Browsing by Author "Meerabai, M"

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Bio farming in vegetables : effect of biofertilizers in amaranth
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, 1998) Niranjana, N S; Meerabai, M
An experiment was conducted at the Instruction farm attached to the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, during April - Sept 1996 with objectives of finding out the impact of biofertilizers Arospirillum , AMF and dual inoculation under varying and varied levels of fertilizer on amaranthus. Study also aimed to note the economics of the integrated approach and to identify the best economic combinations which improve yield and quality of amaranth varieties Arun and Kannara local. The study had three controls and two number of replications. The results of the study revealed that yield attributing characters like no: of harvests, yield harvest", marketable yield and dry weight were highest in plots applied with dual inoculation of Azospirillum and AMF with 75 per cent dose of p.op. Azospirillum with 50 per cent POP also gave good results. Both these treatments were on par and was better than our state recommendation. Growth characters viz: Seedling growth rate, plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, LAI were highest. for Azospirillum inoculation at early stages. While AMF inoculation gave notable results at later stages. Physiological parameters namely Biomass, NAR, Root dry weight were significantly improved with dual inoculation and higher dose of chemical fertilizer. Leaf dry weight, RGR and CGR responded most to inoculation with Azospirillum at early stages, while at later stage AMF performed well. Kannara local was superior to 148 Arun at early stages. But Arun performed superior to Kannara local with the progress of time. Stem dry weight was significantly influenced by application of AMF. Vermicompost gave high biomass till 45 DAT. Quality of amaranth improved when biofertilizer was given with higher dose of chemical fertilizer in almost all parameters discussed. Dual inoculation with 75 per cent POP gave maximum content of total mineral and moisture. Ascorbic acid content was highest for the treatment dual inoculation with 25 per cent POP. AMF with 75 per cent POP recorded high protein content, the same bioagent with 50 per cent POP gave lowest content of oxalates. Less fiber flush of amaranth w.as got from plots given Azospirillum + 75 per cent POP. Uptake of major nutrients namely Nand P was influenced by inoculation of Azospirillum along with higher dose of chemical and AMF with lower inorganics respectively. Major nutrient status in the soil after the experiment was more in case N,P,K for dual inoculation, Arospirillum and AMF respectively. Irrespective of biofertilizer higher dose of inorganic gave greater residual amount of nutrients. Dual inoculation with 75 per cent dose and Azospirillum along with 50 per cent dose gave maximum l?:C ratio and net returns. Vermicompost recorded minimum disease score. Lower levels of chemical fertilizers recorded less infection.
Need based nitrogen management in rice (Oryza sativa L.) using diagnostic tools
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2014) Palle Pavan Kumar Reddy; Meerabai, M
An investigation entitled “Need based nitrogen management in rice (Oryza sativa L.) using diagnostic tools” was carried during the Virippu season (first crop season), 2013 at farmer’s field, Kalliyoor Panchayath, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala state. The main objectives of the experiment were to study the technical and economic feasibility of using chlorophyll meter (SPAD meter), leaf colour chart (LCC) and soil testing kit for assessing the crop nitrogen status, to schedule N application in rice based on crop need and to work out the economics. The field experiment was laid out in Randomised Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The treatments were N application at LCC value 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0, N application at SPAD value 32, 34 and 36, N application based on soil test value using soil testing kit, KAU POP and absolute control. N application at LCC value 5.0 and N application based on soil test value recorded significantly superior values for plant height, LAI, number of tillers per hill, dry matter production, number of productive tillers/m2, higher straw yield, higher uptake of N, P and K and total chlorophyll of leaves. N application based on soil test value recorded higher gross income. N application at LCC value 4.0 and SPAD value 36 recorded higher values for grain weight/panicle, filled grains/panicle, thousand grain weight, net income and B:C ratio. Sterility percentage was also minimum for N application at LCC value 4.0, SPAD value 36 and KAU package of practices. N application at SPAD value 36 and LCC value 4.0 recorded significantly higher grain yield, harvest index, agronomic efficiency, physiological efficiency and apparent recovery efficiency. The grain yield with SPAD- 36 and LCC- 4 which received 70 kg N/ha were on par with KAU POP which received 90 kg N/ha in 3 splits. Hence a saving of 20 kg N/ha was achieved with a higher yield compared to POP. The nutrient status of the soil after the experiment did not show any significant difference except in organic carbon content. The organic carbon recorded was significantly higher under KAU package of practices. The partial factor productivity and internal utilization efficiency decreased with increase in the total amount of N applied due to higher input cost on fertilizer or less grain yield. The relationship between SPAD values and LCC scores was found to be linear. It can be concluded from the present study that the rice variety Uma performed best with application of 20 kg N/ha as basal and 25 kg N/ha each applied as top dressing at 40 and 60 DAT (based on LCC-4 or SPAD-36). P and K were applied as per KAU POP. Thus the use of LCC or SPAD meter are efficient tools which helped in reducing the recommended dose of N from 90 kg/ha to 70 kg/ha. Since, the high cost of chlorophyll meter keeps it out of reach of many farmers, the leaf colour chart (LCC) is an inexpensive alternative to the chlorophyll meter. Hence, the LCC based N management is the better option than SPAD based N management practices in farmer’s point of view.
Nutrient management in yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. Sesquipedalis L.)
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2013) Subitha, P R; Meerabai, M
A field experiment entitled Nutrient management in yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis L.) was conducted at the Instructional Farm attached to the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2011-2012 to study the growth, productivity and quality of yard long bean under organic and integrated nutrient management (INM) system and to study the economics of production . The treatments consisted of five nutrient levels and two biofertilizer levels. The experiment was laid out in factorial RBD with three replications. Different nutrient levels showed significant influence on vine length at different growth stages. Application of 20 t FYM along with 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1 recorded the longest vines at vegetative stage. At flowering and harvesting stage the longest plants were observed with the application of 20 t FYM. Different nutrient levels had significant influence on number of leaves only at flowering stage. Application of 20 t FYM and 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1 recorded the maximum number of leaves. Inoculation of microbial consortium influenced number of leaves at all the growth stages significantly. At flowering stage combined application of 20 t FYM and 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1 + PGPR recorded maximum number of leaves. The individual and interaction effect of nutrient levels and bioinoculants were not significant on number of branches per plant. The maximum dry matter was obtained for the treatment receiving 20 t FYM and 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1. Yield parameters like days to first harvest, days to final harvest and number of pickings were not influenced by different nutrient levels, bioinoculant levels and their interaction. Pods per plant varied significantly due to nutrient levels and bioinoculants. Application of 30 t FYM alone gave maximum number of pods per plant. The same trend was followed for pod yield per plant and pod yield in kg ha-1. Keeping quality of fruits was not significantly influenced by various nutrient levels and bioinoculants. For appearance, overall acceptability and taste of pods the highest score was for the treatment 40 t FYM followed by the application of 20 t FYM ha-1. For colour and texture, application of 20 t FYM + 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1 obtained highest score. The highest plant nitrogen content was recorded by the application of nutrient level 20 t FYM. Comparing various interaction effects, nitrogen content was higher for the application of 30 t FYM alone. Phosphorus content was unaffected by nutrient levels, bioinoculants and their interaction. Potassium content was found higher with the application of 30 t FYM. Among the various treatment combinations, application of 20 t FYM + 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1 without biofertilizer recorded highest value for potassium. Nitrogen content in pod was highest with the application of 30 t FYM alone. P and K content in pod were significantly improved by the application of nutrient level 20 t FYM. Comparing various interaction effects, N, P and K content was higher for the treatment 30 t FYM alone. Nutrient uptake by plants varied significantly with respect to various treatments. Plants applied with 20 t FYM recorded the maximum N, P and K uptake. Comparing various interaction effects, application of 30 t FYM alone registered high uptake for N, P and K. With regard to available nutrient status of soil, application of 20 t FYM and 20:30:10 kg NPK ha-1 showed higher availability of N, P and K. Soil treated with bioinoculant recorded higher N, P and K content than without bioinoculant. Economic analysis revealed that among various treatment combinations, application of 30 t FYM alone recorded highest net return which was closely followed by application of 20 t FYM + 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1 alone. However B: C ratio was highest for 20 t FYM + 10:15:5 kg NPK ha-1 alone which was closely followed by the treatment 30 t FYM alone.
P and K nutrition of guinea and congosignal grasses grown in coconut gardens
(Kerala Agricultural University, 1993) Meerabai, M; Lakshmi, S; Raghavan Pillai, G
Two separate experiments on P and K nutrition of guinea and congosignal grass were conducted in the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Trivandrum to find out the P and K requirements of these two grasses when grown in coconut gardens. It was found that 30 kg P2Os/ha and 90 kg KjO/ha as basal dose are sufficient to produce economic fodder yield.