.6 per cent and 63.1 percent reduced cumulative infiltration rate overcumulative infiltration rate determined beforesowing. The considerable reduced infiltration ratemight be due to the fact that puddling formed acompact layer and reduced porosity, which resultsin lower rate of infiltration. However, the slightreduction in infiltration rate also observed in otherfurrow and bed transplanted treatments i.e. inrange of 38.1 to 32.5 per cent over the cumulativeinfiltration rate determined before sowingalthough the puddling operation was not done inthese treatments. The irrigation throughout thecrop season might have resulted in temporarycompaction of soil layers in furrow and bed

Table 1: Effect or different treatments on soil bulk density & infiltration rate of water at harvest and grain yield.

Treatments Bulk Density Infiltration rate (cm) (gcm-3)

Depth of Time interval (minutes) Grain soil layer (cm) Yield

(qha-1)

Unweeded 0-15 15-30 2 2 5 5 10 10 20 20 30 60 120 Cumulative

Flat (BM) 1.64 1.63 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.2 5.5 50.32R/F (Inun. B+F) 1.63 1.62 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.4 2.3 10.5 28.52R/B (Inun. B+F) 1.63 1.62 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.5 2.1 10.8 26.12R/F (Inun. B) 1.63 1.62 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.8 1.6 2.0 10.3 39.42R/B (Inun. B) 1.63 1.62 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.4 2.1 10.7 35.82R/F (F) 1.63 1.62 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 1.0 1.3 1.7 9.9 21.92R/B (F) 1.63 1.62 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.7 0.9 1.5 1.8 10.4 21.4Chemically weededFlat (BM) 1.64 1.63 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.9 1.3 5.9 55.72R/F (Inun. B+F) 1.63 1.62 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 1.1 1.5 1.9 10.4 54.12R/B (Inun. B+F) 1.63 1.62 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.8 1.5 2.1 10.3 54.52R/F (Inun. B) 1.63 1.62 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.4 2.4 10.8 56.92R/B (Inun. B) 1.63 1.62 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.8 1.3 2.1 10.5 54.92R/F (F) 1.63 1.62 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.8 10.4 45.12R/B (F) 1.63 1.62 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.4 2.0 10.8 44.7

Initial 1.62 1.61 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.3 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.4 2.6 3.3 16.0 CD (5%) 3.5


transplanting method as is supported by bulkdensity data.

3. Grain yieldGrain yield is the ultimate outcome on the

basis of the cumulative effect of various treatmentson the different yield attributing characters. Thedata on grain yield given in Table 1 reveals thatwhen averaged over unweeded control andherbicide use conditions, the yield reducedsignificantly in bed and furrow transplanted riceunder all the irrigation methods in comparison torecommended practice. Weed managementthrough herbicide use helped to register asignificant increase (64.0%) in grain yield overunweeded control.

Irrespective of the planting technique, whetherbeds or furrows or flat, the different irrigationsmethods had significant effect on grain yield.Under unweeded control conditions, the grainyield was significantly superior in plots irrigatedwith BM (border method of irrigation) followedby Inun. B (Irrigation inundating beds throughoutcropping season). The grain yield was minimumin furrow irrigated plots. The trend was similar incase of herbicide treated plots, however, thedifference in grain yield under Inun. B+F(Irrigation inundating beds during establishmentphase and in furrows thereafter), Inun. B(Irrigation inundating beds throughout aftertransplanting) and BM (Border method) was non-significant. Among the herbicide treated plots, thetreatment 2R/F, Inun. B+F (when irrigation waterwas allowed just to pass over the bed for first 15days after transplanting with subsequent irrigationin furrows) yielded at par with recommended

practice (Flat, BM). At the same time water use ofrice was lower on raised compared with crop sownon the flat. The raised beds received less irrigationwater than the flat layouts resulting in lower wateruse. Thus, it resulted in 23.9 per cent saving interms of net water expense and 27.7 per centincrease in net water-expense-efficiency. Thusraised beds may lead to water saving without anyloss in grain yield.

REFERENCESAdachi, K.( 1990). Effects of rice-soil puddling on water

percolation. In: Transactions of the 14th InternationalCongressof Soil Science, Kyoto, Japan, I, pp. 146-51.

Black, C. A. (1965). Soil Plant Relationship. John Wiley andSons Inc., New York.

Blake, G. R. (1965). Bulk density. In: Methods of soil analysispart I. Physical and mineralogical properties. Eds. Black etal, American soc of Agron, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Cochran, W. G. and Cox, G. M. (1967). Experimental Designs.Asia Publishing House, New Delhi, India.

Ghildyal, B. P.( 1978). Effect of compaction and puddling on soilphysical properties and rice growth. In : Soil Physics andRice. IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines.

Hobbs, P. R., Singh, Y., Giri, G. S., Lauren, J. G. and Duxbury,V.( 2002). Direct-seeding and reduced-tillage options in therice-wheat systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia.In: Direct seeding: research issues and opportunities.Proceedings of the International Workshop on Direct Seedingin Asian Rice Systems: Strategic Research Issues andOpportunities, 25-28 January 2000, Bangkok, Thailand. P201-218

Sharma, P. K. and De Datta, S. K., 1985. Effect of puddling onsoil physical properties and processes. In: Soil Physics andRice. IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines, pp. 217-234.

Utomo, W. H., Islami, T. and Murdoko, B.( 1985). The effect oftillage method on the growth and yield of lowland rice. Paperpresented at the National Congress of Indonesian Soil ScienceSociety, Bogor, Indonesia


Effect of Planting Methods and Fertility Level onGrowth of Hybrid Maize

Rima Taipodia* and N. D. Singh

Krishi Vigyan Kendra West Kameng, Dirang-790 101 (Arunachal Pradesh)

ABSTRACTA field study was conducted to assess the growth behaviour of hybrid maize variety Allrounderunder different planting methods and nutrient levels. The treatments comprised of three plantingmethods i.e. flat sowing in single row at 70 cm spacing, in double-rows on strips of 105 cmwide and on ridges at 70 cm spacing. The nutrient levels tested were 250 kg N, 250 kg N + 150kg P, 250 kg N + 150 kg P + 100 kg K, 250 kg N + 150 kg P + 100 kg K + 15 kg S, 250 kg N+ 150 kg P + 100 kg K + 15 kg Mg and 250 kg N + 150 kg P + 100 kg K + 15 kg S + 15 kg Mg/ha. Leaf area index (LAI) of 4.21, dry matter (DM) of 1377.61 g/ m2, crop growth rate (CGR)of 30.11 g /m2 /day and net assimilation rate (NAR) of 7.08 g /m2 /day were found significantlyhigher (P<0.05) in crop sown on ridges than on flat surface. The effect of application of sulphurwas significant on growth parameters of maize as LAI, DM, CGR and NAR were higher intreatments where 15 kg S was applied along with 250 -150 kg NP than NP alone. The effect ofapplication of S or Mg or both S + Mg to NPK 250--150-100 kg/ha was significant in terms ofincrease in growth of maize than NPK alone.

Key Words: Hybrid maize; Planting methods; Nutrient management, Sulphur, Magnesium

INTRODUCTIONMaize (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal

crop and ranked third in production after wheatand rice. It has great nutritional value as it containsabout 72 per cent starch, 10 per cent protein, 4.8per cent oil, 8.5 per cent fiber, 3 per cent sugarand 1.7 per cent ash Chaudhary (1983). In mostof the developing countries, about 50 to 55 percent of the total maize production is consumed asfood. Requirement of about 305 MT of food grainsis anticipated for 1.4 billion population of Indiaand the anticipated demand for individual foodgrains has been expected to about 120 MT forrice, 95 MT for wheat, 25 MT for maize and 24-26 MT for pulses by the year 2025 Tiwari (2001).Due to higher yield potential, short growingperiod, high value for food, forage and feed forlivestock, poultry and a cheaper source of rawmaterial for agro-based industry, it is increasinglygaining an important position in the croppingsystem. Among the many reasons for lowproductivity, mismanagement of plant nutritionand agronomic practices are considered to be the

major ones. Hence, for getting higher maizeproduction of better quality, there is a need toimprove these two major components of theproduction technology.

Planting technique is of considerableimportance among the agronomic practices, asappropriate adjustment of plants in the field notonly ensures optimum plant populace but alsoenables the plants to exploit the land and otherinput resources more efficiently and definitelytowards growth and development. Maize plantedon paired ridges performed better than that grownin single-rows (Khaliq et al., 1988; Ahmad et al.,2000). For increasing crop production and itsquality, balanced nutrition plays a significant roleand is an essential component of nutrientmanagement. The presence of nutrient elementslike N, P, K, S, Mg etc. in balanced form is essentialfor the major processes of plant development andyield formation.

The present study was, therefore, planned toassess the effect of different planting methods and

* STO O/o Deputy Commissioner, Dibang Valley, Annini, Arunachal PradeshCorresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


nutrient management on various agronomic traitsof hybrid maize variety Allrounder under the agro-ecological condition of Dirang, West Kameng,Arunachal Pradesh.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe experiment was conducted at the KVK

farm, Dirang, West Kameng, on a sandy clay loamsoil having 0.053% total N, 1 ppm available Pand 135 ppm available K. The treatmentscomprised three planting methods:

M1: Flat sowing at 70 cm spaced single rows,

M2: Flat sowing at 105 cm spaced double-row

strips (35/105 cm)

M3: Sowing at 70 cm spaced ridges

and seven nutrient levels as given under :

Crop growth rate:

Crop growth rate (CGR) was calculated as

per the formula given by Beadle (1987)

W2 - W1CGR = ——-—— t

2 – t

1

Where W2 = DW m-2 land area at second

harvest

W1 = DW m-2 land area at first harvest

t2 = time corresponding to second harvest

t1 = time corresponding to first harvest

Net assimilation rate:

Net assimilation rate (NAR) was

determined using the formula given by Beadle

(1987).

TDMNAR = --------

LAD

Where,

TDM = Total dry matter

LAD = Leaf area duration

Leaf Area Duration (LAD) was calculated

by the formula of Beadle (1987).

LAD = (LAI1 + LAI

2) x (t

2 – t

1)/2

Where,

LAI1 = Leaf area Index at t

1

LAI2 = Leaf area index at t

2

t1 = time of first observation

t2 = time of second observation

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONAt a particular growth stage, the leaf area index

(LAI) of the crop indicates its photosyntheticpotential or the level of its dry matteraccumulation. Increased DMA potential of thecrop was due to more LAI, and vice versa. Thetwo years average data showed that LAI of crop

Sr. No. Name of Dose (kg/ha) Treatment

N P K S Mg1 N

0P

0K

00 0 0 0 0

2 N1P

0K

0250 0 0 0 0

3 N1P

1K

0250 150 0 0 0

4 N1P

1K

1250 150 100 0 0

5 N1P

1K

1 S 250 150 100 15 0

6 N1P

1K

1 Mg 250 150 100 0 15

7 N1P

1K

1 SMg 250 150 100 15 15

The plot size was 4.20 x 7.5 m. with a splitplot arrangement, keeping plantation methods inmain plots and nutrient levels in subplots usingthree replications, the experiment was laid out ina Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD).

Plant growth analysis:

Leaf area index (LAI) was calculated as

the ratio of total leaf area to land area as:

Leaf area (m2)LAI = —————— x 100

Land area (m2)

Dry matter accumulation (DMA):Five plants were taken from each treatment at

30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days after sowing forcalculating DMA. Each plant was chaffed, mixedthoroughly and then sun dried. The samples wereplaced in an oven at 70°C±5°C to dry the plantmaterial to their constant dry weight. The dryweight per plant was calculated and converted intodry matter per unit land area (m2).


was very low in the beginning (30 DAS) but effectof different plantation methods and the fertilizertreatments was significant in both years. Itincreased progressively and reached themaximum at 75 DAS and thereafter declined at90 DAS with the progression of the growth period.

As evident from Table 1, at 75 DAS, theaverage LAI was significantly (P<0.05) higher(4.21) in the crop planted at 70 cm spaced ridges(M3) than that recorded in M

2 (4.19) and M

1

(4.02) which were also statistically different fromeach other. These results substantiate the findingsof Irshad (1987) and Khaliq et al., (1988) whoobserved that higher LAI in the crop sown onridges was probably due to more availability ofnutrients and moisture in ridges. The differentnutrient levels also affected the LAI significantly.The non-significant differences among N

1P

1K

1 S,

N1P

1K

1 Mg and N

1P

1K

1SMg suggest that S or Mg

or both S + Mg along with NPK had no effect onLAI. The observations are in line with findings ofKeerio and Singh (1985) and Colomb et al.,(2002).

The effect of planting method on DMA wasstatistically significant. At 75 DAS, the maximumDMA (1377.61g/m2) was recorded in the cropplanted on 70 cm spaced ridges followed by crop

planted at 105 cm spaced double-row strips (M2)

and 70 cm spaced single-rows (M1) which

produced dry matter of 1332.02 g/m2 and 1232.74g/m2 respectively. Higher DM accumulation in M

3

can be attributed to more interception of solarradiation because of better orientation of the cropplants as compared to M

2 and M

1. The results were

in corroboration with findings of Khaliq et al.,(1988) and Anonymous (1995).

Among various nutrient levels, in N1P

1K

1 S,

N1P

1K

1 Mg and N

1P

1K

1SMg treatments,

differences in DM production were non-significantindicating that application of Mg along with NPKover NPKS did not affect the DM production.However, significant increase in DM inN

1P

1K

1treatment plots over N

1P

1K

0 and N

1P

1K

1 +S

over N1P

1K

1 respectively can be attributed to K

and S application.

The crop growth rate at (30-75) DAS wassignificantly higher in the crop planted on 70 cmspaced ridges (M

3) than that grown either in 105

cm spaced double- row strips (M2) or in 70 cm

spaced single-rows (M1). The finding are contrary

to those of Khan et al., (1994) who reported thatCGR of maize crop grown in 105 cm spaceddouble row strips was significantly higher thanthat grown on ridges.

Table 1. Growth analysis of maize as influenced by planting methods and nutrient management.

Treatments Leaf area Dry matter Crop growth Net assimilationindex (LAI) accumulation at rate (CGR) g/ m2 rate (NAR) g/m2

at 75 DAS 75 DAS (g/m2) /day (30--75) DAS /day at (30-75)DAS

Plantation methodsM

1 = 70 cm spaced single rows 4.02 c 1232.74 c 26.96 c 6.57 c

M2 = 105 cm spaced double row strips 4.19 b 1332.02 b 29.14 b 6.88 b

M3 = 70 cm spaced ridges 4.21 a 1377.61 a 30.11 a 7.08 a

LSD at 5% 0.01 2.82 0.06 0.02

Nutrient levelsN

0P

0K

02.47 e 716.23 f 15.94 f 5.73 f

N1P

0K

03.79 d 1199.63 e 26.20 e 6.68 e

N1P

1K

04.32 c 1361.21 d 29.74 d 6.91 d

N1P

1K

14.56 b 1452.97 c 31.77 c 7.06 c

N1P

1K

1 S 4.61 a 1490.42 ab 32.54 ab 7.18 ab

N1P

1K

1 Mg 4.61 a 1479.42 a 32.28 a 7.12 bc

N1P

1K

1 SMg 4.62 a 1498.99 a 32.69 a 7.23 a

LSD at 5% 0.02 14.49 0.07


Although the CGR was the highest in the cropfertilized with N

1P

1K

1 S Mg among the fertilizer

treatments, yet it was statistically on a par withN

1P

1K

1 S. In principal, CGR was significantly

(P<0.05) higher in the fertilized crop than theunfertilized crop. This type of growth rate variationwas also reported by Mohsan (1999) who reportedan increase in CGR of maize crop with theapplication of nitrogen over control. Similarly,Biagovestra (1981) reported an increase of CGRby addition of P to N alone. These results alsocorroborate the finding of Mahmood et al., (1999).

During the period of 30-75 DAS, the highestNAR (7.08 g/ m2 /day) was recorded in the cropplanted on 70 cm spaced ridges (M

3) against 6.88

and 6.57 in M2 and M

1, respectively as per the

recorded assimilation rate (NAR) . NAR increasedsignificantly with addition of more elements infertilizers i.e. up to N

1P

1K

1 S and obtained the

maximum (7.23 g/ m2 /day) in N1P

1K

1 S Mg, yet,

the difference between N1P

1K

1 S Mg and N

1P

1K

1

S was found no significant. It indicated thatapplication of S or Mg did not show any effect onNAR of the crop. Mohsan (1999) also reportedvariation in NAR as a result of different levels offertilizers.

CONCLUSIONIt can be concluded that hybrid maize

performed better when sown on ridges. Thegrowth indicated by LAI, DM, CGR and NARwere found significantly higher with addition of15 kg S and /or 15 kg Mg to NPK. Hence, foranalyzing crop performance in response toagronomic treatments, the results suggested thatcrop growth analysis is a valuable tool.

REFERENCESAhmad, G., Qureshi, Z. and Ullah, H.(2000). Effect of different

sowing methods on the performance of sunflower. PakistanJ. Bio. Sci., 3 :1829–30

Anonymous.( 1995). Flat versus ridge sowing. Annual Report,1994-95 MMRI, Yousafwala, Pakistan.

Beadle, C.L. ( 1987). Plant Growth Analysis. In: Coomlos, J.D.O.,S.P. Long and J.M.O. Scurlock (Eds.). Techniques in Bio-productivity and Photosynthesis, 2nd Ed., pp: 21-3. Pergamonpress, Oxford, New York.

Biagovestra, S. T.(1981). Rate and ratios of mineral fertilizers formaize under irrigation on the leached chernozem smolnits apoil of the Yambal region Bulgaria ii) Effect of fertilizerapplication on maize growth and development. RastenievedNauki, 18: 94-102.

Chaudhary, A.R. (1983). Maize in Pakistan, Punjab Agri. Res.Coordination Board, Univ. Agric., Faisalabad.

Colomb, B., Kiniry, J. R. and Debacke, P. (2000). Effect of soilphosphorus on leaf development and senescence dynamics offield grown maize. Agron. J., 92: 428–35.

Irshad, J. (1987). Effect of different planting methods on growth,yield and quality attributes of maize cv. Akbar. M.Sc. (Hons.)Agri. Thesis, Department of Agronomy, University ofAgriculture, Faisalabad–Pakistan.

Khaliq, A., Munir, M. and Asif, J.(1988). Effect of differentplanting methods on some agronomic and physiological traitsof maize. Pakistan J. Agric. Res., 9: 145–48.

Khan, H., Khan, M. Q. and Nazir, M. S. (1994). Yield and yieldcomponents of spring maize as affected by planting geometryand associated legume cultures. Gomal Univ. J. Res., 14: 12-21.

Keerio, H. K. and Singh, S. P.(1985). Effect of intercropping onyield of hybrid sorghum under different nitrogen levels.Pakistan J. Agric. Res., 6 : 26–33.

Mahmood, T., Saeed, M., Ahmad, R. and Ghaffar, A.(1999).Water and potassium management for enhanced maize (Zeamays L.) productivity. Int. J. Agri. Biol., 1 : 314-17.

Mohsan, S. (1999). Population dynamics and nitrogenmanagement effects on maize productivity. Ph.D. Thesis,Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture,Faisalabad–Pakistan.

Tiwari, K.N. (2001). Phosphorus need of Indian soils and crops.Better Crops Int.,15 (2): 6-10.


Effect of Soy Flour Supplementation in combatingMalnutrition among School going Girl Child in

Malwa Region of Madhya PradeshRekha Tiwari, D. S. Tomar, A. K. Dixit and S. K. Kaushik

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, (Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya)Ujjain - 456 010 (Madhya Pradesh)

ABSTRACTIn the present study, total 15 school going girl child aging between 3-6 years were selectedfrom the adopted cluster of villages. In the daily diet, soy flour was added in the wheat flour inthe ratio of 1: 9 respectively. The experiment was conducted for one year in order to get theappropriate results. The observations taken were height, weight and BMI. It was observed thatheight was positively and significantly co-related with the consumption of soy flour (0.67**).Similarly, BMI was also positively increased in the experiment group over the control groupi.e. 0.199 and 0.076, respectively.

Key Words: Malnutrition, fortified soy flour, height and weight, BMI.

INTRODUCTIONMalnutrition is one of the most devastating

problem worldwide and is inextricably linked withpoverty. Each individual requires a minimumamount of nutritious food to keep him healthy.When this minimum requirement is not met thehuman body becomes weak and susceptible.Malnourishment paves the way for a number ofdiseases like fever, vomiting, measles, diarrhoeaetc. According to the World Health Organization,approximately 300 m. children throughout theworld suffer from growth retardation due toprotein-energy malnutrition. Additionally, childrenwith protein-energy malnutrition have a 40.0 percent mortality rate due to increased susceptibilityto infections. In Madhya Pradesh, about 57 lakhchildren are malnourished. The States with morethan 50.0 per cent children under five years ofage underweight are Madhya Pradesh (60.0 %),Jharkhand (56.5%) and Bihar (55.9%). The ruralIndia is witnessing more malnutrition amongchildren aging below 5 years as higher percentageof stunted, wasted and underweight children werereported from rural areas (Anonymous, 2012).

Protein-energy malnutrition caused by lowintake of both protein and calories is especiallycommon in children because children require moreamount of protein per kilogram of body weightthan adults to support the rapid growth and

development that occurs during childhood. Hence,it is very important to make the diet of child proteinrich in order to meet the required levels of proteinin each meal. Soybeans contain all the threeessential macro nutrients required for goodnutrition, protein (40.0 %), carbohydrate (18.0 %),fat (18.0 %) and moisture (9.0 %) apart fromvitamins and minerals (5%), including folic acid,calcium, potassium and iron Singh et. al., 2009).Soybean protein is an excellent complement tolysine-limited cereal protein (Hegstad, 2008).Keeping in view these facts, an experiment wasconducted to assess the socio economic status ofthe selected group and to assess the effect of soyflour supplementation on the height, weight andBMI on the girl children of the selected group.


Preparation of soy flour:The soybean seeds were processed into flour

using the method of IITA (1990). The processensures effective removal of most anti-nutritionalfactors. Soybean seeds were sorted and roasteduntil light brown. The roasted seeds were boiledfor 20 min. Thereafter, seeds were drained anddried at 100-120°C for 3h. The dried seeds weremilled into flour. The flours were screened througha 0.25 mm sieve and stored at 4°C in a refrigeratorto prevent spoilage.



Selection of target group:The most common group affected with

malnutrition were the girl children. Hence, 15 girlsof 3-6 years age were randomly selected from thevillage Akasoda as an experimental group andanother 15 girls from the same village as a controlgroup.

Technology tested:Fortified soy flour was provided by the Krishi

Vigyan Kendra, Ujjain (M.P.) for incorporating inthe daily diet of children through wheat chapatti.Soy flour and wheat flour was mixed in the ratioof 1: 9. The soy flour was added only in the midday meal so that the protein is available to thechild from all the different sources of food itemsconsumed during the whole day. The study wasconducted for one complete year and all the relateddata were measured before and after thecompletion of the research.

Observations recorded:Height of the concern girl was measured in

terms of cm. before and after the study. Measuringtape was used for measuring the height ofparticular group. Weight was measured in termsof Kg. before and after the completion of studyby using bathroom weighing balance. Body MassIndex (BMI) is totally dependent upon the heightand weight of an individual. The BMI wascalculated before and after the study by using thefollowing formula

Weight (Kg.) BMI= x 100

Height 2(cm.)

Feed back:A simple questionnaire was prepared for

assessing the acceptability of the fortified soy flourby covering the four main aspects viz. appearance,texture, taste and digestibility. For getting the rightanswer questions were put up to the mother ofparticular child because mother is the onlymember in the family who can describe the foodhabits of the family members as well as likes anddislikes about the food stuffs. Feedback was takenat the end of the research experiment. A small threepoint scale was used for assessing the feedbackin which questions related to the soy bean wereasked to the mother of concerned girls viz. Like(03), Neutral (02) and Dislike (01).

Table 1. Social status of the selected group of girl children.

Sr. Particular Control ExperimentalNo.

01 Type of familyJoint 04(26.7) 03(20.0)Nuclear 11(73.3) 12(80.0)

02 Family SizeBig 04(26.7) 03(20.0)Small 11(73.3) 12(80.0)

03 Type of HouseKuchha 12(80.0) 11(73.3)Semi pucca 02(13.3) 03(20.0)Pucca 01(6.7) 01(6.7)

04 Annual Income (Rs.)50,000/—75,000/- 02(13.3) 03(20.0)75,000/—1,00,000/- 10(66.7) 09(60.7)Above 1,00,000/- 03(20.0) 03(20.0)

05 Live stockBuffalo 05(33.3) 04(26.7)Cow 04(26.7) 03(20.0)Goat — —Any other — —


Social status:It was noticed that in both the groups 20.0 to

26.7 per cent girl children were from joint andbig families and 73.0 to 80.0 percent girls werefrom nuclear as well small families. Thebackground of the family was also assessed bythe type of house they have constructed. It wasfound that in the villages the traditional kachhahouses were existing in which majority ( 80.0%)of the families were residing. Only one girl childfrom each selected group was from pucca house.Economic condition of the family is one of theimportant factors which affect the nutritional statusof the family. Maximum (60.0 to 66.0 %) numberof families from both the group’s were having anannual income between Rs.75,000/- toRs.1,00,000/- whereas, 20 per cent families werehaving annual income more than Rs.1,00,000/-.

Rearing of livestock helps in enhancing theeconomic condition besides providing thenutritional security to the family. It was observedthat rearing of cows and buffalos were still inpractice but to a small extent, only 20.0 to 33.3per cent families were keeping cows andbuffaloes. This indicates that there is a wide scopein disseminating the information about the

{ }


adoption of subsidiary occupations like dairyfarming amongst the poor farming community.

Effect of feeding soy flour on the physiologicalparameters:

The mean age was 3.7 + 0.52 yrs. in controland 3.8 + 0.48 yrs. in the experimental group.Height, another important physiological factorwas measured with the help of un-stretchablemeasuring tape for the accuracy of the data. Atthe end of the experiment, it was observed thatheight was slightly increased in case ofexperimental group (6.0 cm.) as compared to thecontrol group (3.6 cm.). Increase in weight was1.93 kg. and 1.86 Kg. in experiment and controlgroups , respectively. Similarly, BMI alsoincreased because BMI depends upon the heightand weight parameters. It was observed that 66.7per cent respondents appreciated the appearanceof the soy flour but only 13.3 per cent dislikedthe appearance. In case of texture, 80.0 per centliked the texture of soy chapatti whereas 20.0 percent were unable to describe it. Taste was preferredby 60.0 per cent and 40 per cent were neutralabout the taste and only 2 girl children dislikedthe taste of the soy chapatti.

CONCLUSIONFrom the above findings, it was evident that

addition of soy flour with wheat flour in the ratio

of 1:9 in daily diet definitely improves the healthstatus of school going children. It helped inincreasing the height, weight and BMI of thechildren. In Madhya Pradesh Soybean is the mainKharif crop but people are not aware about theright method of consuming soybean. Hence, it canbe said that there is a great scope in minimizingthe malnutrition amongst children and women bymaking use of soybean in daily diet particularlyfor the vegetarians after its heat treatment. Toachieve this wide scale awareness needs to becreated as soybean is the cheapest amongst allthe pulses available to the rural gentry and is aexcellent source of protein for minimising themalnutrition problem among the girls andwomen’s.

REFERENCESAnonymous (2012). A report on ‘CHILDREN IN INDIA 2012-

A Statistical Appraisal’. Social Statistics Division CentralStatistics Office Ministry of statistics and ProgrammeImplementation Government of India.

Hegstad, H. G. (2008). Nutritional and Health benefits of Soybean.Soy Protein Quality Evaluation Report, Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations, Food and Nutrition PaperNo. 71, Rome, Italy.

IITA. ( 1990). Soybeans for good health: How to grow and usesoybeans in Nigeria. IITA Publ. 23 – 36.

Singh, A. K., Kadam, D. M., Saxena, M. and Singh, R. P. (2009).Efficacy of Defatted Soy flour Supplement in Gulabjamun.African J. Biochem. Res., 3 (4); 130-135.

Table 2. Effect of feeding soy flour on physiological parameters of girl children.

Particular Initial Age Height (cm.) Weight (Kg.) BMI(yr.) (Mean + SD) (Mean + SD) (Mean + SD)(Mean + SD) Initial Final Final Initial Final Final

Control group 3.7+0.52 91.33+0.02 10.3+1.53 12.16 +1.17 12.82+1.78 13.43 +1.36 94.93+0.03

Experimental 3.8+ 0.48 89.06+0.02 10.4+1.64 12.33 +1.39 13.14+1.85 13.64 +1.43 95.06+0.02group


Extent of Adoption and Reasons for Non-adoption ofSelected Resource Conservation Technologies by theFarmers of Ludhiana and Moga Districts of Punjab

D. S. Dhillon, Sukhandeep Singh and V. K. Rampal

Department of Extension EducationPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTThe present study was conducted to know the extent of adoption and reasons for non-adoptionof selected resource conservation technologies by the farmers. A total sample of 180 respondentswas taken from 12 villages of two selected districts for the present investigation. The data werecollected with the help of interview schedule. The findings revealed that around half of therespondents adopted laser land leveler, but the extent of adoption of tensiometer, leaf colourchart and bed/ furrow/ ridge planting was low. Area wise extent of adoption of laser land levelerwas also high i.e. 60.5 per cent. About 71.0 per cent of the respondents were willing to increasethe area but only 7.5 per cent wanted to decrease the area under selected resource conservationtechnologies. The major reasons expressed by the respondents for non-adoption of laser landleveler were high cost and its non-availability whereas for non-adoption of tensiometer andleaf colour chart were their non-availability in the local market and lack of awareness.

Keywords: Resource conservation technologies, Extent of adoption, Leaf colour chart,Tensiometer.

INTRODUCTIONThe Punjab state is the major contributor to

national food production and food grain reserves.The increase in production of cereals is due to theadoption of recommended agricultural practicesfollowed by over exploitation of the naturalresources. Presently, the major problems ofagriculture in Punjab are depletion of water table,environmental pollution and deterioration of soilhealth. To combat with these problems, manyresource conservation technologies have beendeveloped by the Punjab Agricultural University,Ludhiana but these are not being adopted to thedesired level by the farmers of Punjab. It may bedue to the lack of knowledge and awareness aboutthese technologies among the farmers, socioeconomic factors of the farmers and the factorsrelated to technology itself. So there was a needto study the extent of adoption of these resourceconservation technologies, reasons for their non-adoption. Hence, the present study was conductedto know the extent of adoption and reasons fornon-adoption of selected resource conservation

technologies by the farmers of Ludhiana andMoga districts of Punjab.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe adoption of some resource conservation

technologies included use of tensiometer forirrigation scheduling in paddy, use of laser landleveler, use of leaf colour chart for judicious useof nitrogenous fertilizers in paddy and bed/furrow/ridge planting of crops. Twelve villages wereselected to undertake this study and from eachvillage 15 farmers were selected randomly to makea total sample of 180 farmers.

The research instrument constructed for thepresent study consisted of two parts. The first partconsisted of questions to measure the extent ofadoption of selected resource conservationtechnologies adopted by the farmers. The secondpart contained structured and open-endedquestions and statements to study the reasons fornon-adoption of these technologies. The researchinstrument was pre-tested on 20 non-sampledrespondents. Pre-testing was done with the



objective to remove any ambiguities and toovercome the difficulties faced with respect toclarity and understanding of questions asked inthe questionnaire. The data were collected fromthe respondents with the help of personal interviewapproach. The data were analyzed with the helpof appropriate statistical tools such as frequencies,percentages, mean scores, and cumulativefrequency cube root method.


1. Adoption of selected resource conservation technologies:

The data (Table 1) indicated that 49.4 per centof the respondents used laser land leveler while16.7, 15.0 and 8.3 per cent of the respondentsused leaf colour chart in paddy, tensiometer forapplying irrigation in paddy and bed/furrow/ridgeplanting of crops, respectively. However, 10.6 percent of the respondents used none of the selectedresource conservation technologies.

2. Experience of the respondents in using resource conservation technologies:

The data (Table 2) indicated that 43.5 per centof the respondents had 2-4 yrs. of experience, 11.2per cent had experience of 1-2 yrs. and only 0.6per cent had 4 yrs. and above experience in usingthe laser land leveler. Likewise, 13.0 per cent of

the respondents had experience of 1-2 yrs. ofusing leaf colour chart, while 5.6 per cent hadexperience of 2-4 yrs. As far as the use oftensiometer was concerned, 8.7 per cent hadexperience of 1-2 yrs. whereas, 7.5 and 0.6 percent respondents had experience of 2-4 yrs. and4 yrs., respectively. Similarly, for raising crops onbed/ furrow/ ridge farmers were possessingexperience of 2-4 yrs. (4.4 %) ,1-2 yrs. (3.7 %)and about 4 yrs. (1.2 %).

It was thus concluded that most of therespondents had 2-4 years of experience in usinglaser land leveler.

3. Area under selected resource conservation technologies:

The data (Table 3) indicated that 18.0 per centof the respondents used laser land leveler in 5-10acres of area, 14.9 per cent of the respondentsused laser land leveler in 10-15 acres of area, 13.0per cent used it in 15 acres and above area andonly 9.3 per cent of them used it in area less than5 acres. As far as the tensiometer is concerned,8.7, 3.7, 1.9 and 2.5 per cent of the respondentsused tensiometer in the area less than 5 acres, 5-10 acres, 10-15 acres and more than 15 acres,respectively. Similarly, 9.3, 4.4, 3.1 and 1.9 percent of the respondents used leaf colour chart inarea less than 5 acres, 5-10 acres, 10-15 acres and

Table 1. Distribution of the respondents according to the adoption of resource conservation technologies.

Sr. No. Name of the Resource Conservation AdoptersTechnology Frequency Percentage

I. Tensiometer for irrigation in paddy 27 15.0II. Laser land leveler 89 49.4III. Leaf colour chart in paddy 30 16.7IV. Bed/Furrow/Ridge planting of crops 15 8.3

Total Adopters 161 89.4Non-Adopters 19 10.6

Table 2. Distribution of the respondents according to their experience in using resource conservation technologies.

Sr. No Experience Tensiometer Laser Land Leaf Bed/Furrow Totalin Years Leveller Colour Chart / Ridge

F % F % F % F % F %I. 1-2 years 14 8.7 18 11.2 21 13.0 6 3.7 59 36.6II. 2-4 years 12 7.5 70 43.5 9 5.6 7 4.4 98 60.9III. 4 years and above 1 0.6 1 0.6 0 0.0 2 1.2 4 2.5

27 16.8 89 55.3 30 18.6 15 9.3 161 100.0

F - Frequency


more than 15 acres, respectively. The values forbed/ furrow/ ridge planting of the crops sown onarea less than 5 acres ( 4.4 %), 5-10 acres (1.9 %),10-15 acres ( 1.9 %) and more than 15 acres (1.2%).

4. Area wise extent of adoption of selected resource conservation technologies:

It was observed that the extent of adoption oflaser land leveler w. r. t. area was found to bemaximum i.e. 60.5 per cent followed by use oftensiometer (55.2 %), leaf colour chart ( 49.6 %)and bed/ furrow/ ridge planting (40.5 %) (Table4).

5. Distribution of the respondents according to the future use of resource conservation technologies:

It was evident from the data (Table 5) thatmajority of the respondents i.e. 70.8 per cent were

Table 3. Distribution of the respondents according to the area under resource conservation technologies.


F % F % F % F % F %I. Below 5 acres 14 8.7 15 9.3 15 9.3 7 4.4 51 31.7II. 5-10 acres 6 3.7 29 18.0 7 4.4 3 1.9 45 28.0III. 10-15 acres 3 1.9 24 14.9 5 3.1 3 1.9 35 21.7IV. 15 acres and above 4 2.5 21 13.0 3 1.9 2 1.2 30 18.6

27 16.8 89 55.3 30 18.6 15 9.3 161 100.00

F - Frequency

willing to increase the area under the selectedresource conservation technologies while 21.7 percent wanted to keep that area constant and only7.5 per cent of the respondents were willing todecrease the area under the selected resourceconservation technologies.

6. Reasons for non-adoption of selected resource conservation technologies:

The data presented in Table 6 pointed out thathigh cost was the main reason of 57.1 per cent ofthe respondents for non-adoption of Laser Landleveler. While 27.5, 24.2, 19.8 and 18.7 per centof the respondents didn’t adopt Laser LandLeveler due to want of technical guidance, lackof finance, lack of availability and lack ofknowledge respectively. However, 17.6, 9.9 and6.6 per cent respondents reported hard work,ignorance and lack of awareness as the reasons

Table 4. Area wise extent of adoption of selected resource conservation technologies.

Resource Conservation Area under the Total Sampled Extent ofTechnology Resource Conservation Area under the Adoption

(acres) Crop (acres) (%)

I. Use of Tensiometer for irrigation in paddy 308 558 55.2II. Use of Laser Land Leveler 988 1634 60.5III. Use of Leaf Colour Chart in paddy 234 472 49.6IV. Bed/Furrow/Ridge planting of crops 60 148 40.5

Table 5. Distribution of the respondents according to the future use of selected resource conservation technologies.


F % F % F % F % F %I. Willing to Increase 15 9.3 73 45.3 19 11.8 7 4.4 114 70.8II. Willing to Decrease 2 1.2 5 3.1 2 1.2 3 1.9 12 7.5III. Willing to keep 10 6.2 11 6.8 9 5.6 5 3.1 35 21.7

constant

27 16.8 89 55.3 30 18.6 15 9.3 161 100.0


for non-adoption of laser land leveler.

As far as Tensiometer was concerned, 29.4per cent showed their unwillingness to adopt whileignorance was the reason of 28.1 per centrespondents for non-adoption of this technology.The other reasons as reported by 26.1, 24.2, 21.6and 12.4 per cent of the respondents included lackof availability, lack of awareness, lack ofknowledge and need of technical guidancerespectively.

Similarly, 34.0 per cent respondents citedignorance as the reason for non-adoption of Leaf

Table 6. Distribution of the respondents according to the reasons for non- adoption of selectedresource conservation technologies.Sr. No. Reasons for Non-Adoption Frequency* Percentage

A Laser Land Leveler n=91i Lack of finance 22 24.2ii Lack of availability 18 19.8iii Lack of Knowledge 17 18.7iv Lack of awareness 6 6.6v Need of technical guidance 25 27.5vi Requires hard work 16 176vii High Cost 52 57.1viii Ignorance 9 9.9B Tensiometer n=153i Lack of availability 40 26.1ii Lack of Knowledge 33 21.6iii Lack of awareness 37 24.2iv Need of technical guidance 19 12.4v Ignorance 43 28.1vi Unwillingness to adopt 45 29.4C Leaf Colour Chart n= 150i Lack of availability 42 28.0ii Lack of Knowledge 38 25.3iii Lack of awareness 35 23.3iv Need of technical guidance 44 29.3v Requires hard work 25 16.7vi Ignorance 51 34.0vii Time consuming 18 12.0D Bed/ Furrow/ Ridge planting n= 165i Lack of Knowledge 8 4.85ii Need of technical guidance 12 7.27iii Requires hard work 34 20.6iv High Cost 18 10.9v Ignorance 9 5.5vi Labour intensive 58 35.2vii Time consuming 42 25.5

*Multiple responses

Colour Chart, need of technical guidance and lackof availability were the other reasons for non-adoption reported by 29.3 and 28.0 per cent ofthe respondents. However 25.3, 23.3, 16.7 and12.0 per cent of the respondents didn’t adopt leafcolour chart due to the reasons of lack ofknowledge, lack of awareness, hard work and timeconsuming, respectively.

It was interesting to note that 35.2 per cent ofthe respondents did not adopt bed/ furrow/ ridgeplanting because of labour intensive, 25.5 and20.6 per cent reported time consumption and hard


work as the reason for non-adoption of thistechnology. While 10.9, 7.3, 5.5 and 4.9 per centof the respondents did not adopt bed/ furrow/ridge planting due to high cost, need of technicalguidance, ignorance and lack of knowledgerespectively.

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that about half (49.4%) of

the respondents used laser land leveler, while 16.7,15.0 and 8.3 per cent of them used leaf colourchart in paddy, tensiometer for irrigation in paddyand bed/furrow/ridge planting of cropsrespectively. However, 10.6 per cent of therespondents used none of the selected resourceconservation technologies.

More than 43.0 per cent of the adopters oflaser land leveler had 2- 4 years experience,whereas this figure was found to be minimum forBed/ Furrow/ Ridge planting of crops and use ofTensiometer and leaf colour chart. The extent of

adoption of laser land leveler with respect to areawas maximum i.e. 60.5 per cent followed by theadoption of tensiometer, leaf colour chart and bed/furrow/ ridge planting of crops.

Majority of the respondents were interestedto increase the future use of laser land levelertechnology, whereas the farmers were leastinterested to increase area under use oftensiometer and leaf colour chart and bed/ furrow/ridge planting. The reasons for non- adoption ofthese resource conservation technologies weremainly lack of knowledge and awareness aboutthe benefits of the selected resource conservationtechnologies among the farmers. Majority of themlacked proper guidance in using thesetechnologies. The major reasons for non-adoptionof laser land leveler at field level were high cost,non-availability of credit, difficulty in gettingsubsidy and cumbersome and lengthy loanprocedure.


Impact of KVK Training Programmes on Adoptionof Garlic Production Technology

K. C. Meena and I. N. Gupta

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Anta-BaranMaharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur - 325 205 (Rajasthan)

ABSTRACTThe study was carried out in Anta block of Baran district of Rajasthan. The Anta block waspurposively selected because of large number of farmer participation in KVK’s trainingprogramme. The data regarding gain in knowledge and adoption level about improved garlicproduction technologies were recorded under two heads like; knowledge before training andknowledge after training. The findings of the study revealed that farmers had gained knowledgeabout garlic production technology ranging from 11.7 per cent of land preparation to 80.0 percent of seed treatment after training programmes. The study shows that the none of farmerswere following the improved practices of garlic production like soil testing, soil treatment seedtreatment and seed rate and spacing before training programme whereas, after training programmethey were adopting seed treatment (68.3%), seed rate and spacing (65.0 %), soil testing (51.7%) and soil treatment (36.7 %). The study also revealed that they were adopting the garlicproduction technologies ranging from 10.0 per cent of storage practices to 75.0 per cent ofhigh yielding variety after training programmes.

Key Words: Training; Garlic production technology; Impact; Knowledge; Adoption

INTRODUCTIONTo find out the success of any training

programme a periodic appraisal and evaluationof what is being done is essential, so that suitablechanges can be made to make trainingprogramme more effective. The concept ofvocational training in agriculture through KVKgrew substantially due to greater demand forimproved agricultural technology by the farmers.They not only requires knowledge andunderstanding of the intricacy of technology butalso progressively more and more skills in variouscomplex agriculture operations for adoption attheir farms. The training programmes weredesigned to impart the latest knowledge to thefarmers through work experiences by applyingthe principles of “Teaching by doing” and“Learning by doing”.

India is the second largest producer of garlic.The major garlic producing states in India areMadhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Bihar.It is exported on a large scale but a significantamount of garlic is also used for domestic

consumption both as food and medicine. Thedisease and disorders in which it is claimed to havepositive effects are heart disease, atherosclerosis,high cholesterol, high blood pressure, improvesimmunity, help in fighting common cold andregulates blood sugar level. Keeping in view ofan effective extension approach of trainings fordissemination of technology, it was thought toassess the impact of trainings organizing by KVK,Anta-Baran. Therefore, the present study wasundertaken with the specific objective to find outthe extent of knowledge and adoption of garlicproduction technology by the KVK trainees.

MATERIALS AND METHODSKrishi Vigyan Kendra, Anta-Baran since, its

establishment has directed its effort towardsagricultural development in the district andbringing about entrepreneurship and skills amongpractitioners of agriculture and rural with a viewto ensure livelihood security. The study wascarried out in Anta block of Baran district ofRajasthan. The Anta block was purposivelyselected because of large number of farmerparticipation in KVK’s training programme. For



the selection of respondents, a list of garlic traineesof KVK during preceding three years (2008-09to 2010-11) was prepared. Out of 183 traineeslist, only 60 farmers were randomly selected fromKVK adopted villages of anta block. The data werecollected through personal contacts with the helpof well structured interview schedule. Thegathered data were processed, tabulated, classifiedand analyzed in terms of percentage in the lightof objectives of the study. Total twelve practiceswere selected to find out the extent of knowledgeand adoption of garlic production technologies.


Gain in knowledge: It is assumed that the knowledge of a farmer

to a large degree depends upon the extent ofexposure given to him about the technology. Thegain in knowledge by the respondents aboutimproved package of practices of garlic wasmeasured in term of percentage. The dataregarding gain in knowledge about improvedgarlic production technologies were recordedunder two heads i.e. knowledge before trainingand knowledge after training.

The data in the table 1 depicts that thebeneficiary farmers of garlic production trainingprogrammes were gained highest knowledgeabout seed treatment (80.0 %), followed by highyielding variety (70.0 %), seed rate and spacing(65.0 %), weed management (63.3 %), nutrientmanagement (55.0 % ), plant protection measures(46.7 %), irrigation management (45.0 %), storageand marketing (40.0 %), harvesting (35.0 %),

sowing time (33.3 %) and land preparation (11.7%). The findings of the study also revealed thatthey had gained knowledge ranging from 11.7per cent of land preparation to 80.0 per cent ofseed treatment after training programmes.

These findings were in agreement with Joseph(2008) who reported that the knowledge levelswere found to be increased for weeding, fertilizerapplication, plant protection measures andharvesting practices of maize after attending thetraining programmes. This might be due to thefact that they were convinced through trainingprogrammes about garlic production technologyby KVK which were designed to import latestknowledge through work experience.

Extent of adoption:The data presented (Table 2) revealed that the

none of the farmers were following the improvedpractices like soil testing, soil treatment seedtreatment , seed rate and spacing before acquiringtraining whereas, after attending trainingprogramme they adopted seed treatment (68.3 %),seed rate and spacing (65.0 %), soil testing (51.7%) and soil treatment (36.7 %). Over 81.7 percent farmers were practicing land preparationbefore training programmes and the remaining18.3 per cent began after training programmes.Regarding high yielding variety 25 per centfarmers were using before training while aftertraining programmes all the farmers started to growhigh yielding variety of garlic crop on their farms.They were following improved practices of garlicproduction like irrigation scheduling (36.7 %),harvesting (28.3 %) plant protection measures

Table 1: Impact of training on change in knowledge level.

Technology Before Training After Training Gain in Knowledge

Land preparation 53 (88.3) 60 (100.0) 07 (11.7)Soil treatment 00 (00.0) 29 (48.3) 29 (48.3)Seed treatment 03 (05.0) 51 (85.0) 48 (80.0)High yielding variety 18 (30.0) 60 (100.0) 42 (70.0)Sowing time 37 (61.7) 57 (95.0) 20 (33.3)Seed rate and spacing 09 (15.0) 48 (80.0) 39 (65.0)Irrigation management 29 (48.3) 56 (93.3) 27 (45.0)Weed management 17 (28.3) 55 (91.7) 38 (63.3)Nutrient management 13 (21.7) 46 (67.7) 33 (55.0)Plant protection measures 15 (25.0) 43 (71.7) 28 (46.7)Harvesting 19 (31.7) 40 (66.7) 21 (35.0)Storage and marketing 11 (18.3) 35 (58.3) 24 (40.0)

*Figure in parentheses indicates percentage.


(25.0 %), weeding (21.7 %), fertilizer application(18.3 %) and storage (15.0 %) before trainingprogrammes while other farmers were startedadopting the improved practices like; weeding(60.0 %), irrigation scheduling (46.7 %), plantprotection measures (41.7 %), fertilizer application(40.0 %) and harvesting (35.0 %) for garlicproduction after training programmes. Only 10per cent farmers started storage practices for garlicbulb after receiving training. It was due to lack ofstorage structure at farmer’s level.

Farmers were adopting the productiontechnologies ranging from 10.0 per cent forstorage practices to 75.0 per cent for high yieldingvariety. This might be due the fact that increase inknowledge, skills and confidence level of farmersthrough training programmes on differentproduction technologies like high yielding variety,seed rate and spacing, seed treatment, soil testing,soil treatment, weeding, plant protection measures,irrigation scheduling, fertilizer application andharvesting has helped farmers to improve theyield of garlic crop.

CONCLUSIONThe findings of the study revealed that farmers

had gained knowledge about garlic productiontechnology ranging from 11.7 per cent of landpreparation to 80.0 per cent of seed treatmentafter attending training programmes organized bythe KVK. The study showed that none of thefarmers were following the improved package ofpractices of garlic production like soil testing, soiltreatment, seed treatment, seed rate and spacingbefore acquiring the training whereas, afterattending the training programme they adoptedseed treatment (68.3 %), seed rate and spacing(65.0 %), soil testing (51.7 %) and soil treatment(36.7 %). The study also revealed that they startedadopting the garlic production technologiesranging from 10.0 per cent for storage practicesto 75.0 per cent for high yielding variety afterattending training programmes. Thus, it can beconcluded that training programme conducted bythe KVK is one of the important tool fordissemination of knowledge and technical skillsto the farmers. Meanwhile, conductance of shortduration trainings is playing an important role inmotivating the farmers for adoption of improvedagricultural technologies, thus resulting in theirincreased yields and profits.

REFERENCESJoseph, R. (2008). Impact of krishi vigyan kendra training

programme on maize production. Evaluation capacity buildingin rural resources management: A Manual. Indian AgricultureResearch Institute, Pusa, New Delhi.

Table 2: Change in adoption level of the respondents regarding garlic production technologies.

Technology Before Training After Training Gain in Knowledge

Land preparation 49 (81.7) 60 (100.0) 11 (18.2)Soil testing 00 (00.0) 31 (51.7) 31 (51.7)Soil treatment 00 (00.0) 22 (36.7) 22 (36.7)High yielding variety 15 (25.0) 60 (100.0) 45 (75.0)Seed treatment 00 (00.0) 41 (68.3) 41 (68.3)Seed rate and spacing 00 (00.0) 39 (65.0) 39 (65.0)Irrigation scheduling 22 (36.7) 50 (83.3) 28 (46.7)Weeding 13 (21.7) 49 (81.7) 36 (60.0)Fertilizer application 11 (18.23 35 (58.3) 24 (40.0)Plant protection measures 15 (25.0) 40 (66.7) 25 (41.7)Harvesting 17 (28.3) 38 (63.3) 21 (35.0)Storage 09 (15.0) 15 (25.0) 06 (10.0)

*Figure in parentheses indicates percentage


Impact of Vocational Training Programmes onBroiler Management Practices in District

HanumangarSatbir Singh*, Anoop Kumar and C. S. Sharma

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Sangaria, Hanumangar 335 063 (Rajasthan)

ABSTRACTThe present study was conducted to ascertain the impact of vocational training courses on theaverage adoption rate of poultry farming amongst the trainees who acquired trainings from theKVK, Hanumangar during the last 6 years. It was observed that initial average adoption rate44.0 per cent declined to 27.9 per cent and unemployed rural youths (56.2%) showed keeninterest in poultry farming. The knowledge level of the respondent before and after training forfeeding, health care and management was 46.4, 30.6, 57.5 and 86.3, 68.7 and 89.9 per cent,respectively.

Key words: Adoption rate, Broiler, KVK, Training.

INTRODUCTIONThe Farm Science Centre known as Krishi

Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) are functional in variousdistricts of India for imparting vocational trainingto different clientele groups. The main aim ofKVK is to develop entrepreneurship amongst therural people especially the farmers, farm-women,rural youth and the entrepreneurs in different areasof agriculture, poultry farming, dairying,horticulture, agro-forestry, bee-keeping and homescience for enhancing productivity, increasingincome and employment for the welfare of humanbeings.

KVK, Hanumangar conducted various need-based and skill-oriented training programs fordifferent target groups to enhance production intheir mixed farming system of crop and poultryfarming with a special emphasis on scientificbroiler farming, which has immense potential forincreasing income and employment in the ruralareas. While designing the courses, the entireconcept of farming system approach is taken intoconsideration to make the vocation economicallyviable and sustainable for the farm families. Aftertraining, follow up extension programs areundertaken. In the present study, an attempt hasbeen made to analyze the impact of vocationaltraining programmes conducted particularly on

scientific poultry farming with the objectives toknow the change in knowledge of trainees, broilermanagement practices and economic benefitsgained by the trainees.


Sample Selection:An in depth survey of respondents was

conducted who acquired specialized vocationaltrainings on poultry farming during the years 2007to 2012. Farmers were interviewed in order toassess the impact of training courses organizedby the KVK, Sangaria (Hanumangar). A total of315 farmers were imparted vocational training of5 to 15 days duration during these years. Thesetrainees were interviewed personally for the studypurpose.

Method of data Collection:The method used was face to face interviews

with the trainees. The semi-structured interviewschedule was developed to know change inknowledge about different aspects of poultryfarming before and after the training. To assessthe gain in knowledge, knowledge score of thetrainees by pre training test and post training testwere compared.

*Subject Matter Specialist, KVK, Sangrur (Punjab)Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


Training programs conducted for farmers:A total number of 315 farmers of

Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan were givenpractical training on poultry farming from 2007to 2012, which was conducted by the KrishiVigyan Kendra, Sangaria. The trainings wereimparted on skill development regarding care andmanagement of the birds, better housing andbalanced feeding, vaccination schedule anddevelopment of linkages with banks/ financers andlocal veterinary dispensary etc. The farmers weretrained to work for vertical expansion of thepoultry production taking into account of thelimited resources of the farmers to keep theoperational cost to minimum.

Status of farmers:A survey proforma was developed comprising

general information, background of the farmerssuch as their age, education, occupation, landholding, sex etc. Poultry farming practices likestatus of housing, feeding and vaccinationschedule were also included. Various sources ofinformation were also studied.


1. Adoption level:Out of 315 farmers and rural youths, initially

175 farmers (55.5%) had adopted the scientificfarming practices but at present only 88 poultryfarms are functioning (27.9%). The reason forclosing /non-functioning of poultry farms may bethe more fluctuation in market and adoption ofother enterprises. The interest of rural youth ofthe area is more in government/cooperate sectorjobs than self employment. The banks/ financersare also not taking keen interest in financing thepoultry farming. The farmers are taking moreloans on kisan credit cards (KCC) due to lesserinterest rate as compared to others. That is why

the number of poultry farms is continuouslydecreasing. Rate of adoption was higher in theyear 2011 (30.0%) because the rates of meat andmeat products were found to be higher, whereasthe rate of adoption was lowest in the year 2008(21.8%). Average rate of adoption from the year2007 to 2012 was 27.9% (Table 1).

Data revealed that unemployed rural youths(56.2%) showed keen interest in poultry farmingfollowed by cultivation (36.8%) and labourers.However when respondents were classified on thebasis of sex, it seemed to be an arena of males(100.0%) (Table 2). However females performmore work in rural areas of this district as far aspoultry operations were concerned. These findingswere in agreement with the observations ofRangnekar (1992). Normally the batch size ofbroiler ranged less than 2500 birds. Therespondents opinioned that increasing the batchsize also increased the income but finance andlabour problem were the main constraints. It wasvery difficult to maintain the large batch usingfamily labour and resources. Most of theparticipants were below 30 years age andeducated. Since the land holding of most of theparticipants is less than 5 acres and they have togrow crops for their livelihood, therefore it is verydifficult for them to rear more number of birdsper batch. The data Table 3 depicts that the mostof the respondents had constructed the permanentshed with brick floors. As far as feeding isconcerned, most of the participants used broilerfeed which is available in the market. Farmers hadadopted it as a regular practice. Vaccination wasperformed regularly.

2. Source of information:It was noticed that respondent got the

information mostly from the television followedby radio among the mass media group. However

Table-1. Number of training programs on organized and its adoption .

Year Number of Trainings Number of Trainees Number adopted Adoption (%)

2007 2 25 11 (21) 44.02008 2 55 12 (27) 21.82009 2 59 14 (36) 23.72010 2 64 18 (38) 28.12011 2 50 15 (26) 30.02012 2 52 18 (27) 34.6Total 11 315 88 (175) 27.9

In parentheses are the figures of total adoption


Table- 2. Socio-personal profiles of trainees.

Variables Number of trainees Percent of trainees

Age (yr.)Less than 25 180 57.125-30 years 105 33.3

30 years and above 30 09.5Education

Illiterate 20 6.4Up to 10th class 58 18.4

10+2 159 50.5Graduates 78 24.8

OccupationUnemployed youth 175 55.6

Cultivation 118 37.5Laborers 22 7.0

Broiler Batch SizeMore than 5000 birds 16 5.1

2500-5000 birds 54 17.11000-2500 birds 124 39.4

< 1000 birds 121 38.4Land Holding

>5 acre 94 29.92-5 acre 172 54.6

<2acre 31 09.8Landless 18 05.7

SexMale 315 100.0

Female 0 0.0

Table- 3. Status of farming practices.

S. No. Particulars Number of farmers Percentage

1 Poultry ShedPermanent 295 93.7Temporary 20 6.4

2 FeedingHomemade feed 35 11.1

Broiler Feed 280 88.93 Vaccination

Followed 315 100.0Not Followed 0 0.0

at institutional level, Krishi Vigyan Kendra,Sangaria played a vital role to disseminate thescientific knowledge among the poultry farmersthrough vocational trainings, campaigns, expertlectures at village level, kisan sammelans andgoshthis followed by poultry farmers, governmentagency and bank officials. At the personal levelneighbours were the main source of information.This observation was in agreement with the earlierobservations of Kadian and Kumar (2000).

3. Knowledge level:It was found in the periodically conducted

surveys in the district Hanumangarh that a largenumber of poultry farmers have the knowledgelevel in areas of broiler farming like feeding, healthcare and management as 46.4, 30.6 and 57.5 percent, respectively whereas, the extent ofknowledge level after poultry farming training was86.3, 68.7 and 89.9 per cent in these areas,respectively.


Table- 5. Impact of the training programmes on broiler farming practices.

Practices Knowledge level Knowledge levelbefore Training (%) after Training (%)

Feeding 46.4 86.9Health Care 30.6 68.7Management 57.5 89.9

Table-4. Source of technical information.

S. No. Sources Often (No. and %) Sometimes (No. and %) Never (No. and %)

1 Mass MediaRadio 168 (53.3) 49 (15.6) 98 (31.1)

Television 229 (72.7) 54 (17.1) 32 (10.2)News paper 156 (49.5) 84 (26.7) 75 (23.8)

2 Personnel cosmopoliteKVK 255 (81.0) 42 (13.3) 18(5.7)

Govt Agency 143 (45.4) 88 (27.9) 84 (26.7)Bank personnel 29 (9.2) 82 (26.0) 204 (64.8)Broiler farmers 155 (49.2) 68 (21.6) 92 (29.2)

3 Personnel localitiesNeighbours 166 (52.7) 118 (37.5) 31 (9.8)

Friends 92 (29.2) 65 (20.6) 158 (50.2)Relatives 88 (27.9) 66 (21.0) 161 (51.1)

Other family members 126 (40.0) 98 (31.1) 91 (28.9)

CONCLUSIONIt was found that after attending the 11 training

programmes, there was gain in knowledge levelof the beneficiaries. After adoption of the newertechnologies learnt by the entrepreneurs, they gotmore income and employment. It is recommendedthat various KVKs should tailor and organize needbased vocational training programs forentrepreneurship development so that the ruralpeople are benefited. The government should takeimitative to support the poultry sector as done incase of dairy sector. The banking system shouldbe more supportive to the poultry farmers. It isimperative that the poultry farming being anintegral component under the mixed farmingsystem need be strengthened in the shuttle cities

of different states and in blocks around the majortowns of India. This will help in achieving thesustainable production and in turn will increasethe income and employment in the rural areas. Itis also recommended that through such trainingprograms organized by KVK’s, socio-economicconditions of the rural farm families could furtherbe improved through poultry farming.

REFERENCESKadian, K. S. and Kumar, Ram. (2000). Multivariate Analysis of

information seeking pattern of Diary farmers of HimachalPradesh. Indian J. Dairy Sci.,53 (5): 375-80.

Rangnekar, S. D. (1992). Women in livestock production in ruralIndia. Proceedings, 6th AAAP Animal Science Congress heldon 23-28 November, Bangkok, Thailand.


In vitro Regeneration of Wild species of Guar(Cyamopsis serrata and Cyamopsis senegalensis)

Anju Ahlawat, Hans Raj Dhingra and Jagbir Singh Dhankar

Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar 125 004 (Haryana)

ABSTRACTWild relatives of Cyamopsis i.e. C. serrata is an early maturing (40-50 days), slow growing andbranched species, while the other species i.e. C. senegalensis is a slow growing annual herband matures in 120-130 days. Both these wild relatives possess some desirable attributes likedrought resistance , photo-and thermo-insensitivity and disease resistance.

Seedling explants like cotyledon, cotyledonary node and hypocotyl taken from 7-10 d oldaseptically grown seedlings and immature embryos (10-12 d after pollination) were culturedon MS medium with B5 vitamins and fortified with different concentrations of growth regulators.Maximum callus induction from cotyledon explant was evident in C. serrata and C. senegalensison MS medium with B5 vitamins and supplemented 2, 4-D (2mg/l). Hypocotyl explants ofboth the tested species of Cyamopsis showed very good callus induction response in mediasupplemented with 2, 4-D @2mg/l. BAP at concentrations of 0.5 and 2.0 mg/l supported indirectmultiple shoot regeneration via callusing in C. senegalensis whereas 1 mg/l BAP supporteddirect multiple shoot regeneration. On the other hand, BAP induced differentiation of multipleshoots in C. serrata and the number of shoots per hypocotyl explant increased with the increasingconcentration of BAP. Indirect shoot regeneration from hypocotyl explants was evident in C.serrata at MS medium supplemented with 1mg/l each of NAA and BAP, whereas NAA (2mg/l) with BAP(1mg/l) and NAA(2mg/l) with BAP(2mg/l) showed callusing in both the wild species.Cotyledonary node explant was the most responsive explant for plant regeneration in both thewild species of Cyamopsis under investigation. Indirect shoot regeneration in C. serrata wasobserved in MS medium supplemented with NAA alone and response increased at 2mg/l. NAAinduced only callusing from cotyledonary nodes in C. senegalensis. 2,4-D (1mg/l) inducedcallusing and indirect shoot regeneration in C. serrata and C. senegalensis while its higherdose (2mg/l) induced callusing only from cotyledonary node explant in both the species tested.Supplementation of MS medium with BAP alone lead to indirect shoot regeneration via callusingand its frequency decreased with increasing its concentration for 0.5 mg/l to 2.0 mg/l.Interestingly, 2mg/l BAP supported multiple shoot formation from cotyledonary explants in C.serrata. Supplementation of 1.0 mg/l BAP to the medium containing 2.0 mg/l NAA lead toindirect shoot regeneration in C. senegalensis while it induced only callusing in C. serrata.The frequency of shoot regeneration however, decreased with the increase in concentration ofBAP to 2mg/l. Half strength of MS with 0.1 mg/l and 0.5 mg/l IBA supported best rooting in C.senegalensis and C. serrata, respectively and plantlets were successfully transferred to papercups.

Key words: Callus induction, Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), Differentiation,Regeneration.

INTRODUCTIONGuar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba ( L.) Taub.)

is one of the most important kharif legume and iswell adapted to arid and semi-arid regions of theworld. However, one of its wild relatives i.e. C.serrata is an early maturing (40-50 days), slow

growing and branched species, while the otherspecies i.e. C. senegalensis is also slow growingannual herb and matures in 120-130 days. Boththese wild relatives possess some desirableattributes like drought resistance (Menon, 1973),photo-and thermo-insensitivity and disease



resistance (Orellana, 1966). The crop is mainlygrown in the dry habitat of Rajasthan, Haryana,Gujarat and Punjab and to limited extent in U.P.and M.P. Guar is important source of guar gum(guar galactomanans) which is used as viscosityenhancer for both food and non-food purposes.Galactomanans are the major storage food reserveof endosperm of guar seeds and endospermconstitutes about 30-35 per cent of the whole seed.

The application of tissue culture technologyas a central tool or an adjunct to other methods isat the vanguard in plant modification andimprovement of agriculture (Brown et al., 1995).Efficient regeneration protocol is a pre requisitefor use of tissue culture technology and is lackingin legumes. Legumes, in general, are consideredas recalcitrant (Kaviraj et al., 2006; Chakarbartiet al., 2006). Very few studies have beenconducted on tissue culture in guar till date.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present plant tissue culture investigations

were aimed to optimize medium recipe andcultural conditions for plant regeneration in wildCyamopsis species viz. C. serrata and C.senegalensis. Seedling explants like cotyledon,cotyledonary node and hypocotyl taken from 7-10 d old aseptically grown seedlings and immatureembryos (10-12 d after pollination) were culturedon MS medium with B5 vitamins and fortified withdifferent concentrations of growth regulators i.e.naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2, 4-D) and 6-benzyl aminopurine (BAP) alone and incombinations.

Seeds of C. serrata and C. senegalensis werewashed thoroughly with tap water containing adrop of teepol for 5-10 minutes. Subsequently theseeds were surface sterilized with 70 per centalcohol for 1 min and then with 0.1 per centmercuric chloride solution for 5 min. The seedswere then washed thoroughly three to four timesin sterile distilled water on the hood of laminarflow to remove all traces of mercury. Thesesterilized seeds were germinated on germinationmedium containing 3 per cent sucrose, 8 per centagar under asceptic conditions initially under darkcondition until germination and then shifted tolight conditions. Different explants measuring 4-

5mm obtained from asceptically grown seedlingswere inoculated on the surface of culture medium.Embryo explants were excised from surfacesterilized 10 day old green pods taken from nethouse and three explants per flask were cultured.Inoculated flasks were kept in culture room at25±1ºC temperature, under photoperiod of 16hlight and 8h darkness.


Cotyledon explants:It was observed that NAA (1mg/l) failed to

induce any morphogenic response fromcotyledons while its higher dose (2mg/l) inducedrooting directly from the explant which wascoupled with callus formation in C. serrata andC. senegalensis (Table 1). 2, 4-D and BAP on theother hand, induced callusing from cotyledons inboth the species of Cyamopsis (Fig1) while NAA(1 and 2 mg/l) in combination with BAP (0.5-1mg/l) induced only swelling of explant uncoupledwith callusing. The maximum callus induction wasevident in C. serrata and C. senegalensis on amedium supplemented with 2, 4-D (2mg/l) andthe callus was yellowish white in color.Regeneration of shoots however, could not beachieved from callus on any of the medium triedfrom cotyledonary explants.

Hypocotyl explants:Hypocotyl of all the tested species of

Cyamopsis showed very good callus inductionresponse in the medium supplemented with 2, 4-D (Table 2). BAP at concentration of 0.5 and 2.0mg/l supported indirect multiple shootregeneration via callusing in C. senegalensiswhereas 1 mg/l BAP supported direct multipleshoot regeneration. On the other hand, BAPinduced differentiation of multiple shoot in C.serrata and the number of shoots increased withthe increasing concentration of BAP. Combinationof 2,4-D and NAA with BAP induced goodcallusing in C. serrata and C. senegalensis exceptNAA(1mg/l) + BAP (1mg/l) which induced shootregeneration from hypocotyls of C. serrata.Cheema and Bawa (1991) reported de novoformation of shoot buds from hypocotyl explantsof pigeonpea on the medium containing BAP andIAA.


Table 1. Morphogenic response of cotyledons taken from 7-10 day old aseptically grown seedlings of wild species of Cyamopsisto plant growth regulators.

Sr. Adjuvants to MS Medium Morphogenic ResponseNo. C. serrata C. senegalensis

1 MS basal medium No response No response2 NAA (1 mg/l) No response No response3 NAA (2 mg/l) Callusing + adventious root Callusing + adventious root

formation from explants formation from explants4 2,4D (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) Swelling of explants5 2,4D (2 mg/l) Callusing (+++) Callusing (+++)6 BAP (0.5 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (+)7 BAP (1 mg/l) Swelling of explants Callusing (+)8 BAP (2 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (++)9 2,4D( 2 mg/l) + BAP (0.5 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (++)10 2,4D (2 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (+)11 NAA( 1 mg/l)+ BAP (1 mg/l) Swelling of explants Swelling of explants12 NAA (2 mg/l) + BAP (0.5 mg/l) Swelling of explants Swelling of explants13 NAA (2 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (++) Callusing (++)14 NAA( 2 mg/l) + BAP (2 mg/l) Callusing (+ + + ) Callusing ( + + + )

+ = Low(10-30% Callusing), ++ = Medium(40-60% Callusing), +++ = Good (70-90% Callusing)

Table 2. Morphogenic response of hypocotyls taken from 7-10 day old aseptically grown seedlings of wild species of Cyamopsisto plant growth regulators.


1 MS basal medium No response No response2 NAA (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (+)3 NAA (2 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (+)4 2,4D (1 mg/l) Callusing Callusing (+)5 2,4D (2 mg/l) Callusing (+++) Callusing (+++)6 BAP (0.5 mg/l) Callusing + multiple Callusing + multiple

shoot formation shoot formation7 BAP (1 mg/l) Multiple shoot formation Multiple shoot formation8 BAP (2 mg/l) Callusing + multiple Callusing + multiple

shoot formation shoot formation9 2,4D (2 mg/l) + BAP (0.5 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (++)10 2,4D( 2 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (++)11 NAA( 1 mg/l)+ BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing12 NAA( 2 mg/l) + BAP (0.5 mg/l) No response No response13 NAA (2 mg/l)+ BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (++) Callusing (++)14 NAA( 2 mg/l) + BAP (2 mg/l) Callusing (++) Callusing (+++)

+ = Low(10-30% Callusing), ++ = Medium(40-60% Callusing), +++ = Good(70-90% Callusing)

Cotyledonary node explants:Indirect shoot regeneration in C. serrata was

observed in MS medium supplemented with NAAalone and response increased at 2mg/l NAA. NAA,on the other hand, induced only callusing fromcotyledonary nodes in C. senegalensis. 2, 4-D(1mg/l) induced callusing and indirect shoot

regeneration in C. serrata and C. senegalensiswhile its higher dose (2mg/l) induced callusingfrom explant in both species tested (Table 3). Thecallus was yellowish green in C. serrata and C.senegalensis. Supplementation of MS mediumwith BAP alone lead to indirect shoot regenerationvia callusing and its frequency decreased with


Table3. Morphogenic response of cotyledonary nodes taken from 7-10 day old aseptically grown seedlings of wild speciesof Cyamopsis to plant growth regulators.


1 MS basal medium No response No response2 NAA (1 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing (++)3 NAA (2 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing (++)4 2,4D (1 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing + shoot regeneration5 2,4D (2 mg/l) Callusing (++) Callusing (++)6 BAP (0.5 mg/l) Callusing + multiple shoot formation Callusing + shoot regeneration7 BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing + multiple shoot formation Callusing + shoot regeneration8 BAP (2 mg/l) Multiple shoot formation Callusing + shoot regeneration9 2,4D( 2 mg/l) + BAP (0.5mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing + shoot regeneration10 2,4D (2 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (+)11 NAA( 1 mg/l)+ BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing + shoot regeneration12 NAA (2 mg/l) + BAP (0.5 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing + shoot regeneration13 NAA (2 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (+++) Callusing + shoot regeneration14 NAA( 2 mg/l) + BAP (2 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing + shoot regeneration


Fig1: In vitro response of cotyledons of Cyamopsisseneglensis (A) and C.serrata (B) to 2,4D and BAPX = 2mg/l 2,4-D + 0.5 mg/l BAP, Y = 2mg/l 2,4-D +1mg/l BAP

Fig 2: Morpogenic response of cotyledonary nodesofC.serrata(A)and Cyamopsis seneglensis (B)todifferent concentrations of BAP (X=0.5mg/l, Y=1.0mg/l, Z=2mg/l)


Table-4. Morphogenic response of immature embryos excised 10-12 days after anthesis (DAA) in wild species of Cyamopsisto plant growth regulators and other adjuvants.


1 MS basal medium No response No response2 NAA (0.5 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration Callusing (+)3 NAA (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) Callusing (+)4 NAA (2 mg/l) swelling of cotyledons Callusing (+)5 2,4D (0.5 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration No response6 2,4D (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) No response7 2,4D (2 mg/l) Callusing (+) No response8 BAP (0.5 mg/l) Root formation No response9 BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (+++) Callusing10 BAP (2 mg/l) Callusing + shoot regeneration No response11 NAA (0.5 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (++) Callusing (+++)12 NAA (0.5 mg/l) + BAP (2 mg/l) No response Callusing + shoot regeneration13 NAA (1 mg/l) + BAP (0.5mg/l) Callusing (++) Callusing (+)14 NAA (1 mg/l) + BAP (2 mg/l) No response Callusing (+)15 NAA (2 mg/l) + BAP (0.5 mg/l) Callusing + adventious root Callusing (+)

formation from explant16 NAA (2 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) Callusing (+) No response17 CH (500mg/l) swelling of explant swelling of explants18 NAA (0.2 mg/l) + BAP Direct shoot formation No response

(0.2 mg/l) + CH (500 mg/l)19 NAA (0.2 mg/l) + BAP Direct shoot formation + root formation No response

(0.001 mg/l) + CH (500 mg/l)


Table 5. Combination of growth regulators used for rooting and flowering in wild species of Cyamopsis.

S.No Medium C. serrata C. senegalensis

1. ½ MS - -2. ¼ MS -, Flowering -3. ½ MS + IBA 0.1 mg/l - -, Flowering4. ½ MS + IBA 0.5 mg/l + +5. ½ MS + IBA 1 mg/l + +, Flowering6. ½ MS + IBA 1.5 mg/l - -7. ½ MS + IAA 1 mg /l - -8. ½ MS + NAA 2mg/l + IAA 1mg/l - -9. ½ MS + NAA 2 mg/l - -10. ¼ MS + IBA 0.1 mg/l - -, Flowering11. ¼ MS + IBA 0.5 mg/l - -12. ¼ MS + IBA 1 mg/l - -, Flowering13. ¼ MS + IBA 1.5 mg/l - -14. ¼ MS + IAA 1 mg /l - -15. ¼ MS + NAA 2mg/l + IAA 1mg/l - -16. ¼ MS + NAA 2 mg/l - -17. MS + NAA 0.2 mg/l + BAP 0.001 mg/l + 500 mg/l CH. + -

– = Nil + = Rooting


increasing its concentration from 0.5 mg/l to 2.0mg/l (Fig2). Interestingly 2mg/l BAP supportmultiple shoot formation from cotyledonary nodeexplants in C. serrata.

Supplementation of 1.0 mg/l BAP to themedium containing 2.0 mg/l NAA lead to indirectshoot regeneration in C. senegalensis while itinduced only callusing in C. serrata. Thefrequency of shoot regeneration however,decreased with the increase in concentration ofBAP (2mg/l). Lower concentration of BAP (0.5mg/l) with 2mg/l NAA induced indirect shootregeneration through callusing in both the speciesof Cyamopsis studied. Shoot regeneration fromcotyledonary node has also been reported in otherlegumes on BAP supplemented medium likeCajanus cajan (Prakash et al., 1994), Phaseolusvulgaris ( Mc Clean and Graftan, 1989 andMohamed et al., 1992), V. radiate (Mathew, 1987and Gulati and Jaiwal, 1992, 1994) and chickpea(Subhadra et al., 1998). Surekha and Arundhati(2007) also observed regeneration fromcotyledonary node of peanut cultured on BAP andin combination with kinetin.

Immature embryo explants:NAA induced callusing in C. serrata and C.

senegalensis except 0.5mg/l NAA which inducedindirect shoot regeneration from callus in C.serrate (Table 4 ). Similarly, indirect shootregeneration was delayed until 60-70 days ofinoculation in MS medium supplemented with 1mg/l NAA. On the other hand, indirectregeneration was observed at NAA 0.5 mg/l in C.senegalensis and callus formation was found atNAA 1mg/l after 60-70 days of inoculation. LikeNAA, 2,4-D also induced callusing in C. serrata.Immature embryos of C. senegalensis did notrespond to 2,4-D. Immature embryos however,responded best at 2.0 mg/l BAP which inducedcallusing and differentiation of shoot from callusin C. serrata. Callus growth of C. serrata washighest on MS medium adjuncted with 1mg/l BAP(Fig3).

Culturing of immature embryos 10-12 DAP,yielded callus in both the species of Cyamopsison MS medium adjuncted with NAA (0.5 mg//l)+ BAP (1 mg/l). Callus showed differentiation ofshoot in C. serrata in medium supplemented with

NAA (0.5 mg/l) + BAP (1 mg/l) after 45-50 DOI .MS medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/lNAA+0.001mg/l BAP+500 mg/l CH showed directplant regeneration from embryo with very goodrooting after 30 days of inoculation in C. serrata.Culturing of the nodal and inter-nodal segmentsof the above regenerated shoots producedmultiple shooting after 20-25 days of inoculationon the above described medium. Prem et al.(2005) reported shoot regeneration in guar usingembryo as explants via somatic embryogenesison BAP and NAA supplemented medium.

Rooting of shoots:For rooting of in vitro generated shoots,

different rooting media were tried. Shoots rootedon a ½ strength MS medium supplemented with0.5 mg/l and 1.0 mg/l IBA showed rooting inwild species. C. serrata also shows good rootformation in A6 medium (MS + 0.2 mg/l NAA +0.001 mg/l BAP + 500 mg/l CH) (Fig4). Prem etal., (2003) observed rooting response ofregenerated shoot of cotyledonary node explantsin guar on MS medium supplemented with 4.9µM IBA.

Flowering was observed from nodal segmentsin ¼ strength MS medium alone in C. serrata whileC. senegalensis it was evident in both ½ strengthand ¼ strength MS medium supplemented with0.1 mg/l IBA, 1mg/l IBA. C. senegalensisflowering was also observed from hypocotylexplants in MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (2mg/l) and BAP (0.5 mg/l) after longer periodof inoculation (explant was shifted to the newmedium of same concentration after every 2-3weeks of inoculation for providing longer periodof inoculation to get flowering) (Table 5 )(Fig5).

Hardening, acclimatization and field transfer:The plantlets with sufficient rooting were taken

out of the medium and washed properly with tapwater. These were then transferred to small cupsor pots containing sterilized dune sand and farmyard manure in 3:1 ratio. These were irrigated with¼ strength MS nutrient solution, covered withpolythene bags to maintain high humidity andmaintained in culture room at 26±2ºC (Fig 4).Potted cups were irrigated with nutrient solutionfrom time to time.


Fig 3: Morphogenic response of immature embryos (10-12 DAA) of C.serrata atBAP1mg/l(A), BAP 2mg/l (B),NAA 0.5mg/l(C) and C.senegalensis atNAA 0.5 mg/l + BAP 1mg/l (D), NAA 0.5 mg/l + BAP 2mg/l (E).

Fig 4A,B: Rooting of shoots on ½ strength MSsupplemented with 0.5mg/l IBA (C.senegalensis)(A) andMS+0.2mg/l NAA+0.001mg/l BAP+ 500mg/l CH(C.serrata)(B) C,D : Acclimation of rooted plants ofC.senegalensis and C.serrata

Fig 5 : Rooting and flowering of shoots on ½ strengthMS medium supplemented with 0.1mg/l IBA in

C.senegalensis (A) and 0.5 mg/l IBA in C.serrata (B).F=Flowering , R=Rooting


CONCLUSIONIn the present study the cotyledon produced

only callusing on all the medium tried. BAP atconcentrations of 0.5 and 2.0 mg/l supportedindirect multiple shoot regeneration via callusingin C. senegalensis, whereas 1 mg/l BAP supporteddirect multiple shoot regeneration from hypocotyl.On the other hand, BAP induced differentiationof multiple shoots in C. serrata and the numberof shoots per hypocotyl increased with theincreasing concentration of BAP. Similar indirectshoot regeneration from hypocotyl was evidentin C. serrata in medium supplemented with 1mg/l each of NAA and BAP. Whereas NAA (2mg/l)with BAP(1mg/l) and NAA(2mg/l) with BAP(2mg/l) showed callusing. Cotyledonary node explantwas the most responsive explant for plantregeneration in both the species of Cyamopsisunder investigation. Interestingly, 2mg/l BAPsupported multiple shoot formation fromcotyledonary nodes in C. serrata. Mediumcontaining 1.0 mg/l BAP + 2.0 mg/l NAAsupported indirect shoot regeneration in C.senegalensis. Immature embryos (10-12 DAP) ofC. serrata showed indirect regeneration at 0.5mg/l NAA after 25 days of inoculation. ½ MS with0.1 mg/l and 0.5 mg/l IBA supported best rootingin C. senegalensis and C. serrata, respectively.Plantlets were successfully transferred to papercups.

REFERENCESBrown, D. C. W., Finstad, K. I. and Watson, E. M. (1995). Somatic

embryogenesis in herbaceous dicots. In: In vitroembryogenesis in plants. Thorpe, T.A. (ed.) Dordrecht: KluwerAcademic.pp.345-415.

Chakarbarti, D., Anindya, S. and Sampa. (2006). Efficient andrapid in vitro plant regeneration system for Indian cultivars ofchickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Plant Cell Tiss. Org. Cult., 86: 117-23.

Cheema, H. K. and Bawa, J. (1991). Clonal multiplication viamultiple shoots in some legumes (Vigna unguiculata andCajanus cajan). Acta.Hortic., 289: 93-94.

Gulati, A. and Jaiwal, P. K. (1992). In vitro induction of multipleshoots and plant regeneration from shoot tips of mung bean(Vigna radiate L.) Wilczek). Plant Cell Tiss. Org. Cult., 29:199-205.

Gulati, A. and Jaiwal, P. K. (1994). Plant regeneration fromcotyledonary node explants of mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.)Wilczek). Plant Cell Rep., 13: 523-27.

Kaviraj, C. P., Kiran, G., Venugopal, R. B., Kishor, P. B. K. andSrinath, R. (2006). Somatic embryogenesis and plantregeneration from cotyledonary explants of green gram [Vignaradiata (L.) Wilezek.] - A recalcitrant grain legume, In VitroCellular & Developmental Biology Plant, 42(2):134-38.

Mathew, H. (1987). Morphogenetic response from in vitro culturedseedling explants of mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek).Plant Cell Tiss. Org. Cult,. 11: 233-46.

Mc Clean, P. and Graftan, K. F. (1989). Regeneration of dry bean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) via.organogenesis. Plant Sci.,60: 117-22.

Menon, U. (1973). A comprehensive review of crop improvementand utilization of cluster bean Cyamopsis tetragonoloba(L).Taub.]. Monograph Series-2, Deptt. of Agric. Rajasthan.,pp: 51.

Mohamed, M. F., Read, P. E. and Coyne, D. P. (1992). Plantregeneration from in vitro culture of embryonic axis explantsin common and tepary beans. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci.,117:332-36.

Orellana, R. G. (1966). A new occurrence of tobacco ring spot ofguar in the united states. Plant Dis., 50: 7-10.

Prakash, N. S., Pental, D. and Sarin, N. B. (1994). Regenerationof pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) from cotyledonary node viamultiple shoot formation. Plant Cell Rep., 13 : 623-27.

Prem, D., Singh Subhadra, Gupta, P. P. , Singh, J. V. and Kadyan,S. P. S. (2005). Callus induction and denovo regenerationfrom callus in guar ( Cyamposis tetragonoloba). Plant CellTiss.Org. Cult., 80: 209-14.

Subhadra Singh, Vashishat, R. K., Chowdhary, J. B., Singh, M.and Sarin, P. K. (1998). Multiple shoots from cotyledonarynode explants of non-nodulating genotypes (ICC435M) ofchick pea, Cicer arietinum (L.) Indian J. Exp. Biol., 36:1276-79.

Surekha, C. H. and Arundhati, A. (2007). Induction of multipleshoots via organogenesis and plant regeneration fromcotyledons of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L). J. PhytologicalRes., 20 (1):23-27.


Mithun Husbandry - Issues and Strategies in PapumPare District of Arunachal Pradesh

Tilling Tayo, Taba Heli, Bengia Atul and Nabam Gama

KVK-Papum Pare, Nirjuli-791 109 ( Arunachal Pradesh)

ABSTRACTMithun (Bos frontalis) is pride of Arunachal Pradesh and one of the major single most problemsin mithun husbandry is ownership dispute, apart from crop raid, wild beast and other beingviral, bacterial and parasitic infestation. To overcome the ownership dispute microchipimplantation on the left side of neck region (anterior to the point of shoulder), while Lurasystem to mitigate crops raids, special training to mithun to come inside protected enclosure atnight to curve out wild beast menace, followed by vaccination, antibiotic and anthelmanticdrugs respectively for viral, bacterial and parasitic infestation have been suggested to the farmersof the area.

Key words: Micro-chip, Lura system, Mithun, FMD, Thelazia.

INTRODUCTIONArunachal Pradesh has the highest Mithun

(Bos frontails) population in the world followedby Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur andMizoram. Mithun locally called as sabe, subu, andsobo in Nyshi, Apatani and Galo tribes,respectively have an intimate relation with socio-cultural life of the tribal people and is the oldestknown domesticated animal being reared by thetribes of Arunachal Pradesh under wild and semi-wild conditions.These animals are allowed tomove freely in the jungle after notching the earwith sharp knife for identification. The owner orcare taker look after them by just spotting theanimal in jungle through its ear notching markand feeding hand full of common-salt by callingALLE-ALLE, LALLAE-LALLAE and AHA-AHA inNyshi, Apatani and other tribes, respectively asper their convenience since their forefather. Theyare reared until used for food on festive occasions,victory celebration, marriage feasts, for barterspurpose and rituals scarification. However, as perthe world Conservation Union, this species isvulnerable to extinction.

Therefore, the present study was undertakento know the problems at grassroot level in mithunrearing faced by the farmers of Papum pare districtthrough personal interview and self observationmethod and to advise them to follow the suitablecorrective measures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out in Papum Pare

district of Arunachal Pradesh during the year 2011-12 in Doimukh block. Three villages namelyMani, Cheputa and Midpu were selected and fromeach selected village, twenty five Mithun farmerswere selected randomly to make a sample size of75 respondents. Through interview and self-observation methods mithun farmers wereinquired regarding the grassroot level problemsin mithun husbandry and the answers wererecorded in each individual respondent’s sheet anddata were generated. The data were analyzed withthe help of frequencies and percentages.


A. Ownership disputeA majority of farmers (92 %) reported that

ownership dispute is one of the major problem inmithun husbandry (Table 1). Traditionally earnotching system was being practised by thefarmers for identification but could not beconsidered as a fool proof system because ear markof animal can be easily altered by sharp knifewithout injuring the animal much. As a matter offact many mischievous people tend to notch theear of animal in their own style, though that hasbeen already notched or the young ones that havenot yet notched by real owner. These animals arereared in semi-wild conditions so, in the very vast



forest area often it is very difficult to spot theanimal once in a month. By this time the freshlynotched ear had been already healed and problemsstarts now. The real owner will identify his mithunby its body coats, whereas fraud owner will stickto the ear mark. These often leads to the sayingmight is right and it is very difficult tusk for thevillage leader give a judgement either in favourof them and number of times result in bloodshedbetween the real and fraud owner.

Suggestions:This ownership dispute can be resolved by

use of micro-chip implant bearing unique 15-digitcode which posses a character of tissue friendly,lifelong duration and tempered proof. Micro-chipcan be implanted in animal body by injectingbetween the left side of neck and point of shoulderas shown in figure 2. One micro-chip is to beallotted to only one mithun, the 15-digit code isrecorded and maintain in the forest department intheir official register under the owner name of saidanimal and same number is retained by the animalowner for future investigation and identification.

At the time of conflicts on the ownership ofthe Mithuns, the microchip reader machine canbe brought from the authority and the micro-chipnumber can be read by placing the reader near tothe site of implantation of the micro-chip. Thiswill annihilate any confusion about the identityof animal.

B. Crop raidUnequivocally cent percent respondents said

crop raid by mithun was the most common day-to-day problem in agriculture (Table 1). Basically,Mithun thrives on the jungle forages, tree fodders,shrubs, herbs and other natural vegetations Das

et al., (2008). It prefers to browse and movearound the forest in search of selective foragesbut number of occasion’s animal enters theagriculture field thereby damaging and eating upthe crops grown over it. However it is not the faultof animal, if the alleged field is not well protectedwith fence or wall. The animals entered in the fieldare caught and imposed heavy fine to the owneror harm the animals with gun, spear, arrow andsword which is an unethical practice.

As per the respondents view the extent ofeconomic loss caused by mithun is roughlyestimated to be 5-17 per cent of the totalagriculture output.

It has been observed that the common practiseto prevent the crop raid was that every farmingfamily puts fencing along with his portion ofboundary of the cultivated area and animal aremade to roam freely. Fences are made up oflocally available material such as bamboos andwoods, barbed wire is effective but due to its highcost it is not generally affordable by the villagers’.This practices is laborious, time consuming,ineffective and generally small area can be broughtunder protection.

Suggestions:Crop raid can be mitigated by adopting “lura

system” commonly practised by Adi and Galocommunity of East and West Siang district ofArunachal Pradesh. Lura refers to ‘a demarcatedarea within a village community forest especiallyearmarked by the community as the best area withits natural conditions for rearing mithun in itsnatural habitat (Fig.1).The purpose is to rearmithun population of the village together,irrespective of individual ownership. Thiscaptivity is to be synchronized with the cultivationseason of the slash and burn practice of the landuse system prevalent in the area. This will serveas an effective measure to protect land underagriculture use by all the farming community ofvillagers (Heli, 2009).

C. Wild beastWild beast viz., wild dogs, tigers and leopards

are main menace in free range system. All therespondents reported that especially duringcalving season, numbers of attack by wild dogand leopards were found to be increased becausenewly born calf becomes soft target of wild beasts.

Table1. Problems in Mithun husbandry faced by the farmers.

Sr. No. Problem Frequency Percentage(%)

01 Ownership dispute 69 9202 Crop raid 75 10003 Wild beast 75 10004 Viral disease (FMD) 63 8405 Bacterial disease (HS) 12 1606 Parasitic infestation

i) Tick and mites 75 100ii) Leach 75 100iii) Maggot infestation 27 36iv) Eye worm (Thelazia) 52 69


On the other hand, hunting and killing of wildanimals has been strictly prohibited by the forestdepartment so mithun farmer had no option tomitigate this problem. More over it is against theethics to eliminate wild beast from the sameecosystem.

Suggestions:Wild beast attack mostly during night hours,

therefore in order to tackle this problem thereshould be a community participatory approachmade by barricading fencing with barbed wire orlocally available materials and mithun should betrained to remain inside the enclosure at night bycalling them or making some sound such asringing bell at evening and offering handful ofsalt to each animal as the mithun have extra urgefor salt. Similarly,the enclosure gate should beopened in the morning for free rang grazingpurpose.

D. Viral DiseaseFoot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly

contagious disease affecting mostly cattle, swine,sheep, goats and many species of wild ungulates(Brooksby, 1982). Majority of farmers (84 % )reported that FMD creates havoc in mithunhusbandry practices in sporadic manner (Table 1).It has been observed that compared to otherdomesticated animal mithun are more susceptibleto attack of FMD due to its semi-wild naturesharing the grazing area with other wild animalslike deer and wild pigs. In case of mithun, therate of morbidity is very high and mortality maygo up to 60 per cent and above.

The virus exists in the form of sevenserologically and genetically distinguishable typesviz. O, A, C, Asia1, SAT1, SAT2 and SAT3, butthe prevalent strains of FMD virus found in thestate of Arunachal Pradesh is type “O”, “A” andAsia-1(Sharma, 2010). Out of which type – O ismore prevalent and often causing havoc to theMithun population almost every year. It ishypothesized that the transmission of the FMDvirus is mostly brought by the ploughing bullocksfrom Assam especially during cultivation season(Kharif), though the animal may not show thesymptom but act as a carrier of FMD virus.

Suggestions:To curb the FMD outbreak a routine “Ring

vaccination” in the areas bordering Assam stateand the rest of the animals has to be covered by“Barrier vaccination” in endemic area twice a year.

E. Bacterial diseaseHaemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) is a

contagious bacterial disease caused by twoserotypes of Pasteurella multocida, B2 and E2.Few farmers (16%) reported that HS is one of thehurdle in mithun husbandry but the disease isoften under go unnoticed and unattended (Table1). The diseased animal often exhibits thesymptom of dyspnoea, salivation, subcutaneousswelling and die within 2 to 3 days. The onsetand course of the disease is generally rapid andleave little time to seek veterinarian help which isnot possible due to their semi-wild nature and hillyterrain of their dwelling area.

Eye worm(Thelazia )Lura system


Suggestions:In endemic areas best way to prevent the

occurrence of this disease is to follow up animmunization programme before the onset ofmonsoon every year. However, antibiotics suchas sulphonamides, penicillin and tetracycline canbe used successfully for treatment in the earlystages.

F. Parasitic Disease.All the respondents reported that ectoparasites

like ticks, mites, leaches and biting flies arecommonly found over the body of mithun due tosemi wild nature of rearing system, causingconstant irritation by biting and sucking bloodwhich leads to dull, depressed, anaemic andstunted growth . Use of Ivermectin @ 0.15mg/kgbody weight twice a year and dipping animal inTaktik (Amitrazin) solution @ 4ml/ litter of waterfor at least 2 minute every four month will reducethe burden of ecto-parasitic infestation. 36 percentof farmer said maggot infections were moreevidence in calf as compared to adult animal.Navel of newly born calf were the soft target formaggot infection apart from any lacerated or cutwound mark in their body by thorn or sharp objectduring the course of grazing.

Suggestions:Maggotic wound can be ruled out by clipping

the entire hair around the wound and pluggingwith turpentine oil for few hours followed bythoroughly irrigated with 2 per cent potassiumpermanganate solution then manually remove thedead maggot with use of forceps, tropically a flyrepellent (Topicure) must apply in order toprevent the further visit of fly in the affected area.A dose of antibiotic should be followed for at least5 days to check secondary bacterial infection.

Eye worm infestatiionA majority (69.0 %) of farmers said eye worm

infestation was one of the major concerns becauseparasite present in the eye ball cause constantirritation that leads to lacrimation, opacity andultimately blindness and in number of occasionresult in death due to starvation or fall from cliff.Similar outbreak was reported from west siang

district (Panor, 2010). It is caused by the genusThelazia species and transmitted by differentspecies of muscids. These worms live in theconjunctival sac (eyelid) of the eye . The wormsmeasures up to 2.5 cm long and are thin and whitein colour. (Fig. 2)

This can be treated by manual removal of adultworm after application of 2 per cent lignocane(anasthesia) in eye with the use of forceps butanimal need to be restrained properly followedby thoroughly irrigated with aqueous solution of2 per cent boric powder with concurrent use ofCiplox-D (Ciprofloxacin and Dexamethasone )and Ivermectin injection @ 0.15mg/kg bodyweight Kennedy and Phillips (1993).

CONCLUSIONMithun husbandry practices can be

significantly improved amongst the mithun rearingfarmers through the blend of traditional practicesand scientific methods suggested. There is a largescope for creating awareness regarding scientificpackage of practices of mithun rearing becausemost of the farmers are still following the methodslearnt from their fore father. Similarly, mithunneeds be reared under intensive farming systemrather than under semi wild conditions aspracticed in the region which results in ownershipdispute amongst the farmers. This species needsto be well taken care of in order to prevent itsextinction.

REFERENCESBrooksby, J. B. (1982). Portraits of viruses: foot-and-mouth

disease virus. Intervirology, 18: 1-10.

Das. K. C., Prakash, B. and Rajkhowa, C, (2008). Nutrition andFeeding of Mithun (Bos frontalis) in Hill Livestock FarmingSystem. Indian J. Anim. Nutr., 25. 1-10.

Heli, T. (2009). Lura system of mithun management- A sustainableagriculture in Arunachal Pradesh. Sirki-Denggo, souvenio.,11-13.

Kennedy, M. J. and Phillips, F. E. (1993). Efficacy of doramectinagainst eyeworms (Thelazia spp.) in naturally andexperimentally infected cattle. Veterinary Parasitology, 49(1):61-66.

Panor, J. (2010). Mithun: The ATM. Biological Park, Itanagar.http://arunachalnews.com/mithun-the-atm.html.

Sharma, A.K. (2010). Foot and Mouth Disease in livestock-Combat and Management (Seminar, Itanagar). http://www.worldvet.org/node/7270.


Pattern of Investment vis-à-vis Credit Utilization inDairy Sector of Punjab

Arjinder Kaur and R. S. Sidhu*

Department of Economics and SociologyPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004

ABSTRACTThis study was undertaken to assess the role of credit and investment pattern in dairy sectorunder Punjab conditions. It was found that on an average 28.9 per cent of per farm incomecomes from dairying in the state. For the state as a whole, Rs. 5,612/- farm were taken as loanfor purchase of cattle and Rs. 9,641/- farm for construction of cattle shed. Out of total loanavailed by sampled households in the state for investment purposes in agriculture between2002-2007, it was just 2.2 per cent for cattle purchase and 3.7 per cent for construction of cattleshed. Utilization of credit is as important as credit availability to enhance productivity. Diversionof credit leads to indebtedness and depleting financial position of the farmers. The averageinvestment on cattle in the state was found to be Rs. 9,175/- farm. Borrowed funds accountedfor 61.2 percent of invested funds. The diversion of borrowed funds for this purpose is found tobe 3.0 per cent. Thus actual share of loan amount utilized as investment on cattle was found tobe 59.3 per cent investment on cattle On the other hand, Rs. 18,206/- farm were invested oncattle shed in the state. 53.0 per cent of this investment was accounted for by borrowed funds.In fact, the actual utilization of credit for total investment came to be 49.5 per cent as 7.0 percent of the borrowed funds were found to be diverted for other purposes. Thus, development ofdairying in state should be further encouraged in a big way through concessional credit alongwith subsidized cattle insurance, quality control on animal feed and systematic milk marketingetc.

Key Words: Investment, Credit, Dairy.

INTRODUCTION Dairy production and consumption has

a long historical tradition and has been an integralpart of agricultural systems .Growth in dairy sectorin Punjab is more related to expanding supply tomatch the rising consumer demand, fundamentalchanges in economic growth and the value ofresources. It is also defined by public policies,intervention and investment decisions. In the wakeof all these positive parameters, dairying hasbecome an important subsidiary occupation inPunjab. However, no economic activity is possiblewithout a resource-base i.e. capital. This is moreimportant as dairying has transformed from asubsistence sector to a commercial one. To runthe dairy on commercial scale, investment isrequired in one form or the other. With the comingof new aspects in livestock productiontechnology, nutrition of animals, new breeds &

breeding techniques etc. channelizing of resourcesis must in dairying. These resources can be self-owned or borrowed. This study was aimed at toassess the role of credit in investment patternrelated to dairying.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was based on primary data collected

from stratified sampling technique. At first stageof sampling four districts were randomly selected,one each from sub-mountainous zone ( Zone 1)and south-western zone ( Zone III) and two fromthe central plain zone (Zone II ). From each district,two blocks were selected and from each selectedblock, two villages were selected in a randommanner. Three hundred twenty households wereselected on the basis of probability proportionaltechnique from five standard categories ofoperational holdings i.e. marginal, small, semi-

* Dean, Colleg eof Basic Sciences and HumantitiesCorresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


medical, medium and large. In this study, two maindairying assets were taken i.e. cattle and cattlesheds. These two are important items ofinvestment due to the durability and cost involved.

Simple statistical techniques like ratios andpercentages were used to analyze the data. Someratios were also calculated from the primary datasuch as:

i. Amount borrowed/Amount invested x 100 toaccount for the share of loans in investment.

ii. Amount utilized/Amount invested x 100 tohighlight the actual utilization of borrowedfunds in total investment.

iii. Amount diverted/ Amount borrowed x 100to highlight the rate of diversion of borrowedfunds.


Effect of farm size on income from dairying: Dairying has emerged as a major source of

income in the State. The zone-wise analysis revealsthat average share of income from dairying ismaximum in Zone-II (29.5%) and minimum inZone III (27.8%) but otherwise it is contributing ahigher proportion in small and marginal farmcategories of Zone III (36.9 % and 40.5%) ascompared to other zones. As the Zone III is mainlycotton belt of the state and the collected datacomprised of two years of cotton crop failure.This can be the reason for higher proportion ofdairying in small marginal farmers in the zone.The higher proportion of income from dairysection in Zone II can be attributed to resourceuse efficiency is considered i.e. central plain zone,also having better breed of animals. For the Stateas a whole, 28.9 per cent of farm householdincome is coming from dairy sector (Table1) .

Source of loan availed:The perusal of data (Table 2) revealed that

sampled farmers were tapping both the sourcesof finance i.e. institutional as well as non-institutional for investment in the above said assetsof dairy sector. Rs.3,574/-farm have beenborrowed by the farm households frominstitutional sources for the purchase of cattle andRs.2,038/-farm is the amount borrowed from non-institutional sources for the same purpose. Thisaccounts for 63.7 per cent share of institutionalsources and 36.3 per cent of non-institutionalsources for the state as a whole. However, forZone-I, the amount borrowed for purchase ofcattle was nil from institutional sources. In ZoneII, Rs.7,918/-farm was the borrowed amount forthe same purpose and out of it 68.9 per cent wasthe share of institutional sources, whereas the restis of non-institutional ones. In Zone-III, theamount borrowed for purchase of cattle wasRs.6,463/-farm. Out of borrowed funds, theinstitutional sources were found to be contributing52.2 per cent and that of non-institutional sourcesis 47.8 per cent. Thus, it was found that per farmloans availed were maximum in Zone-II as wellas the share of institutional sources was highestin this zone.

Table 2. Source of loan taken for investment in dairy (Rs/farm).

Zone Institutional Non- TotalSources Institutional

Sources

ICattle 6038(91.1) 187 187Cattle Shed -- 588(8.9) 6626IICattle 5461(69.0) 2457(31.0) 7918Cattle Shed 6113(77.9) 1738(22.1) 7851IIICattleCattle Shed 3374(52.2) 3089(47.8) 64631

8897(54.7) 7372(45.3) 6269StateCattle 3574(63.7) 2038(36.3) 5612Cattle Shed 6790(70.4) 2851(29.6) 9641

The average amount of loan availed for theconstruction of cattle shed was found to beRs.6,626/-farm in Zone-I and out of which 91.1per cent was availed from institutional sources andthe rest from the non-institutional sources. In zone

Table 1. Income from dairying on different farm size(Percentage to total income).

Zone Farm Size

Medium Small Semi- Medium Large Averagemedium

I 28.3 33.8 27.1 30.0 28.3 28.9II 31.8 33.2 31.8 26.9 28.7 29.5III 36.9 40.5 25.2 29.9 24.4 27.8State 31.9 34.4 29.1 28.5 27.3 28.9


II, the average amount borrowed was Rs.7,851/-farm and source of finance was 77.9 per cent and22.1 per cent as institutional and non-institutional,respectively. Maximum amount borrowed was inZone III i.e. Rs. 16,269/- and source of financewas 54.7 per cent and 45.3 per cent as institutionaland non-institutional, respectively. In this zoneinstitutional funding was found to be least. Forthe State as a whole, average amount borrowedcomes out to be Rs.9,641/-farm and 70.43 per centof this amount is being contributed by institutionalsources and rest of the amount by non-institutionalsources of finance.

Proportion of loan used for dairy farmingpurpose:

As the dairy enterprise is assuming importancemore so in the central and south western zone ofthe State, it is being getting commercialized. Theproportionate share of dairy loans in total amountborrowed by sampled farm households forinvestment purpose over the last five years is givenin Table 3.

Table 3. Proportionate share of dairy loans in total amountborrowed (Percentage)

Zone Institutional Non- TotalSources Institutional

Sources

ICattle - 1.3 0.1Cattle Shed 2.6 4.1 2.7IICattle 2.8 3.2 2.9Cattle Shed 3.2 2.3 2.9IIICattle 2.4 2.8 2.6Cattle Shed 6.4 6.6 6.5StateCattle 1.9 2.9 2.2Cattle Shed 3.6 4.0 3.7

For the purpose of cattle purchase, theproportion of loan availed is just 0.1per cent onan average in the total amount borrowed in Zone-I. With no contribution of institutional sources,the share of non-institutional credit is 1.3 per cent.For the construction of cattle sheds, the sampledhouseholds of Zone-I have availed 2.7 per centof the total loan availed by them over the last fiveyears. The institutional sources have contributed2.6 per cent of the total loans availed and 4.1per

cent is the share of non-institutional sources.

In Zone-II, the loans availed by sampledhouseholds for the purchase of cattle is 2.9 percent of the total loans availed by them for farminvestment during the past five years. 2.8 per centof it is being contributed by institutional sourcesand 3.2 per cent by non-institutional sources offinance. For the purpose of cattle shedsconstruction, it was 2.9 per cent of total investmentloan availed by the sampled farmers. Here thecontribution of institutional sources was 3.2 percent, whereas 2.3 per cent is being contributedby non-institutional sources of finance.

The loan amount was 2.6 per cent of total loansavailed by sampled farm holdings of Zone-III forthe cattle purchase. 2.4 per cent of it was beingsupplied by institutional sources of finance and2.8 per cent from the informal sources of financefor the said purpose. For the cattle shed, sampledfarmers of this zone have availed 6.5 per cent ofthe total farm investment loan. 6.4 per cent of ithas been provided by formal sources while 6.6per cent by the non-institutional sources of finance.

For the state as a whole, the share of loans forcattle purchase stands 2.2 per cent in the total loansavailed by the sampled households. 2.9 per centof it is being provided by non-institutional sourceswhile 1.9 per cent is the contribution of formalsources of finance. The proportion of other itemhead i.e. for cattle sheds, was found to be 3.7 percent in the total farm investment loan availed bysampled farm holdings for the state as a whole.4.0 percent of this proportion is being providedby non-institutional sources of finance whereasformal sources are contributing 3.6 per cent.

Thus, it was evident that dairy loans do notform a high proportion in the total loans availedby the farmers of the state for investment purpose.Also the share of non-institutional sources offinance is found to be higher in the loans availedby the sampled households. Proportion of loansfor cattle sheds was found to be higher in Zone-III, while proportion of loans for cattle purchasewas found to be maximum in Zone –II.

The extent of borrowing and utilization ofborrowed funds in the investment of cattle by thesampled households has been discussed in Table4. On an average Rs.9,175/-farm have beeninvested on the purchase of cattle over the last


five years in the State. In the farm size wiseanalysis, the amount invested was maximum onsmall farms and minimum on large farm, amountinvested was found to be decreasing. For thisinvestment a loan of Rs.5,612/-farm was availedon an average. Share of loans in the amountinvested was found to be 61.2 per cent. However,whole of the borrowed amount was not utilizedfor the said purpose. Rs.173/-farm were found tobe diverted from the borrowed amount thus a 3.0per cent rate of diversion was found for the State.Hence, amount utilized as a percentage of amountinvested for the purchase of cattle came to be 59.3per cent in Punjab, Thus, per farm investment washighest in Zone-II and minimum in Zone-I, bututilization of borrowed funds for the said purposewas maximum in Zone-III and minimum in Zone-I. Thus a very low rate of diversion was found inthe loans availed for cattle purchase. Diversionwas found to be highest in medium category offarm households and found to be nil in marginalcategory as well as large farm category.

A similar analysis was carried out for cattlesheds. On an average of Rs.18,206/-farm wereinvested for this purpose in the State as a whole.Here the amount invested was found to beincreasing with the farm size category Rs.97,641/-farm was the amount borrowed for this investmenton average basis. The borrowing was maximumon medium farm category followed by semi-medium farms. It was minimum on marginalcategory of farms. This comprised 53.0 per cent

Table 4. Investment, borrowing and utilization of credit on cattle (Rs/farm)

Particulars Medium Small Semi-medium Medium Large Average

Invested Amount 10,394 14,305 9,005 5,767 7,717 9,175Borrowed Funds 7,789 10,250 5,778 3,337 1,302 5,612Diverted Amount - 164 232 291 0.00 173Diversion as % age of borrowed 0.0 2.0 4.0 9.0 0.0 3.0Borrowed as % age of Invested 74.9 71.7 64.2 57.9 16.9 61.2Utilized 74.9 70.5 61.6 52.8 16.9 59.3

of investment on cattle sheds on the sampledfarms. However, rate of diversion though observedonly in two categories i.e. medium and semi-medium was found to be 7.0 per cent of theamount borrowed for the said purpose. This ledto actual utilization of loans to 49.5 per cent forthe investment purpose. Diversion was found tobe nil in other farm categories causing 100 percent utilization of borrowed funds for the saidpurpose. On an average Rs.628/-farm werediverted for other purposes out of the borrowedfunds for cattle sheds. Diversion was found to bemaximum in Zone-III and minimum in Zone II ofthe State.

Utilization of credit amount is as important ascredit availability to enhance productivity.Diversion of credit especially for non-productivepurposes does not lead in income generation andaffects the repayment capacity of the borrowers.This can became the cause of indebtedness anddepleting financial position of the farmers. Out ofthe total sample size 28.4 per cent of thehouseholds were found to be indulging indiversion of borrowed funds. Various reasons weregiven by the farmers for this trend. Maximumdiversions (45.0%) were taking place for theconstruction of dwelling house. Consumptionpurpose needs has emerged as another reason(30.0%) leading to diversion of borrowed funds.28.0 per cent of the sampled farmers have divertedthe borrowed funds for social and religiousceremonies. Medical expenses as well as

Table 5. Investment, borrowing and utilization of credit on cattle sheds. (Rs/farm)

Particulars Medium Small Semi-medium Medium Large Average

Invested Amount 6,421 8,047 13,070 21,161 46,157 18,206Borrowed Funds 5,790 6,203 11,163 11,745 10,826 9,641Diverted Amount - - 590 1,744 - 628Diversion as %age of borrowed 0.00 0.0 5.0 15.0 0.00 7.0Borrowed as %age of Invested 90.2 77.1 85.4 55.5 23.5 53.0Utilized 90.2 77.1 80.9 47.3 23.5 49.5


installation of submersible pumps have caused thediversion of 18.0 per cent diversion respectively.8.0 per cent of the sampled farmers have divertedthe money for repayment of old debt and 5.0 percent have utilized for the purchase of car. 2.0 percent of sampled households have used the amountto get fresh loans. Therefore, dairy loans beingsubsidized are diverted to small extent for otherpurposes for which either there is no provision ofcredit or for which rate of interest charged is high.

Problems faced by farmers in arranging loansfrom Govt. Institutions:

As it has been discussed that sampledhouseholds borrow from different sources offinance i.e. institutional as well as non-institutionalsources. Governments have been taking severalsteps to reduce the role of non-institutional sourcesfrom time to time as these are considered asexploitative in nature. Despite the various effortsof the government, it has not been able toeliminate the role of informal sources. So, sampledhouseholds were discussed with their problemsespecially related to institutional sources offinance. 39.0 per cent of the respondents quoteddifficulty in getting land record to apply for theloans from institutional sources. 31.5 per cent ofthe respondents felt that loan procedure is lengthyin these institutions i.e. the processing ofapplication is delayed. 29.7 per cent found theloan amount insufficient for the purpose. 26.0 percent farmers responded that the cost of borrowingis high in these institutions as they have to fulfillso many formalities which involves many trips toinstitutions and so many documents are to beattached with the application form, long time gapinvolved between loan application and sanctionof loan, follow up of the loan case etc. adds to betransaction cost of the loan on the part of theborrower. 10.3 per cent of the respondents doubtthe working of the institutions and felt that it isnot transparent. Also 11.9 per cent of the farmersfelt that institutions give lesser details about loanprocess, thus leading to more number of trips andhigh cost of borrowing. 23.0 per cent of the

respondents felt that some contact is needed tohasten the loan processing with the institutions.9.0 per cent of the farmers showed their lack ofawareness about the loan schemes launched bydifferent institutions. These problems were basedon personal experiences of the sampled farmersor their associates, but some were mereperceptions of them about the institutions. Theformal atmosphere of institutions or lack ofknowledge or low level of literacy can be the rootcause of majority of these problems.

CONCLUSIONTo tackle these difficulties some policy

measures are recommended viz., more creditdisbursal should be through cooperativeinstitutions due to their easy access, personalrapport with the farmer and low transaction cost.Secondly, dairy being an allied activity ofagriculture, thus falls in priority sector should behaving simple rate of interest on the creditprovided. Also some regulated measures shouldbe imposed on non-institutional sources of financeregarding their system of lending, rate of interestetc. Some measures like computerized landrecords, simplified loan performa, transparencyin the working of institutions could go a long wayin increasing the confidence of borrowers ininstitutions. Along with this, community educationprogrammes should be launched againstdecreasing expenditure on construction of houses,social/religious ceremonies to check the diversionof loans.

As we have seen that there is good share ofdairying in farm income, dairy loans should befurther strengthened by subsidized cattleinsurance, quality control on animal feed, facilitiesfor profitable milk marketing and by providinggerm plasm of high yielding milch cattle to thebeneficiary farmers. All these efforts will boostthe investment in dairy sector leading to highermilk production and milk yields in the state aswell as ensuring higher income and good standardof living for the households involved in dairying.


Relationship of Rural Women’s Characteristics withtheir Training Needs in Animal Husbandry Practices

M. K. Bariya, Kiran Chandravadiya*, N.S. Joshi and G. P. Deshmukh

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, (Junagadh Agricultural University) Amreli - 364 601 (Gujarat)

ABSTRACTThe present study was carried out on relationship of the selected characteristics of rural womenwith their training needs to animal husbandry practices in Junagadh district of Gujarat state. Itwas envisaged that the extent of association between two variables (independent and dependent)provided the strength and direction and effects of one variable on the other variable andindependent variables, which were included in the study. Attempts were made to ascertain theextent of association between the variables and their direction. The variables like mass mediaexposure, attitude towards dairy farming and area under fodder crop had positive and significantcorrelation while age and dairying experience were having negative and significant relationshipwith the training needs of rural women. The variables viz., caste, family type, family size, landholding, annual income, social participation, herd size and milk production were failed toestablish any significant relationship with the training needs of rural women.

Key words: Rural women, Training, Animal husbandry practices

INTORDUCTIONWomen in the present age are facing the most

challenging situation of performing their role inand outside the home for their social and economicdevelopment. The rural women play a great rolein decision making process on farm matter,perform many of the farm operations andundertake many responsibilities concerning careand management of farm animals. India needs toincrease milk production which is possible bynarrowing down the gap between the existingtechnology and its adoption. This undoubtedlyrequires a technological breakthrough in the areasof animal sciences, veterinary and dairying, andmuch depends upon the rate and speed ofdissemination of information to dairy enterprises.

The hope for solving problem of rural povertyand unemployment lies in the agricultural basedindustries i.e. agro-industries. Dairy farming is oneof such industries. Milk production has been thesingle major activity to supplement as well as toprovide income to the rural households, themajority of them are landless and small or marginalfarmers.

After acquiring training, the rural women notonly learn about the improved animal husbandrypractices but also opt them into practices (Sharma

et al., 2012). Keeping in view the above facts,the present study was carried out with theobjectives to study the socio-economic andpsychological characteristics of the rural womenand to study the association between the socio-economic and psychological characteristics of therural women with their training needs.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was conducted in Junagadh

district of Gujarat state as the district is famousfor Zaffarabadi buffalo and Gir cow. Two talukaswere selected randomly out of sixteen talukas ofthe Junagadh district. Out of which, five villagesfrom each taluka were selected having highestwomen-membership in co-operative milk society.After obtaining an authentic list of all the womenmembers of the co-operative societies usingproportionate random sampling technique, twentyper cent members from each of the village co-operative milk societies were chosen. Total 105rural women were selected for this study in orderto find out relationship between dependent andindependent variables. The data were collectedwith the help of interview schedule by conductingpersonal interview. Pearson’s product momentmethod of computing correlation coefficient which

Ph.D. ScholarCorresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


provided generally accepted means for measuringthe relationship was used.


Age:The data presented in Table 1 shows that

majority of the respondents (60.0%) were in themiddle age group who can physically look aftertheir animals. It was found that age had significantbut negative relationship with the training needsof rural women (P < 0.01). This implies that youngrural women were in high need of training ascompared to old women probably due to havingless experience of dairy farming and lack ofknowledge about animal husbandry practices.

Education:Majority of the respondents (65.7%) were

illiterate while 28.6 percent were educated up toprimary level. Only one respondent each wasfound under the category of middle leveleducation and high school level education. Onthe other hand, only four women were foundeducated up to college level. Unavailability or lesstransportation facilities as well as certain socialcustoms do not permit the women to leave thehome to attend the school. This might be thereason of illiteracy among rural women.

It was noticed that the education hadsignificant (P < 0.01) positive relationship withtraining needs of rural women. Education opensthe faculty of thoughts and knowledge whichintern helps in grasping ideas, forming favourableattitude and also in explaining the ideas to theothers. This may be the reason of higher trainingneeds demanded by the educated women.

Caste:A perusal of the data (Table 1) revealed that

87.6 percent women belonged to intermediatecaste whereas, very few women were foundbelonging to higher (8.6%) and lower caste(3.8%). In the Saurashtra region, Ahir and Karadiacommunities are famous for animal husbandryoccupation. Majority of dairy co-operatives werefound established in these villages. Therelationship between the caste and training needsof the rural women was found to be non-significant as majority was from the intermediatecaste.

Family type:It was found that 69.5 per cent respondents

were from nuclear family and 30.5 per cent fromjoint family. This might be due to their interest inindependent living and / or life-style, handing-over of responsibility by elders to the younger’s,construction of small size and kaccha livingaccommodation which prevents joint family typeand urbanization, industrialization and certainpsychological factors like individual enterprises,which lead to self-centredness. The co-efficientof correlation showing the relationship betweenfamily type of rural women and their trainingneeds was found to be non-significant.

Family size:The data (Table 1) indicated that the majority

of the respondents (57.1%) belonged to mediumsize family followed by large family (28.6%) andsmall family (14.3%). The probable reason formedium and large family size might be theunawareness of family –planning methods amongthe rural people. It was observed the relationshipbetween the family size of rural women andtraining needs was found to be non-significant.The traditional outlook of the aged person infamily may be the probable reason of this non-significant association because most of thedecisions rest on the elder person of the familyand all other members have to follow it.

Land holding:Higher percentage (43.8%) of rural women

was possessing medium size and 26.7 percentsmall size of land holding. Nearly one-fourth ruralwomen had large size of land holding. It wasinteresting to note that none of them were landlessbecause their main occupation was rearing theanimals and thus, were cultivating the land. Theco-efficient of co-relation between the land-holding and the training needs was found to benon-significant.

Dairying experience:It was revealed that 63.8 per cent of rural

women had medium experience in dairying.Nearly 19.0 per cent women had low experiencewhereas, 17.2 per cent had high experience indairy practices. As majority of the respondentswere from the middle age group and therefore,their dairying experience was medium. It was


noticed that experience in dairy farming practiceswas having significant but negative relationshipwith the training needs. The women with highexperience in dairy farming might have developedexpertise in the various aspects of animalhusbandry and the young women on the otherhand, with less experience might be lacking inknowledge and skills. This may be the reason ofnegative and significant (P < 0.01) relationship offarming experience with training needs of ruralwomen.

Annual income:It was apparent that majority of rural women

(90.5%) were from medium annual income(Rs.6500/- to Rs. 34000/-) and only 9.5 per centfrom high annual income (> Rs. 34000/-). Theirmain occupation is animal husbandry therefore,a part of land is used for fodder growing andremaining for cultivation of other food crops,which obviously results in medium income. It wasfound that annual income had no significantrelationship with the training needs of ruralwomen. This showed that rural women needtraining regardless of their annual income.

Social participation:A perusal of the data (Table 1) revealed that

93.3 per cent of the respondents had membershiponly in one organization, whereas, 5.7 per centwomen were the members of more than oneorganization. Only one respondent was foundholding position in one of the social organization.Lack or low level of social participation might bedue to the prevailing illiteracy and absence of thebasic social organizations in the studied villages.The data (Table 2) clearly indicated that socialparticipation of rural women had non-significantrelationship with their training needs. Irrespectiveof the training need, majority of the women werefound having low social participation. They werehaving membership only in the dairy co-operativemilk union. As a result, no variation was observedamong the women with respect to their socialparticipation.

Mass media exposure:Majority of the rural women either had mass

media exposure (46.7%) or low exposure (45.7%)whereas, only 7.62 per cent rural women had highmass media exposure. The women have to play

the multipurpose role of wife, mother, farmwomen, etc. Their full engagement in the aboveroles could not permit them to listen to the radioor to see the television programme etc. This mightbe the reason for their low exposure. Therelationship between the mass media exposure andtraining needs of rural women was found to bepositive and significant (P < 0.01). The probablereason for this might be that higher mass mediaexposure helps the rural women in getting moreinformation about animal husbandry practices.

Herd size:About 77.1 per cent of the rural women had 3

to 7 milch animals, while 17.1 per cent werepossessing up to 2 milch animals. The herdcomprising of more than seven milch animals waspossessed by a low percent (5.7%). Majority ofthe women selected were found belonging to theparticular communities of Ahir and Kardia. Themain source of livelihood of this community isanimal husbandry and hence majority womenwere found possessing more than 2 animals. Itwas found that the relationship between the herdsize and the training needs was found to be non-significant. Therefore, it can be inferred that sizeof herd of animals had no relationship with thetraining needs.

Milk production:It was evident from the data (Table 1) that there

were only five women (4.8%) getting annual milkproduction up to 3,300 l from their animals. Onthe other hand, the milk obtained by majority(82.9%) of the respondents was medium i.e.3,300-9,600 l/year. Only 12.4 per cent womenwere found getting higher milk production fromtheir animals. Medium milk production by theanimals might be due to the lack of adoption ofrecommended animal husbandry practices by therespondents.

Area under fodder production:The data (Table 1) indicated that a large

population (81.9%) of rural women werecultivating fodder crops for green fodder in anarea of 0.5 to 2.0 ha. and only 11.4 per cent and6.7 per cent rural women cultivated fodder cropsin an area of small size land (0.5 ha.) and largesize land (above 2.0 ha.). Farmers were cultivatingfodder crops only for the purpose of providingthe fodder to their animals. The herd size of the


Table 1: Distribution of the respondents according to theircharacteristics.

Sr. No. Characteristics Number Percentage

1. AgeYoung (up to 30 years) 23 21.9Middle (31-45 years) 63 60.0Old (above 45years) 19 18.1

2. EducationIlliterate 69 65.7Primary education 30 28.6Middle Education 1 0.9High School Education 1 0.9College Education 4 3.8

3. Caste StatusHigher caste 9 8.6Intermediate caste 92 87.6Lower caste 4 3.8

4. Family TypeJoint 32 30.5Nuclear 73 69.5

5. Family SizeSmall (up to 4) 15 14.3Medium(5-8) 60 57.1Large (above 8) 30 28.6

6. Land HoldingLandless 0.00 0.0Marginal (up to 1 ha.) 5 4.8Small (1.01 to 2.0 ha.) 28 26.7Medium (2.01 to 4.0 ha.) 46 43.8Large (above 4 ha.) 26 24.8

7. Dairying experienceLess experience 20 19.0(up to 12 years)Medium experience 67 63.8 (13 to 29 years)High experience(above 29) 18 17.2

8. Annual IncomeMedium Income 95 90.5(Rs. 6,500-34,000/-)High Income 10 9.5(above Rs. 34,000/-)

9. Social ParticipationMembership in one 98 93.3organisationMembership in more 6 5.7than one organizationOffice holder 1 0.9

10. Mass Media ExposureLow exposure (up to 1) 48 45.7Medium (2-5) 49 46.7High (above 5) 8 7.6

11. Herd sizeSmall 18 17.1(up to milch animals )Medium 81 77.1(3-7 milch animals)Large 6 5.7(above 7 milch animals )

12. Annual Milk Production (litres)Low (up to 3300 l.) 5 4.8Medium (3301 to 9600 l.) 87 82.9High (above 9600 l.) 13 12.4

13. Area under fodder cropsSmall (up to 0.5 ha.) 12 11.4Medium (0.51 to 2.0 ha.) 86 81.9Large (above 2.0 ha.) 7 6.7

14. Attitude towards dairy farmingFavourable 11 10.5(more than 28 scores)Neutral (24-28 scores) 83 79.0Unfavourable 11 10.5(less than 24 scores)

majority of respondents was medium therefore,the area under fodder crop was also found to bemedium.

Attitude towards dairy farming:It was evident that majority of rural women

(79.0%) had a neutral attitude towards dairyfarming, while equal number of women (10.5 %)had favourable and unfavourable attitude towardsdairy farming.

Relationship between training needs of ruralwomen with respect to animal husbandrypractices :

The individual variables viz., education, massmedia exposure and area under fodder crop werefound having positive and significant (P < 0.01)relationship with the training needs of rural women,while attitude towards dairy-farming was relatedwith training needs of the rural women at 5 percent level of significance. Age and dairyingexperience were found having negative andsignificant(P < 0.01) relationship with training needsof rural women. The variables viz., caste, familytype, family size, land-holding, annual income,social participation, herd size and milk productionfailed to establish any significant (P < 0.01)relationship with the training needs of rural women.

Sr. No. Characteristics Number Percentage


CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that training needs of rural

women were dependent on their age, education,dairying experience, mass media exposure andarea under fodder crop, attitude towards dairyfarming, while, caste, family type, family size,land-holding, annual income, social participation,herd size, milk production were not significantlyrelated with their training needs. It was evidentfrom the findings that KVK should make trainingprogrammes more effective and should be basedon the felt needs. The training programme whichis not need based have little impact on bringing

Table 2. Relationship between the selected characteristics of the rural women with their training needs.

Sr. No. Name of the independent variable ‘r ‘ value

1 Age -0.6242**2 Education 0.54503 Caste 0.08864 Family type 0.11845 Family size 0.04056 Land holding 0.05747 Dairying experience -0.6303**8 Annual income 0.01599 Social participation -0.090510 Mass media exposure 0.3488**11 Herd size 0.105212 Milk production 0.090613 Area under fodder crops 0.6397**14 Attitude towards dairy farming 0.2289

The value at 0.05 level of significance = 0.1917,The value at 0.01 level significance = 0.2540* significant at 0.05 level of significance, ** significant at 0.01 level of significance

desired change in the clientele system. However,while organizing the training programme, it is alsonecessary that time, venue, duration of trainingand choice of teacher-trainer etc. should be as perthe convenience of the rural women. This will helpin arousing the interest of women to attend suchtraining programme.

REFERENCESSharma P. K., Shekhawat, B. S. and Chaudhary, M. K. (2012).

Knowledge of Dairy Farmers about Improved AnimalHusbandry Practices in Kheda District of Gujarat. J. KrishiVigyan, 1: 49-53.


Reliability Analysis of Medium Range WeatherForecasts in Central Plain Region of Punjab

K. K. Gill and Ritu Babuta

Department of Agricultural MeteorologyPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 141004 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTWeather and climatic information plays a major role before and during the cropping season andif provided in advance can be helpful in inspiring the farmers to organize and activate theirown resources in order to reap the benefits. In India, direct application of computerizedinformation systems to the farmers is not feasible in the present conditions. Therefore, IndiaMeteorological Department (IMD), the only nodal agency in India issues biweekly forecast tothe different centers to prepare agro-advisories for the benefit of farmers. Medium range weatherforecasting of different weather parameters viz., rainfall, temperature and cloud cover duringseven-year period (April 2000 to March 2007) for Ludhiana station were verified and theirreliability and utility were assessed for two years (2004-06) for Ludhiana region. In the farmactivities the accuracy for rainfall is about 80 per cent except during SW monsoon season(69.0%). For rainfall, the ratio score (RS) ranged between 58 to 96 per cent and Hanssen andKuipers (HK) score was 0.12 to 0.54. Per cent mean values of accuracy for rainfall, cloudcover, maximum and minimum temperature were 80.9, 49.8, 54.4 and 47.1, respectively. Theutility of the medium range weather forecast indicated 5 to 7 per cent economic benefit in rice,wheat, mustard and maize in central plain agroclimatic zone of Punjab.

Key Words: Weather Forecast, Rainfall, Cloud Cover, Temperatures

INTRODUCTIONAgriculture is largely weather and climate

sensitive. Weather should be taken as one of theinput in agricultural planning as well as operationsin various facets of agricultural production.Advance information on weather parametersinfluencing crop growth and development is vitalfor remunerative agriculture. Weather cannot bemodified except on limited scales but agriculturaloperations can be planned according to the threeto seven days advance weather forecasts. Advanceintimation on impending weather can gainfullyutilized to advise farmers to take advantage ofthose aspects of weather conditions which arefavourable to their activities as well as to takepreventive actions to minimize the damage toagricultural production which may be causeddirectly or indirectly by adverse weather. Theutility of forecast depends upon their accuracyand applicability at micro level. Medium rangeweather forecasts have made significantcontribution in agriculture (Das and Sindhu,

2001). The ultimate aim of weather forecastingshould be to avoid subjectivity. Medium rangeweather forecast can greatly contribute towardsmaking short term adjustments in dailyagricultural operations which minimize inputlosses resulting from adverse weather conditionsand can markedly improve the yield and qualityof agricultural products. Hence, an attempt wasmade to verify the medium range weather forecastfor central plain agro climatic zone of Punjab. Theagro- meteorological advisory service (AAS) hashelped to develop and apply operational tools forweather related uncertainties through agro-meteorological applications for efficientagriculture in rapidly changing environments(Singh, 2011). Under AAS, district agro-metadvisory bulletins are prepared for the farmers ofthe districts. This contains advisories for all theweather sensitive agricultural operations fromsowing to harvest. These weather based advisoriesare disseminated to the farmers through massmedia dissemination, Internet etc as well as



through district level intermediaries (Anonymous,2007). The information support systems underAAS include:

· Provision of weather, climate, crop/soil andpest disease data to identify biotic and abioticstress for on-farm strategic and tacticaldecisions.

· Translate weather and climatic informationinto farm advisories using existing researchknowledge on making more efficient use ofclimate and soil resources throughapplications of medium range weatherforecast to maximize the benefits of weatherconditions and alleviate the adverse impactsof weather events.

· Develop effective mechanism to on timedissemination of agromet advisories tofarmers.

The use of agro-advisory is to make awarenesson weather forecasting among the farmers andadvise them on day to day farm operations forsustenance of agricultural production. The presentstudy was undertaken to verify the meteorologicalparameters throughout the years and their use inagro-advisory service in central zone of Punjab.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe Punjab state is located between 30 to 32 o

N latitude and 75 to 77 o E longitudes. Theelevation varies from 230 to 300 m above themean sea level. Agroclimatically the state isdelineated in five zones. The geographical locationof study area falls in central plain region of Punjab(30o54’ N Latitude, 75o48’E Longitude and 247m above mean sea level). The annual rainfallranges from 700 to 800 mm. The averagemaximum temperature ranges from 19.0 to 40.0oC and minimum temperature from 5.0 to 25.0oC. It represents the sub-tropical semi-arid climate,with hot summers from April to June, hot andhumid from July to September, cold winters fromDecember to January and mild climate duringOctober-November and February-March. Theperiod from July to September is the monsoonseason and experiences 70 per cent of the totalrainfall of the year. The agroclimatic regionrepresents 35 per cent of total area and 53 percent of the cropped area of the state. The maincrops are wheat, Maize, Rice, cotton and oilseedcrops. In addition, poultry and dairy are important

agricultural enterprises in the region. M e d i u mrange weather forecasts (MRWF) for rainfall, cloudcover, maximum and minimum temperaturereceived from National centre for Medium RangeWeather Forecasting Delhi for 3 days during 2000to 2007 for central region of Punjab were verified.The forecasts were compared with daily-observedweather data from Agrometeorologicalobservatory situated at Punjab AgriculturalUniversity, Ludhiana for the respective days. Thereliability of forecasts of rainfall, temperature andcloud cover was verified by calculating the errorstructure. The verification of weather forecasts wasdone for four season’s viz., hot period (April-June), SW-Monsoon period (July-September),Post –Monsoon period (October-December) andwinter period (January-March). The verificationmethods were used as provided by IMD as wellas suggested by Singh et al., (1999).

The utility of the forecast was assessed byconducting a field survey of the study area. Sixtyfarmers of the region were selected and feedbacktaken from them during every year wassummarized. The economic impact was assessedon the university farm by recording the yield ofthe crops under two situations viz. recommendedpractices and recommended practices based onagro advisory during the years.


RainfallThe accuracy of 3 day forecast for rainfall was

inconsistent within and between the six years from2000 to 2007. The rainfall usability varied from43 to 100 per cent over different years and periods.The SW monsoon period, which is the mainrainfall season, recorded low percentage ofusability 51 to 90, whereas in other seasons ittouches 100 percent level. The October toDecember, January to March and April to Juneshowed usability between 80 to 97 per cent, 77 to95 per cent and 65 to 85 per cent, respectively.The mean values were about 86 per cent in all theperiod except SW monsoon period, whichregistered the lowest accuracy of 78 per cent. Thehigher values are indicative of higher reliabilityof forecast. The ratio score values during SWmonsoon period varied between 51 to 92 per centover different years (Table 1). The ratio score wasmore than 65 per cent in all periods except SW


Monsoon period. Similar observations have beenreported by Singh et. al. (1999) for Delhi andPantnagar agro-climatic regions. The HK scorevaried from 0.0 to 0.54 during different seasonsover the years (Table 1). The mean HK score washigher in October to December (0.25) and Januaryto March (0.35) compared to other periods.

Cloud cover:Over the years, the accuracy of cloud cover

during SW monsoon varied between 66 to 81 percent, which was nearly lowest (66per cent) amongdifferent periods. The October to December periodshowed variation from 64 to 94 per cent with meanvalue of 85.16 per cent, April to June periodvarying from 69 to 87 per cent with mean valueof 76.17 per cent and January to March periodvarying from 68 to 83 per cent with mean valueof 77 per cent. Similar findings of cloud coververification were reported from arid and semiaridregion of Hisar (Singh et al 1997).

Temperature:The accuracy of maximum temperature during

the period from October to December varied

between 66 to 98 per cent, which was highest withmean of 84.17 per cent among different seasonsfollowed by April to June varying between 58 to79 per cent with mean value of 73 per cent, Jan.-Mar. period varying from 69-90per cent with meanvalue of 78per cent and SW monsoon periodvarying from 63 to 92 per cent with mean valueof 80.33 per cent. The accuracy of minimumtemperature was low in all the years and periods.The accuracy during October to December periodvaried between 61 to 95 per cent, with mean of77.83 per cent followed by January to Marchvarying between 55 to 91 per cent with mean valueof 71per cent, SW monsoon period varying from66 to 90 per cent with mean value of 77.83 percent and April to June varying from 53 to 94 percent with mean value of 64.33 per cent.

Utility of forecast for farming community:The farm survey conducted during each year

revealed that the utility of the medium rangeweather forecasting for undertaking all farmactivities was encouraging. Seventy five per centfarmers of the region rated the usefulness offorecast between good to excellent (Table 2).About 95 per cent farmers believed that the utilityof MRWF was beneficial for sowing as well

Table 1. Forecast verification for rainfall.

Month 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007

April – June 65.7 83.7 72.7 77.5 85.5 73.5 84.2July-September 89.9 51.4 71.4 77.0 57.9 77.2 75.6October –December 80.0 96.3 91.2 90.6 92.1 92.7 97.8January-March 77.6 88.5 82.6 90.1 88.3 89.1 95.6April –June 0.19 0.09 0.31 0.12 0.24 0.12 0.33July-Sept. 0.21 0.04 0.24 0.33 0.16 0.26 0.27Oct.-Dec. 0.44 0.32 0.36 0.25 0.16 0.27 0.45Jan.-Mar. 0.12 0.25 0.39 0.54 0.40 0.38 0.51

Table 2. Utility of medium range weather forecasts for farmers.

Utility in specific farm practice:

Sr No. Farm Operation Mean of 2004-2007 (Per cent)

1. Sowing/Transplanting time and harvesting information 952. Fertilizer and manures time application information 923. Weed control time information 954. Pests and disease information 95

Overall Utility:

Rating Percentage

1. Excellent 50.52. Very Good 10.43. Good 30.64. Satisfactory 26.9


transplanting time, pest and disease information,fertilizer and irrigation application, weed controlinformation and harvesting schedule ofagricultural crops. Such findings were alsoreported by Patel et al., (1998) who observed that81per cent farmers rated the usefulness of agro-advisory bulletins good to excellent. The economicimpact evaluation on university farm by assessingthe yield during April 2000 to March 2001,indicated 8 to 14 per cent higher profit due to agroadvisories in rice, wheat and maize in the agroclimatic region (Table 3).

The present study showed a fair degree ofauthenticity of rainfall, cloud cover andtemperatures in all the seasons except SWmonsoon. Further fine tuning of the model forecastcan increase accuracy and prove more beneficialin reducing crop losses and cost of cultivation indifferent crops.

CONCLUSIONThe present study showed a fair degree of

authenticity of rainfall, cloud cover andtemperatures in all the seasons except SWmonsoon. Further fine tuning of the model forecastcan increase accuracy and prove more beneficialin reducing crop losses and cost of cultivation in

Table 3. Economic impacts of agro advisory.

Crop Grain and straw yield/ha Increase in Rupees Percentage increase(Mean of 2003-04, 2004-05)q/ha due to AAS in net returns of crops

(Mean Value) due to AAS (Mean Value)

Recommended Recommended practices practices based

on AAS

Grain Straw Grain StrawYield Yield Yield Yield

Rice 13.5 23.0 14.2 22.0 1250 10.5Wheat 18.7 16.4 19.2 15.5 1611 12.3

different crops. In the current climate changescenario, it is very important to sustain theagriculture by improving the socio economic statusof the farmers.

REFERENCESAnonymous.( 2007). Background paper for 16th Annual Review

Meeting of National Centre for Medium Range WeatherForecasting, New Delhi. In: Status of economic impact. pp 1-3.

Das, D. K. and Sindhu, J.( 2001). Importance of weather forecastingin agriculture : Fertilizer News., 46 (12):89-102

Patel, H. R. , Sheikh, A. M. and Venkatesh, H. (1998) . Status ofpresent day weather forecasting to farmers: A case study ofmiddle Gujarat region . Annals of Agric. Res., 19(3): 285-289

Singh, S. V. , Rathore, L. S. and Trivedi, H. K. N .( 1999).Verification of medium range weather forecasts ,(In) Guidefor Agrometeorological advisory services pp 73-81.(Eds)National Centre for Medium *Range WeatherForecasting, Department of Science and Technology,Government of India.

Singh, S. , Bisnoi, O. P. and Ram Niwas. (1997). Proceedings ofinternational conference on ecological Agriculture towardssustainable development . Chandigarh . India 15-17 November, 1997 pp 347-53

Singh, K. K. (2011). Weather forecasting and agromet advisoryservices in India. Indian Meteorological Department, Ministryof Earth Sciences, Mausam Bhavan, New Delhi 22:240-243.


Preparation and Nutritional Evaluation of Cheese-Whey and Soya-Whey Based Fruit Beverages

Sangita Sood , Sonia Minhas and Suruchi Katoch

Department of Food Science and NutritionCSKHP Agricultural University, Palampur -176062 ( Himachal Pradesh)

ABSTRACTWhey contains 40 per cent of milk solids including lactose, minerals, water-soluble vitaminsand 20 per cent of milk proteins with high biological value. In the present study, cheese- wheyand soya -whey was blended with 50 per cent pulp of Jamun fruit for the development ofsquash as per FPO specifications. The values for TSS, pH and acidity were found to be 46.43and 45.40 degree Brix; 4.35 and 4.30 and 1.19 and 1.17 per cent in cheese -whey and soya-whey blended with Jamun pulp, respectively whereas, ascorbic acid content was found to be11.52 and 10.41 mg/100 g. The values for total sugars, reducing-sugars and non-reducingsugars were calculated as 39.94, 36.57; 20.21, 20.48 and 19.72, 16.09 per cent respectively incheese-whey and soya-whey based Jamun squash. Organoleptically soya-whey based squashobtained maximum scores (7.78) for over-all acceptability as compared to cheese-whey based(7.30) Jamun squash. During storage, acidity, reducing sugars and total sugars increased andpH, TSS and ascorbic acid decreased but both the products remained acceptable up to 3 monthsof storage at ambient temperature.

Key-words -Cheese-whey , Soya-whey, Fruit pulp, Fruit beverages, Nutritional constituents

INTRODUCTIONA number of dairy products are entering the

market. During the manufacturing process of theseproducts, a large quantity of whey is produced.Whey contains about 40 per cent of the milk solidswhich include lactose, minerals, water-solublevitamins and about 20 per cent of milk proteinswith high biological value. These whey solids arenot utilized profitably and a huge quantity of wheyis drained out globally, which poses a seriousthreat to environmental safety because of its highBiological Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 35,000 to50,000 ppm.

A large population of India falls in theconsumers’ list of cold drinks, especially duringthe summer season. Amongst the various typesof cold drinks, fruit beverages have an importantplace because of the sensory and nutritional value.In fact, these could be particularly useful in placeswhere there is lack of food and improper nutritionleading to deficiencies of certain nutrients.

Jamun fruit is known for acid and astringenttaste and useful for curing diarrhoea and diabetes.It has also high antioxidant properties and is asource of riboflavin and ascorbic acid. Keeping

in view the therapeutic as well as medicinalproperties of whey with Jamun. Both thesebeverages were evaluated for chemicalparameters, nutritional as well as organolepticparameters.

MATERIALS AND METHODSPreparation of cheese-whey

To prepare cheese-whey, milk wasprocured from the Department of Livestock Farm,COVAS, CSKHPKV, Palampur and curdled themilk by adding citric acid @ 0.5 g/ 100 ml ofmilk (previously standardized). Whey from cow’smilk was prepared by method as given below:

Cow milk↓

Boiled (100oC)↓

Added citric acid @ 0.5. g/100 ml↓

Allowed to coagulate↓

Filtered↓

Collected wheyCorresponding author email: [email protected]


Preparation of soybean-wheySoybean seeds were procured from the Seed

Production Unit of the Department of PlantBreeding and Genetics College of Agriculture,CSKHPKV Palampur. Soymilk was prepared,curdled by adding magnesium sulphate @ 0.5 gmagnesium sulphate in 100 ml milk to obtain soy-whey. For obtaining quality whey, different typesof coagulants were tried at different levels. Butcitric acid and magnesium sulphate @ 0.5 g/100ml gave the optimum results. Steps for preparationfor soya-whey are given below:

Soyabean seeds (cleaned and washed)↓

Soaked overnight↓

Boiled for 10 minutes in an open vessel↓

Grinding (by adding hot water)↓

Magnesium sulphate is added @ 0.5 g/100 ml↓

Filter↓

Collected whey

Preparation of Jamun pulp

Matured jamun fruit↓

Boiled (for 2 minutes)↓

Mashed↓

Remove seeds↓

Pulping↓

Stored in bottles

Preparation of BeveragesFruit juice beverages are becoming popular

due to their pleasing flavour and nutritionalcharacteristics. Squashes were standardized byusing various permutation and combinations ofbasic raw ingredients viz. whey, sugar, citric acidand pulp. Cheese whey and soya-whey basedsquash were prepared as per FPO specification(Juice 50%, TSS-40-50o Brix). The sugar (40-60g) and citric acid (2 g) were dissolved in whey(50 ml) and was filtered through muslin cloth to

skim-off dirt. The fruit juice (50 ml) was mixedwith whey, sugar and citric acid. The content washeated to 80oC and filled in sterilized glass bottlesleaving 1 inch head space and capped air tight.The squash was stored for 3 months at roomtemperature.

The TSS were recorded using refractometerand the acidity was determined by titrating againststandard NaOH solution using phenolphthalein asan indicator and expressed as anhydrous citricacid, pH was determined with the help of a pHmeter. Ascorbic acid was determined by titratingit against 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol dye(Ranganna 1995). The reducing and total sugarswere determined by the method as described byRanganna (1995). The organoleptic characteristicswere determined by 10 semi trained judges using10 point Hedonic scale (Gould, 1978).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Effect of storage on chemical and nutritionalconstituents:

The data (Table 1) showed a gradual increasein acidity content and a low reduction in pH, TSSand ascorbic acid values of the Jamun squashbased on both cheese-whey and soya-whey duringstorage. Initial pH value 4.35 for cheese-wheybased Jamun squash was decreased to 4.30whereas pH 4.30 of soya-whey based Jamunsquash decreased to 4.26 during storage periodof 90 days. These results were in agreement withthose of Singh and Nath (2004) who reported thatthe pH of the squash decreased with the storagebecause of decrease in acidity. TSS in cheese-whey based Jamun squash was 46.43o Brix whichwas reduced to 45.4 o Brix but in case of soya-whey it decreased from 45.40 to 43.63o Brix. TSSin cheese-whey was found to be maximum whichmight be due to solubilisation of pulp constituentsduring storage because of presence of acids(ascorbic acid and citric acid).

The acidity in cheese-whey based Jamunsquash was increased from 1.19 to 1.38 and insoya-whey based squash it increased from 1.17to 1.32 during storage. This increase was probablydue to the conversion of lactose to lactic acid andformation of organic acids from ascorbic acid,conversion of SO

2 to sulphurous acid and

breakdown of pectin to pectic acid. Ascorbic acidin cheese-whey based squash was decreased from


Table 1. Effect of storage intervals on chemical parameters of Jamun squash

Treatments Parameters 0day 30days 60days 90days Mean

Cheese whey pH 4.35 4.33 4.32 4.30 4.32Soy whey 4.30 4.28 4.27 4.26 4.27Cheese whey TSS 46.43 46.20 45.93 45.40 45.99Soy whey (0Brix) 45.40 44.97 43.93 43.63 44.48Cheese whey Acidity 1.19 1.25 1.32 1.38 1.29Soy whey (%) 1.17 1.23 1.28 1.32 1.25Cheese whey Ascorbic acid 11.52 11.33 11.24 11.02 11.28Soy whey (mg/100g) 10.41 10.34 10.26 9.98 10.25

CD at 5% pH TSS Acidity Ascorbic acid

A 0.44 0.16 0.18 0.30B 0.62 0.22 0.25 0.42

AXB 0.88 0.32 0.35 0.60

Table 2. Effect of storage intervals on nutritional parameters of Jamun squash


Cheese whey Total sugars(%) 39.94 40.25 40.79 42.78 40.94Soy whey 36.57 36.92 37.10 38.26 37.21Cheese whey Reducing sugars(%) 20.21 22.00 23.78 25.27 22.81Soy whey 20.48 22.96 23.09 24.82 22.83Cheese whey Non-reducing sugars(%) 19.72 18.25 17.01 17.51 18.12Soy whey 16.09 13.96 14.01 13.44 14.37


A 0.12 0.13 0.83B 0.17 0.19 0.11

AXB 0.24 0.27 0.16

Table 3 Effect of storage intervals on organoleptic scores of Jamun squash


Cheese whey Colour 7.20 7.18 7.16 7.15 7.17Soy whey 7.87 7.85 7.83 7.80 7.83Cheese whey Taste 7.17 7.13 7.10 7.08 7.12Soy whey 7.97 7.53 7.43 7.30 7.55Cheese-whey Consistency 7.53 7.42 7.37 7.30 7.40Soy-whey 7.50 7.47 7.43 7.37 7.44Cheese-whey Overall acceptability 7.30 7.24 7.21 7.17 7.23Soy-whey 7.78 7.61 7.56 7.49 7.61


A 0.19 0.30 0.19 0.22B 0.27 0.42 0.28 0.32

AXB 0.38 0.60 0.39 0.45


11.52 mg to 11.02 mg while for soya-whey squashit decreased from 10.41 mg to 9.98 mg/100 g.Ascorbic acid of the squashes followed asignificant decreasing trend with increase instorage time. The ascorbic acid decreased duringstorage due to the unstable nature of the ascorbicacid by the action of heat, air and light orconversion to dehydro-ascorbic acid by itsparticipation in browning. Increasing instabilitywith increase in enzymatic and non-enzymaticoxidations might have resulted in gradual butsignificant decrease in ascorbic acid content.Similar results were explained by Sood (2000)during storage of intermediate moisture foodsunder different modes of packaging.

The data on the total sugars of squashes clearlydepicted that the sugars of squashes increasedcontinuously with increase in storage conditions.The initial total sugars in case of jamun squashwas 39.94 and increased to 42.78 and in case ofsoya- whey 36.57 to 38.26 (Table 2). Singh andNath (2004) and Krishnaveni et al., (2001) alsoreported an increase in total sugars during storage.This increase might be due to the breakdown ofpolysaccharides like pectin and starch to thesimple sugars. The initial reducing sugar contentof the jamun squash was 20.11 which changed to25.27 in cheese whey, whereas in soy whey 20.48to 24.82 after 90 days of storage. This increasein reducing sugars was due to the hydrolysis ofnon-reducing sugars into reducing sugars duringstorage. Similar observations were reported bySethi (1992) for lime ginger cocktail andKrisnaveni et al., (2001) for jackfruit squash.

The non-reducing sugars increased from 19.72to 17.51 in cheese- whey and 16.09 to 13.44 incase of soya -whey. The whey based jamun squashwas evaluated at regular intervals (30 days) forthe various quality attributes such as colour,flavour, taste and overall acceptability. In Jamunsquash, colour decreases from 7.20 to 7.15 in

cheese-whey and in case of soya-whey 7.87 to7.80. The taste score in case of jamun squash incheese -whey was also decreased from 7.30 to7.17 and in soya-whey from7.78 to 7.49. Thesefindings were in agreement with Sarvana andManinegalai (2005). In case of jamun squash,consistency decreased from 7.53 to 7.30 incheese-whey but in case of soya-whey from 7.50to 7.37. Hassan and Ahmed (1998) also reporteda similar trend for consistency values.

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that nutritious whey based

fruit beverages offer an attractive alternative fordisposal of whey. oth cheese and soybean basedwhey can be used to make acceptable qualitybeverages with Jamun fruit. Soybean based wheyoffer more scope due to better organoleptic score.Such beverages can be safely stored for threemonths at room temperature.

REFERENCESGould, W.A. (1978). Food quality assurance. The AVI Publishing

Company Inc. Westport, Connecticut.

Hassan, M. and Ahmed, J. (1998). Physico-chemical and sensorycharacteristics of mango- milk beverage. Indian Food Packer,52 (2): 32-37.

Krishnaveni, A., Manimegalai, G. and Saravanakumar, R. (2001).Storage stability of jack fruit RTS beverage. J. Food Sci.Tech., 38: 601-602.

Ranganna, S. (1995). Handbook of analysis and quality controlfor fruit and vegetable products. 3rd Edition

Sarvana Kumar R and Manimegalai G (2005). Studies on storagestabilish of whey based papaya juice blended RTS beverage.J. Food Sci. Tech., 42(2): 185-188.

Sethi, V. (1992). Preparation and storage study of lime-gingercocktail at room and low temperature. Bev. Food World, 19(12): 51-52.

Singh, N. and Nath, N. (2004). Development of bael fruit beveragewith whey protein. J. Food Sci. Tech., 42(2): 157-161.

Sood, S. (2000). Development of intermediate moisture foodswith intent to enhance shelf life and nutrient bio-availability.CSK HPKV., Himachal Pradesh, Ph.D. Thesis.


Technology Transfer Modules of Punjab AgriculturalUniversity used for Agricultural Development in

PunjabM. S. Gill, Manoj Sharma* and Gagandeep Kaur*

Directorate of Extension EducationPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 004 (Punjab)

ABSTRACTSince the foundation of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), practical extension work inagriculture has been undertaken besides education and research at university. Remarkablefeatures of PAU extension system are direct assessment of farmers’ needs, need-oriented research,quality training for state personnel, and a strong linkage between academic education and fieldpractice. It has its own multidisciplinary extension team in each district in FASS and KVKs,who are engaged in adaptive research, on farm research, training, and consultancy. Theseextension workers are working like transmitters and receivers of experiences from researchers,farmers, and state extension workers. Regular workshops are held which unite university anddepartment staff from research and extension together with outstanding farmers. Strength ofPAU extension system is its literature where apart from regular monthly magazine, all the latestresearch findings are published as a “Package of Practices” for all the crops recommended forthe zone in local language every year before the commencement of cropping season. Consideringperson-to-person communication has traditionally been the most important form of informationtransfer. Thus PAU has registered many commodity based clubs and training youth in largenumbers, for the formidable task of disseminating useful and practical information from theresearch base to the rural farm families. Similarly the latest modes of communication are beingexploited by providing advisory through SMS on phone and emails. Such experiences havebeen documented in this paper.

Key words : Technology transfer, Package of Practices, KVK, FASS, Kisan Clubs.

INTRODUCTIONAgriculture has two ways to increase its

production, expanding the land area undercultivation and improving the yields on cultivatedland. In early 60s, Punjab state became a harbingerof green revolution by adoption of high yieldingvarieties of wheat and rice. As a result theproductivity increased discernibly. Better inputscoupled with development of irrigation facilities,farm mechanization, infrastructure developmentand policies implemented in state acted as catalystin revolutionizing the state agriculture. Alongside,the agricultural technology development andtransfer by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)had been driving force for this development.

As an outcome of this revolution, the Punjabwhich represents only 1.5 per cent geographical

area of country is contributing 30-40 per cent riceand 40-50 per cent wheat to the central food grainpool. At the country level, it is producing 22 percent wheat, 11per cent rice, 10 per cent cotton,37 per cent honey and 40 per cent mushroomclearly enumerating the extensive agriculturalgrowth. The cropping intensity and irrigated areais 189 per cent and 98 per cent, respectively. Rice-wheat is the major cropping system occupyingabout 60 per cent of the cultivated area andproducing on an average yield of 6.0 t/ha paddyand 5.1 t/ha of wheat.

Mode of Technology Dissemination FollowedThe following activities were identified and

implemented for efficient and effective transferof agricultural technologies to farmers for the rapiddevelopment of agriculture in Punjab state.

* Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kapurthala (Punjab)Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]


Establishment of Farm Advisory ServiceScheme

Apart from development of agriculturaltechnology, PAU has played a significant role inthe dissemination of the technologies through theFarm Advisory Service Scheme (FASS) at eachdistrict head quarter . The main objective of thescheme was to acquaint the farmers about the newtechnologies by organizing training camps,farmers’ group discussion, imparting technicalknow-how to the farmers by organizing thefrontline demonstrations, field days, campaigns,exhibitions and to refine and assess thetechnologies at the cultivators’ fields in the formof adaptive research trials. The multi-disciplinaryteams of subject matter specialists at each FASSprovided the technical support to the StateDevelopment Departments as resource persons intheir training programmes.

Kisan MelaPAU is the pioneer Institute in the country

which started Kisan Melas (Farmer Fairs). The firstKisan Mela was organized at PAU campus,Ludhiana during 1967. After observing theoverwhelming response of the farmers, a regionalKisan Mela was started at Regional ResearchStation (RRS), Gurdaspur in 1975. Later on, morenumber of regional kisan melas were startedkeeping in view the success achieved duringearlier years e.g. at Regional Research Station(RRS), Ballowal Saunkhri (1983), RRS, Bathinda(1985) and KVK, Patiala (1995). Recently, twomore Kisan Melas have been started, one at RRS,Faridkot (2011) and another at KVK, Amritsar(2012). These kisan melas are organized twice ayear during the months of March and September.Thus, a total of 14 Kisan Melas are conducted formaximum outreach and benefit of the farmers. Thekisan Mela at PAU is of two days whereas theregional melas are of one day. The demonstrationplots of the crops, vegetables, fruits, farm powerand machinery, improved methods of irrigationare shown on mela route along with the exhibitionof latest technology generated in the differentdisciplines of agriculture. An impressive agro-exhibition stall is arranged comprising ofmachinery, tube well pumps, pesticides, fertilizers,kitchen garden appliances, Krishi Vigyan Kendras(KVKs) activities, self-help groups, banking

services, health services, legal services whichattract the farmers in large number. In addition tothe exhibition there is sale of quality seed, saplings,bio-fertilizers, literature in these malas. Theattractive feature of the mela is question-answersession for the queries of the visiting farmersbesides special technical sessions where allexperts from the university pass on informationregarding the improved agro-technologies to thefarmers. It is worth to mention that these fairsacquaint and equip participating farmers andfarmwomen with latest farm innovations, technicalknow-how of scientific farming and need-basedagricultural-technologies. Over the years theseKisan Melas have become platform for‘knowledge sharing’ where not only farmers gainnew knowledge from scientists, but scientists alsoget valuable feedback from farmers.

Farmers’ committees and clubsIt was well understood by the scientists of PAU

that linking the farmers to the process oftechnology development by taking their feedbackis vital for transfer and adoption of thesetechnologies. Thus various committees/ farmers’clubs/associations involving progressive farmersof the state have been formulated and registeredand are now functioning well.

Kisan Club:PAU Kisan club which was registered during

1966, now has more than 3000 members fromthe entire State. An annual function is organizedat PAU, Ludhiana and the innovative farmers arehonored for their excellence in different fields.

Farmers’ committee:PAU farmers’ committee was started in 1970

whereas PAU fruits and vegetables growersassociation came into existence during 1989.These committees registered by PAU haveorganized structure and meet at scheduled time.To make their meetings effective and morefruitful, the Director of Extension Education, PAUpresides over such meetings.

The members of these committees meet oncein a year. The member-farmers help a lot todisseminate the knowledge in the rural masses.They also provide the feedback about the successof recommended technologies, their shortcomingsif noticed for further improvement.


Agricultural Equipment Manufacturers’Committee:

This committee started functioning in 1995and meets once in every month. All the issuesrelating to the development and promotion ofnewly evolved machinery are discussed at length.These meetings serve as both “bottom up” and“top down” platform where the entrepreneurs/manufacturers take cue and guidance fromuniversity leadership and fellow farmers. Thusthey have been able to develop machinery specificto farming situation and as a result, Ludhiana hasbecome a hub of agricultural machinery cateringto entire country.

Punjab Naujwan Kisan Sansthas:Mobilizing youth for agricultural and overall

community development is another phenomenonadopted by PAU for under which the PunjabNaujwan Kisan Sansthas have been establishedat each district head quarter. The ultimate aim ofthese organizations is to develop robustrelationship between university and youth. Theproper legislation of such clubs and associationshas assured facilities and assistance to youth sothat they can catalyze agriculture development.

Bee- Keepers’ Association :Commodity based farmer associations are

platform where the farmers share knowledge onuse of appropriate and affordable technologies forincreasing their production. In this series, PAU setup a bee- keepers’ association in 1991 with theaim of furthering the craft of bee-keeping and toadvance education in field of bee-keeping. ThePunjab state has made mark in honey productiondue to concerted efforts of university and KVKsin rendering training in bee-keeping. At present,there is 33,000 bee-keepers in the State andproduce about 14,000 tonnes of honey which is37 per cent of the total honey produced in thecountry.

Tree Grower Association:The tree grower association came in existence

during 2007. The farmers who grow timber treeseither in blocks or as agro-forestry are the memberof this association. Their meeting is organizedonce in three months. Various issues relating toforest trees are discussed in detail. The PAU

experts apprise them about the latestdevelopments in production and protectiontechnologies of timber trees.

Seed and Nursery Producers’ Association:The quality seed are in short supply and the

PAU has taken an initiative to form the seed andnursery producers’ association in 2011. TheUniversity shall supply the foundation seed tothem for producing certified seed. The responseof the fellow members is highly encouraging.

These associations work hand in glove withextension officers helping in establishment ofstrong working relation between farmers anduniversity and make the delivery of services torural people more channelized.

Training ProgrammeThe effective technology transfer cannot be

separated from human resource development andempowerment of farmer community is cornerstone of the extension approach of university.Thus over the years university has paid attentionto training component. Trainings were earlierconducted at PAU campus alone but now thetransfer of skill to grass root level is carried outby KVKs. There are 20 Krishi Vigyan Kendras(KVKs) in Punjab state imparting trainings,conducting frontline demonstrations and on-farmresearch trials. These KVKs also organizecampaigns, exhibitions, field days and celebratetechnology week and special days on differentoccasions.

Since the inception of first KVK in 1982 atGurdaspur, the KVKs have come long way incapacity building of farmers. The short termtrainings provide improvement of knowledge andskill which helps the farmers to execute farmoperations effectively while the vocationaltrainings aim at teaching new skills, knowledgeand attitude in context of entry into new vocation.The vocational trainings are given to the farmers/farm women in different agri-based enterprises(dairy, poultry, piggery, fishery, bee-keeping,rabbitry, hybrid seed production, mushroom,kitchen gardening, tie-dye, preparation of pickle,jam, chattni, tomato ketchup, sevian, warrian,baking, sprouting, cooking of normal andtherapeutic diet, fruit and vegetable preservation,


infant feeding, recycling of old cloth, paper &kitchen wastes, stitching and embroidery, nutritionand home decoration).

At PAU, the refresher and advance trainingcourses are organized in the field of precisionfarming, protected cultivation, improved methodsof irrigation, queen rearing in bee-keeping, spawnproduction for mushroom, integrated farmingsystem, organic farming, agro-forestry, cultivationof aromatic and medicinal plants, agro-processing,crop residue management, soil and water testing,conservation agriculture, fruit and vegetableprocessing, value addition, marketingintelligence, custom-hiring systems forcooperative societies, post harvest managementfor the quality control etc.

As networking is the key in developing agri-entrepreneurship, the university encourages andfacilitates the interaction with the officials fromline departments, licensing officers, creditproviders by inviting them as experts in thesetrainings.

Frontline DemonstrationThe frontline demonstrations (FLDs) are

conducted by KVKs based on principle that“seeing is believing” with the purpose of creationof local proof of both the applicability andprofitability of the recommended technology. Thisis done with the cooperation and participation ofthe farmers and under the personal guidance ofthe scientists and extension personnel. Each KVKconducts around 100 demonstrations to promoteoilseeds, pulses, cotton, vegetables, integrated pestmanagement, integrated nutrient managementconcepts etc. The target audience of frontlinedemonstrations is both farmers and the extensionofficers. The purpose is to convince extensionfunctionaries and farmers together about thepotentialities of technologies for further wide scalediffusion and FLDs are used as a source ofgenerating data on factors contributing higher cropyields and constraints of production under variousfarming situations.

The FLDs not only help to get first handfeedback on the contributory or limiting factorsfor achieving the productive potential of the newtechnology but also prepares technical leadershipin the village as the training of farmers associatedwith FLDs is pre-requisite of this programme.

Field DayThe field days are conducted at the

demonstration plots during the different growingstages of the crop and farmers are acquaintedabout the technology demonstrated and discussionis made at the site. During technical sessions, theexperts deliver the lectures about the improvedtechnologies and reply to the queries of thefarmers. Similarly, progressive farmer who isconducting FLD share his experience about thetechnology used under the FLD as wells as at hisown level and gave his free and frank commentsto the other fellow farmers as well as to theextension workers of line departments. The fielddays and farmers’ group discussions are organizedat FLDs sites to show the worth of the technologyto the farmers.

On-Farm Trial (OFT) and Adaptive ResearchTrial (ART)

Linking the technology development process/research to extension and farmer has the potentialsto promote agricultural production, and adoptionof agricultural technologies. This concept hasbeen well taken care of in technology transfermodules of PAU through OFTs and ARTs.

On-farm trials are conducted by the KVKs, tosolve the location specific problems. This kind ofresearch in real field conditions helps farmers todecide that what would work best for their fields.Each Subject Matter Specialist conducts two on-farm research trials in each season. These trialshelp to solve the problems being noticed at thecultivators’ field. On the basis of the results, thefeedback is given in the research system for furtherimprovement, if need be.

Similarly there is another testing tool used byuniversity for testing its new technology which isthrough adaptive research trials (ARTs). Despitethree year of testing at university, prior to bringingrecommendation of technology in the state,university conducts one year trial (ARTs) at farmerfields. The objective of an adaptive trial is topredict how different varieties/managementoptions will perform compared to each otherunder different environment and cropping system.This process of testing and using the informationgained in a cooperative, systematic manner hasbeen highly successful in providing viabletechnological options for state farmers.


Farmers’ Service centrePAU is the pioneer Institute which conceived

the idea of providing all services to the farmers atsingle window and that too at the entrance of theUniversity. With this in mind, the plant healthclinic was established during 1993 at one of theentrances of the university where the multi-disciplinary team of experts provides diagnosticand advisory service to the farmers. Flashmessage/press release about the out - breaks ofpests and diseases are given as an alert signal tothe farmers. The blow-up depicting informationabout the insect-pests and diseases of differentcrops, vegetables, fruits, disorders on account ofexcessive use of chemicals, micro-nutrientdeficiency, new weed biotypes emerging overtime, new farm mechanization aspects alsodisplayed so that the visiting farmers is able torelate it to the problems at his farm. Furthermore,the disease or insect samples are preserved toeducate the visitors about various problems.

Additionally, the availability of improvedseed, sapling, vegetable nursery, rhizobiumculture, leaf colour chart, tensiometer, mushroomspawn, water testing kit, farm literature has beenensured under a single roof. The visiting farmersneed not to visit the different departments forgetting the reply of the problem. On the basis ofthe queries/plant sample diagnosed at Plant healthclinic enable to give need based feed back to theresearch scientists to find out the solution. Thefinal year B.Sc. Agriculture students are givenpractical training at Plant health clinic. Thestudents interact with the farmers and getknowledge about the field problems.

Keeping in view the utility of this concept,this service has been started at the Krishi VigyanKendras with the same objective. The KVKs havebeen lased with all kind of basic infrastructurerequired for identifying the problems of visitingfarmers and providing instant solutions.

Farm LiteratureThe production and distribution of printed

material helps farmers in the transfer of newinformation and technologies at a faster rate thanpersonal contacts. Printing helps in preserving thetechnologies in the shape of books/booklets,magazines, newspapers and brochures. Accordingto a many studies conducted, majority of the

farmers consulted pamphlets, magazines, andnewspapers for getting the information regardingcrop production technologies. Farm publicationshave proved to be effective means fordissemination of information, especially tointroduce new technologies.

Package of Practices For Kharif And RabiCrops

PAU has fully explored this tool of technologydissemination and wide array of literature isprinted by it. The farm literature in the form ofpackage of practices for kharif and rabi crops,vegetables and fruits are published regularly.These include the entire package from sowing toharvesting covering all aspects of production,protection, improved cultivars, farmmechanization, high density planting and postharvest management. These also include theinformation on integrated nutrient and pestmanagement, organic farming, use of poor qualitywater, rat control and complete package about bee-keeping, spraying techniques etc. In addition,the farm literature of field problems, individualagri-based enterprise bulletin/ pamphlets onprotected cultivations, C.Ds of agri-basedenterprise have also been developed. The farmersare showing keen interest towards farm literature.During 2002-03, the total sale was of Rs.46.1lakhs which doubled in 2010 (Rs. 98.5 lakhs) andthree time in 2011-12 (Rs. 138.4 lakhs) whichclearly indicates the increase in sale asserting thefaith of Punjab farmers towards the findings ofPAU in documented form.

Changi kheti and Progressive farming:Monthly magazines namely Changi kheti and

Progressive farming are published regularly. Thetotal circulation of these magazines is more thanone lakh. It bears the latest knowledge for adoptionto the farmers. Apart from improved technologies,the articles on the new emerging issues inagriculture like appearance of new bio-types,resistance in pests, decline in biodiversity, climatechange, disappearance of farmer friendly birds/small animals, decline in water table, appearanceof multi-nutrient deficiency are duly publishedalong with their possible remedial measures forthe benefit of the farmers. Another remarkablefeature of these monthly magazines is calendarof farm operations for the current month and


training schedule of 20 KVKs and PAU. For theeasy outreach to the farmers, farm literature isavailable at the office of all FASS and KVKs.

Mobile Diagnostic and Exhibition VanThe Directorate of Extension Education has

taken new initiatives such as Mobile Diagnosticand exhibition van fully equipped with theliterature, blow-ups and audio-visual aids. Theinformation about the new innovations, subsidiaryoccupations, techniques to reduce the cost ofproduction, crop diversification, conservation ofnatural resources, secondary agriculture etc. isshown through videos to the farmers and theexperts accompanying the van attending queriesraised by the farmers on the spot.

PAU DootsTo improve technology transfer and gather

farmers’ feedback, PAU has started an innovativeway of deputing volunteer ‘PAU Doots’(agricultural ambassadors) in Punjab villages,which use internet for this purpose and act asbridge between farmers and experts. PAU dootare supplied technical know-how, informationabout new varieties, production and protectiontechnology, steps to counteract the climate changeon their e-mail which they convey in their

respective villages through announcements ormeetings and also bring back feedback. Anyfarmer query conveyed to experts through PAUDoots is replied back within 24 hours. So far6000 doots have been deputed and others arebeing identified. Similarly 8500 farmers havebeen registered at 17 KVKs and Kisan MobileAdvisory Service is being provided to them.

CONCLUSIONThe technology transfer approaches described

above have achieved remarkable results in termsof improvement in agriculture and impact onlivelihood. Common requirement for success ofthese approaches is continued communitydevelopment at grass root level. The PAU isconstantly tuning its technology transfer modulesin context of more participatory, consumer-led andmarket oriented reforms. As mentioned inbeginning of the paper that there are two ways toincrease the agriculture production; increasingarea and/or productivity but as both are reachingstagnation, so PAU is now looking at a third way,i.e. shifting the product composition to highervalue product through crop diversification.Through the effective technology transfer toolsUniversity will be able to replicate its first greenrevolution success on this front.


Using fruit plants as ornamentals: An innovativepractice for beautification and monetary benefits

T. Mubarak

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, (Sher-e-Kashmir, University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology)Kashmir - 192 233 (Jammu andKashmir)

ABSTRACTApple is the major fruit crop of temperate Kashmir valley and has improved the socio-

economic condition of the farmers to a great extent. People, however, spare portion of productiveland for lawns and use ornamental plants other than fruits. An innovative way to use fruitplantation for ornamentation was tested, so that the objective of beautification is achievedwhile getting returns from horticultural crops. Different fruit plants were added to the gardenfor diversity and beautification. In addition to these fruit plants some ornamentals were alsorecommended for further beautification. The plot was leveled and beds of different designswere made around the apple trees, which were kept free from weeds through mulching andintercultural operations. Fertilizers were applied as per the recommendations of SKAUST-Kashmir. Addition of variety of fruit plants created diversity, flowering were observed at differentstages and ripen fruits were available throughout the season. Fruit plantation served two purposesi.e. ornamentation and monetary returns. The quality of the fruits over farmers’ practice wasalso improved. Cost of cultivation was higher in the demonstration, while gross returns(Rs.47,287/Kanal) and net returns (Rs. 32,052/- kanal) were also higher in the same. Increasesin the income was to the tune of 26 per cent over the farmer’s practice.

Key Words: Apple, Ornamentation, Diversity, Beautification, Fruit plants.

INTRODUCTIONIn Kashmir valley temperate fruit in general

and apple in particular is considered as the backbone of economy. Apple is the major fruit cropand is cultivated on an area of about 132.5thousand hectares with an annual production of1332.8 thousand MT (Anonymous, 2010). It hasundoubtly improved the economy of ruralKashmir, which in turn has greatly improved livingstatus and life style. It is, however, disheartening

Apple plantation in full bloom

that people spare a large portion of productiveland for lawns to beautify the surroundings of theirhomes and use ornamental plants other than fruits.A number of such cases can be observed in thevalley. An innovative way to use fruit plantationfor ornamentation was therefore tested to reversethe trend. This study was intended to sensitize ourfamers, so that the objective of beautification is

Designs of beds around fruit plantation



A view of farm house

achieved while getting returns from horticulturecrops.

MATERIALS AND METHODSAn orchardist Mr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan of

village Khanpora situated at about 20 KM awayfrom KVK, Kulgam was planning to remove someapple plantation in front of his farm house to makea lawn. He sought guidance from KVK’s scientistsand was suggested to create a garden whileretaining the apple plantation. About 600 m2 wasmarked for the demonstration. Some more fruitplants were added to the garden for diversity andbeautification. This small area accommodateddifferent fruit plants like apple, pear, apricot,peach, pomegranate, fig and cherry. In additionto these fruit plants some ornamentals were alsorecommended for further beautification. The plotwas leveled and beds of different designs weremade around the apple trees, which were kept freefrom weeds through mulching and inter- cultureoperations. Fertilizers were applied as perrecommendation of SKUAST-Kashmir to the fruitplants (Table 1). Organic matter was added in theform of FYM and chopped grass was used asmulch as well as organic source of nutrients.Controlled irrigation was applied through pipesas and when required. Need based application offungicides and horticulture mineral oilsrecommended by SAU were used to managedifferent diseases and insect-pests. Rest of themanagement practices were kept common withthe farmer’s own practice. Wooden boxes wereused for packing of fruit.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Effect on fruit:Most important aspect of this concept was that

no fruit tree was removed from the selected area,rather some more fruit species were added tocreate diversity, observe flowering at differentstages and provide ripen fruits throughout theseason. Fruit plantation served two purposes i.e.ornamentation and monetary returns. It not onlyadded beauty to the garden but also improved bothproduction and quality of the fruit over rest of theorchard (Table 1). This was attributed tofollowings;

· Application of organic manure and choppedgrass (obtained from moving) might haveimproved the physico-chemical properties ofthe soil. There are numerous studies whichconfirm that organic sources improve fertility,physical and biological properties of the soil(Reeves ,1997; Okwuagwu, et al., 2003 ;Ewulo et al., 2008) and also add to the qualityof fruit(Liu and Liu., 2012).

Cherry in Demo plot

Fruit laden apple plant in Demo. plot


· Regular inter-culture operations improved soilaeration and facilitates decomposition oforganic matter in the soil.

· Regular controlled water supply with pipeinstead of flooding maintained optimummoisture and soil aeration which might havefacilitated better root proliferation and shootgrowth. This practice also helped in reducingroot rot and collar rot disease incidence (Bhatet al. 2012). Root rot was prevalent in anumber of trees in the rest of the orchardwhere flood irrigation was practiced. Foliardisease pressure was also higher in farmer’s

practice mainly due to poor sanitation. Propersanitation reduced the load of diseases andinsect-pests in demonstration, which in turnimproved fruit quality.

Economic benefits:The economics was pooled over three years

(2010 to 2012) for costs and income realized bythe orchardist. The objective of presenting thesefigures is just to reflect that this practice is quiterewarding for the farmers. Farmers in the areagrade fruit into two main grades i.e., Grade A andGrade B, based on colour and damage caused bypests and diseases. Each grade has three sub

Table 1: Fertilizer schedule adopted as per the type and age of fruit trees.

Fruit tree Age Urea DAP MOP Remarks(Year) (g/tree) (g/tree) (g/tree)

Farmyard manure (FYM) was applied in March @15 kg/tree, except peach and fig where 5 kg/treeFYM was applied.

Apple 7-10 450-750 225-375 720-1150 For apple, pear and cherry fertilizers were appliedas;· 1/3rd urea full dose of DAP and ½ MOP 3 weeksbefore expected flowering· 1/3rd urea and ½MOP 3weeks after fruit set.· 1/3rd urea in June-July

Pear 5-7 250-450 125-225 400-720 In case of Apricot and peach ½ urea and full dose ofDAP and MOP was applied 3 weeks before expectedflowering .Remaining ½ dose of urea was applied3weeks after fruit set.

Cherry 5-7 250-450 125-225 400-720 Solubor@1g/lt. water was sprayed at pink bud stageof apple.

Apricot 5-7 250-490 100-200 350-630 3 sprays of Calcium chloride were applied to applecrop throughout the season@3g/lt. water

Peach 1-3 50-150 20-60 70-210

Fig 3 Only FYM was applied

Table 2. Effect of KVK intervention.

Parameter Farmer’s Practice Recommended Practice

Yield Kg/kanal A Grade 1016 1211B Grade 138 125Total 1154 1336

Rate (Rs./kg) A Grade 32 37.5B Grade 15 15

Total gross income (Rs./kanal) 38998/- 47287/-Cost of cultivation(Rs./kanal) 13568/- 15235/-Net income(Rs./kanal) 25430/- 32052/-Additional income over farmer’s practice 6652 Per cent increase in income. 26


Tulip at flowering stage

grades i.e., five layer, four layer and five layerroll boxes. The returns presented in the table 2were based on the mean of these three sub-gradesin each main grade. Cost of cultivation was higherin the demonstration plot due to higher yield,which resulted into extra cost incurred onharvesting, grading, packing, loading, transportcharges and unloading charges in the mandi.Gross (Rs.47,287/kanal) and net returns(Rs.32,052/kanal) were higher in recommendedpractice over farmers practice (Table 2). This wasattributed to improvement in productivity andhigher rates of A grade fruit owing to its goodquality under the recommended practice. Theincrease in the income was to the tune of 26.0per cent over farmer’s practice. The economicscan further be improved by planting potentialflowers for seed multiplication. Tulip andgladiolus in particular are very well adapted tothe area.

CONCLUSIONLand is a precious asset and it should be put

to the best use. Increasing demand of fruits inview of changing life style and food habits in thecountry will further strengthen the economiccondition of farmers associated with horticulturecrops. This innovative practice of gardening mayhelp to put in use every inch of soil for economic

prosperity of the farming community, as this notonly serves the purpose of beautification but alsoimproves productivity, quality and profitability.

REFRENCESAnonymous.( 2010). Digest of statistics, Directorate of Economics

& Statistics, Government of Jammu & Kashmir. Pp., 117-19.

Bhat, Z. A., Sheikh, F. A., Mubarak, T., Bhat, J. A., Zargar, M. A.,Wani Akhlaq A., Rather G. H and Itoo, H. U. (2012). On-farm testing and popularization of integrated managementmodule of apple root rot under high altitude temperateconditions. J. Krishi Vigyan., 1: 54-57.

Ewulo, B. S., Ojeniyi, S. O. and Akanni, D. A.( 2008). Effect ofpoultry manure on selected soil physical and chemicalproperties, growth, yield and nutrient status of tomato. AfricanJ. Agril. Res.,3: 612-16.

Liu, C.H. and Liu, Y. (2012). Influence of organic manure additionon the maturity and quality of pineapple fruits ripened in winter.J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr.,12: 211-20.

Okwuagwu, M. I., Alleh1, M. E. and Osemwota, I. O. (2003).The effects of organic and inorganic manure on soil propertiesand yield of okra in Nigeria . African Crop Sci. Conf. Proc.,6: 390-93.

Reeves, D. W. (1997). The role of soil organic matter in maintainingsoil quality in continuous cropping systems. Soil & TillageRes., 43:131-36.

List of reviewersAnil Kumar Sharma New Delhi 1Avneet Kaur Punjab 1Bipin Kumar Sharma Punjab 1Chander Mohan Punjab 1Gurdeep Singh Punjab 2Gurmeet Singh Punjab 2Gurpreet Kaur Punjab 1K. K. Katoch Himachal 1Karamjit Sharma Punjab 1Kiran Grover Punjab 1M. S. Gill Punjab 1M. I. S. Gill Punjab 1Mahesh Kumar Narang Punjab 1Parminder Singh Punjab 1Soma Banerjee West Bangal 1

Copyright and discalimerCopyright © Authors. All rights reserved. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproducecopyright material from other sources. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any statement offact or opinion or copyright violation in the published papers. The views expressed by the authors donot necessarily represent the view point of the journal.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

The Journal of Krishi Vigyan, a peer-reviewed, half yearly, journal is being published by theSociety of Krishi Vigyan. The publication is aimed at providing access to academicians, researchers,extension workers and industry professionals from across the globe to publish their work on all aspectsof agriculture and allied fields through research papers, short communications and review articles.

The editorial board of SKV welcomes the submission of manuscripts within the aim and scope ofthe journal for publication. The articles may be submitted via regular mail in duplicate, each with a setof original figures and photographs to the Editor, Journal of Krishi Vigyan electronically in MS WORDformat as e-mail attachments to the [email protected] or [email protected] .

Please refer to the instructions for authors before submitting an article.

General guidelinesIt is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that

1. Papers are submitted strictly as per the style and format of JKV. The articles not confirming fullyto the style and format of JKV will be returned to author(s) by the editorial office foramendment, prior to a review for its scientific merit.

2. Submission of an article is understood to imply that the article is original and has not been publishedpreviously, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and if accepted, it will not bepublished elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language. The submission ofthe article has the approval of the all co-authors and the authorities of the host institute where workhas been carried out.

3. The editorial board of JKV discourages the submission of more than one article dealing withrelated aspects from the same study; this includes different aspects of data derived from oneparticular experiment, or cases in which the analytical techniques, animals or experimentalprocedures are common to all papers. If author(s) have valid reasons for separation of reports ofone particular experiment or study into more than one paper, these must be submitted simultaneously.

4. The Author(s) may suggest the names of at least three experts/reviewers, not from the hostorganization/institute where the work had been carried out (along with their complete mailingaddress, contact nos. and e-mail id) whom they feel qualified to evaluate their research article.These suggestions will only be considered if e-mail Ids are also provided. Submission of suchnames does not imply that they will definitely be used for scrutiny.

5. The “Article submission certificate” duly signed by all the authors/head of host department / institute(optional) on a prescribed format must be furnished along with article at the time of submission. Ifthe article is sent through e-mail, the scanned copy of certificate (signed / stamped) may be attached.

6. For publication of articles in JKV, all the contributing authors has to be the member (either life orannual) of Society of Krishi Vigyan.

7. The submitted manuscripts will be assessed from editorial points of view, at first, and if foundsuitable for publication, it will be sent for peer-review. The review process will be a double-blindprocess where author(s) and referees are unaware of each others’ name. The author(s) must abideby the suggestions of referee and the editorial board of JKV. The final decision to publish anarticle will lie with the Editor and Publisher of the journal.

8. The corresponding author will be sent the PDF file of his/her published article free of cost via e-mail. No hard copies of the reprints will be provided.

9. Journal of Krishi Vigyan has no page charges.

10.For enquiries regarding submission, please contact the editorial office [email protected]

Manuscript preparationLanguage: Papers must be written in English. The text and all supporting materials must use UKspelling conventions. It is up to the authors to make sure there are no typographical errors in themanuscript.

Typescript: Manuscripts must be typed in Microsoft Word, using Times New Roman font at 12 points,double spaced on one side of A4 size bond paper with 2.5 cm margin on all sides. All pages should benumbered consecutively in the right corner on the top. Indent new paragraphs.

Words: Papers should not normally exceed up to 8000 words for review articles; 4000 words fororiginal full length papers and 1500 words for short communications.

Headings: Main Headings - Major headings are centered, all capitals, boldface in Times New Romanfont at 12 points, and consist of ABSTRACT, INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS AND MATHODS,RESULTS AND DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (optional) andREFERENCES.

First subheadings are placed in a separate line, begin at the left margin, and are in italics. Text thatfollows should be in a new paragraph.

Second Subheadings should begin with the first line of a paragraph, indented and in italic. The textfollows immediately after the second subheading.

Contents: The contents must be arranged in an orderly way with suitable headings for each subsection.The recommended subdivision of contents is as follows:-

Running head: The running head or short title of not more than 50 characters, in title case andcentered should be placed above the main title of the study.

Title: The title must be informative and brief. The initials and name of the author(s), the address of thehost institution where the work was done must follow the title.

Superscripts (1,2,3) should be used in cases where authors are from different institutions. Thesuperscript # should be appended to the author to whom correspondence should be addressed, andindicated as such together with an e-mail address in the line immediately following the keywords. Thepresent postal address of authors, if currently different from that of the host institution should also besuperscripted appropriately and inserted in the lines following the key words.

Abstracts: It must summarize the major objectives, methods, results, conclusions, and practicalapplications of the study conducted. The Abstract must consist of complete sentences and use ofabbreviations should be limited.

Keywords: The Abstract is followed by three to five keywords from the title to be used for subjectindexing. These should be singular (e.g. paper, not papers). The abstract, including key words shouldbe separated by horizontal lines places before and after the text.

ARTICLE SUBMISSION CERTIFICATE

Manuscript Title:

Manuscript type: Review article/Full length paper/Short communication (Check one):

Name(s) of the author(s):

Name and address of

corresponding author :

Contact No. # :

E-mail:

I (we) affirm that:

1. The manuscript has been prepared in accordance with the latest “Instructions for author’s guidelines ofthe Journal of Krishi Vigyan.

2. The article is original and has not been published previously, is not under consideration for publicationelsewhere, and if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same or, in English or any otherlanguage. The submission of the article has the approval of the all the authors and the authorities of thehost institute where work had been carried out.

3. All the authors have made substantive and intellectual contributions to the article and assume fullresponsibility for all opinions, conclusions and statements expressed in the articles.

4. I (we) agree to abide by the comments of referees/editorial board and will modify the article as per theirrecommendations for publication in Journal of Krishi Vigyan.

5. If the above article is published in Journal of Krishi Vigyan, the copyright of this article will vest with theSociety of Krishi Vigyan, who will have the right to enter into any agreement with any organization inIndia or abroad engaged in reprography, photocopying, storage and dissemination of information containedin it, and neither we nor our legal heirs will have any claims on royalty.

Name of the author(s) Designation Present official address Signature with date

1.

2.

journal of krishi vigyan vol.1 issue 2

Documents