Browsing by Author "Sheela, K R"

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Agronomic evaluation of rice cultivars for rainfed conditions of Kerala
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Sheela, K R; Thomas Alexander
Two field experiments were conducted at the Cropping Systems Research Centre, Karamana and one pot culture trial at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 1991 and 1992, to select a suitable rice variety and nutrient level required for maximum rice production in the rainfed wetlands of Southern Kerala. The influence of seed hardening in inducing stress tolerance was also studied. In the study, experiment I included a pot culture trial with six varieties, viz., Jaya, Culture -4, M-102, Rasi, Ravi and Tulasi and six methods of seed hardening viz., water, triazole, NaH2PO4, KCI, cowdung extract treatments and a control in two moisture regimes. The significant results of the study were tested in the field. Experiment 2 included these six varieties and three nutrient levels, viz., 100, 75 and 50 per cent of recommended dose for medium duration varieties (90 : 45 : 45 kg N, P2o5 and K2o) and was conducted as a factorial experiment in RBD during the first crop season of 1991 and 1992. The results of the germination study revealed that KCI concentration of 2.50 per cent was ideal for seed hardening. Seed hardening improved germination of all the varieties and water treatment registered the highest vigour index values. In pot culture, Culture – 4 with water treatment registered the highest biomass production, grain and straw yields. The variety, Jaya had the highest root weight and root : shoot ratio. Among the seed treatments, water, KCI and triazole treatments favourably influenced the yield attributes, yield, root parameters and root : shoot ratio. Increasing the moisture regime from 50 to 100 per cent available water enhanced the growth characters, RWC, chlorophyll and decreased the proline content. The subsequent field trial with the highest grain yielding varieties and seed treatments confirmed the superiority of Rasi and Tulasi for increased grain yield, net income and benefit : cost ratio. The different seed treatments also had favourable influence on the above characters. The results of experiment 2 revealed that M – 102 recorded the highest plant height during both the years, while, Tulasi and Rasi had higher tiller number. The varieties, M-102 and Rasi registered higher straw yield than the others. Increased nutrient levels improved growth characters and straw yield. Pooled analysis of grain yield revealed that the varieties, Jaya, Rasi and Tulasi were good yielders and 75 per cent of the recommended nutrient level was sufficient to obtain high grain yield under rainfed conditions. Increased RWC values were observed in the drought tolerant varieties, Ravi, Tulasi and Rasi and at increased nutrient levels. Proline eontent was unaffected by varieties and nutrient levels. The variety, Jaya registered the highest uptake of major nutrients during 1991 while, Tulasi, Rasi and M-102 had higher uptake than the others during 1992. The highest nutrient level recorded the maximum uptake during both the years. Among the varieties, Jaya, Tulasi, Culture – 4 and Rasi recorded high net income and benefit : cost ratio. Among the nutrient levels, the variation between 100 and 75 per cent recommended nutrient dose was not significant with regard to net income and benefit : cost ratio. Under rainfed conditions, 75 per cent of the recommended nutrient dose was sufficient for the varieties, Jaya, Rasi and Tulasi to obtain commensurate yield, net income and benefit : cost ratio. Moreover, the yield and economic returns could be increased by resorting to seed hardening methods.
Crop intensification and resource management in banana based cropping system
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Vandana Venugopal; Sheela, K R
The influence of crop intensification in banana by modifying the planting pattern and intercropping on productivity enhancement and developing an optimum fertilizer schedule for double sucker planting were evaluated by conducting two field investigations at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2002-2003 and 2003-2004. The first investigation was laid in factorial randomised block design with two systems of planting and four intercrops, replicated thrice. Perusal of the results showed an increase in the number of functional leaves, total functional leaf area and leaf area index under modified system while maximum pseudostem girth was recorded under normal system of planting towards later stages of observation. Among the yield attributes, number of hands and fingers per bunch recorded the highest values in normal planting system during both the seasons. Individual bunch weight did not register any variation with planting systems. However, maximum yield per hectare was registered in double sucker planting. During both the years sugar : acid ratio was maximum under modified system. Modified system of planting banana produced more dry matter during both the years. N and P uptake was enhanced in modified system and whereas K uptake was more in normal planting pattern during first year. N uptake was the highest with chittaratha and P and K uptake with cucumber-amaranthus under both systems during first year. During second year, N uptake showed maximum value with chittaratha under normal system and with cucumber-amaranthus in modified system. P uptake by chittaratha and K uptake by the pure crop of banana were on par with intercropping with cucumber-amaranthus. Economic analysis revealed that combination of modified planting pattern intercropped with cucumber-amaranthus recorded the highest net profit and BCR. The highest net profit of Rs. 554384 and Rs. 615030 were realized ha-1 during first and second year respectively in this treatment. The second investigation was conducted with three levels of nutrients and three sources of organic manure laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications. The nutrient levels and organic sources had no influence on pseudostem height, girth and number of functional leaves during both the years. However total functional leaf area and leaf area index showed a linear negative trend with increasing dose of fertilizers during first year. During second year, total functional leaf area and leaf area index registered maximum values at 133 per cent of recommended dose with farmyard manure at shooting and at harvest. During first year yield and yield attributes were unaffected by treatments, whereas during second year bunch characters like number of hands and fingers per bunch and bunch weight were maximum when farmyard manure/pseudostem along with 133 per cent of recommended dose and when vermicompost along with recommended dose of nutrients were applied. Among the quality attributes higher values of TSS was observed with fresh banana pseudostem and total sugar with farmyard manure during first year. TSS, ascorbic acid and SAR recorded higher values at recommended dose and 133 per cent of recommended dose during second year. Application of farmyard manure along with 133 or 167 per cent of recommended dose of nutrients enhanced dry matter production of banana in second year. Compared to leaf nutrient content, accumulation of nutrients in fruit, pseudostem and rhizome were found to be high during both the years. Foliar nitrogen was maximum at 133 per cent of recommended dose in early stages and at 166 per cent of recommended dose at later stages. Foliar potassium at 6 MAP registered marked value at recommended dose during first year. Phosphorus recorded higher values with RDN among nutrient levels and FYM among organic sources during second year. First crop of banana registered highest B : C ratio with recommended dose of nutrients and fresh banana pseudostem incorporation. Highest net profit of Rs. 461536 ha-1 and BCR of 4.64 was realized when farmyard manure was applied along with 133 per cent of recommended dose of nutrition. Therefore it can be concluded from the study that planting banana at 3 m x 2 m spacing with two suckers pit-1and raising cucumber-amaranthus as intercrop is beneficial for getting higher yield per unit area and maximum economic returns. The study also reveal that 133 per cent of recommended dose of nutrients (400 : 153 : 600 g NPK pit-1) is required when farmyard manure @ 15 kg pit-1 or banana pseudostem @ 20 kg pit-1 is used as organic source. When vermicompost is used @ 5 kg pit-1 the recommended nutrient dose (300 : 115 : 450 g NPK pit-1) is sufficient. Moreover this nutrient schedule is economically viable and helpful in maintaining soil fertility.
Development of an effective organic liquid manure for vegetable crops
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2012) Asha V Pillai; Sheela, K R
Eco friendly weed management practices in transplanted rice
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture,vellayani, 1999) Renjan, B; Sheela, K R
Mundakan season, Virippu ,Punja Season, Summer Ploghings, Microclimate An investigation was underta:z~i;atthe State Seed Farm, Kottarakkara dur- ing Virippu 1998 to evolve ecofriendly weed management practices in transplanted rice. The experiment was laid out as factorial randornised block design with three replications. The treatments included, two levels each of summer ploughings, stale seed bed technique, and nitrogen application along with four controls (complete weed free, weedy check, hand weeded twice and pre-emergent herbicide followed by hand weeding). Two summer ploughings enhanced the growth characters of rice such as plant height, tiller count and 'lA!. Dry matter production and nutrient uptake of rice were also enhanced by two summer ploughings. Yield attributes and grain yield was significantly improved by two summer ploughings. The count of grasses, sedges and BLW and the total weed population was reduced by this practice. The dry matter production of weeds and NPK uptake by weeds were reduced by two summer ploghings. Weed control efficiency was also increased at all stages. Adoption of stale seed bed technique enhanced the plant height, tiller count, LAI, dry matter production and nutrient uptake of rice. The yield attributes and grain yield were significantly increased by the practice and the weed index was significantly reduced. The total weed population was also reduced at all observa- tions, The count of grasses and BLW reduced up to 40 DAT, while sedge popula- I tion was unaffected by the adoption of stale seed bed practice. Relative density of grasses and sedges were also reduced by this technique. The v, ced dry matter production, and nutrient uptake were reduced and weed control efficiency was increased by the stale seed bed practice. Delaying the basal application of nitrogen up to 10 DAT had no influence on the crop-weed competition and yield. The treatment combinations enhanced the growth and yield. T7 and T" re- corded the higher dry matter production and nutrient uptake of rice. These treat- ments also resulted in higher grain yield and lower weed index than other combi- nations. They also recorded the lowest total weed count, weed frequency and weed density at all stage of observations. Moreover, the combinations of summer ploughing, stale seed bed and nitrogen application helped to reduce the weed dry matter production and nutrient uptake. Compared to existing hand weeding practice all treatments showed their superiority in increasing the net income especially. T7 and Tg. T, registered the highest benefit cost ratio. The benefit cost ratio of treatment combinations was comparable to herbicide application
Economic evaluation of rice cultivars under different nutrient levels
(Kerala Agricultural University, 1998) Sheela, K R; Thomas Alexander, V; Saraswathy, P
Economic evaluation of rice cultivars under different nutrient levels
(Kerala Agricultural University, 1998) Thomas Alexander, V; Sheela, K R; Saraswathy, P
Evaluation of natural graminaceous weed flora in South Kerala for fodder purpose
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1996) Aneesa, M S; Sheela, K R
An investigation was undertaken in the Southern districts of Kerala for the indentification and evalution of promising natural graminaceous weed specious for fodder purpose. The experiment was conducted in two steps. In the first part, a survey was conducted to identify the prominent grass weeds of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts. In the three districts surveyed, perennial grasses predominated among the weed specious. The prominent grass specious identified were Panicum Javanicum, Axonopus compressus, Cyrtococcum trigonum, Brachiaria ramose, Panicum repens, Cynodon dactylon, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Eleusine indica, Echinochloa colonum, Chloris barbata, Rhynchelytrum repens, Sporobolus indicus and Eragrosstis tenella. Qualitative and quantitative comparison of the selected 15 grass specious with guines grass cv. Hamil constituted the second part of the study. This was conducted at the Instructional Farm attached to the College of Agriculture, Vellayani in micro plots of 1 m 2 area and was laid out in Randomised Block Design with three replications. Guinea grass was found to be superior to the indigenous specious in terms of growth characters and green and dry fodder yields. Among the indigenous specious, highest green fodder yield was recorded by Panicum Javanicum and dry fodder yield by Rhynchelytrum repens. The protein content of grass specious varied from 5.84 to 15.00 per cent and Dactyloctenium aegyptium recorded the highest protein content. Guinea grass gave the highest protein yield owing to high dry matter production. Variation in crude fibre, ash, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and managanese contents was also observed among grasses. In the case of K : (Ca + Mg) ratio, all the 15 grass specious recorded higher values than the reported critical value of 2.2. Ca : P ratio was within the safe limits. In all the specious studied, the anti –nutritional factors like tannin and oxalate were well below the toxicity levels. Content of HCN and heavy metals could not be detected in any of the specious tried. Nutrient uptake also showed variation and guinea grass recorded the maximum. The quality index developed on the basis of nutritional and anti-nutritional factors of different grasses revealed that out of 15 indigenous grass specious tried, five were found superior to guinea grass in quality. Brachiaria ramose and Eleusine indica were observed to be the best.
Input management for precision farming in banana
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2014) Shimi, G J; Sheela, K R
Precision farming in banana (musa AAB nendran ) for productivity enhancement
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Pintu Roy Vattakunnel; Sheela, K R
Standardisation of system of rice intensification (sri) technique
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2006) Rajani Satish, L; Sheela, K R
An experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani to compare the performance of rice under SRI and normal system of cultivation and to standardize the seedling age, spacing and weed management for rice under SRI system of cultivation. The investigation was programmed as two experiments, a pot culture trial followed by a field study. The pot culture study to standardize the seedling age under SRI, was laid out in CRD with six treatments and five replications. The treatments included transplanting single seedling of 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 days old. Transplanting 21 day old seedling @ three seedlings hill-1 formed the control. The results of the study revealed that the number of productive tillers were the highest for 12 day old seedlings which contributed to greater yield and this was on par with 14 and 16 day old seedlings. All the treatments were significantly superior to control in grain and straw yield. Based on pot culture study, 12 day old seedlings were selected for field experiment. The field experiment was laid out in factorial RBD with two factors, in nine treatment combinations and a control in three replications. The factors included were three spacings, viz., 20 x 20 cm, 25 x 25 cm and 30 x 30 cm and three weed management practices, namely, hand weeding twice at 20 and 40 DAT, use of pre-emergent herbicide, butachlor @ 1.25 kg ai ha-1 followed by hand weeding, rotary weeding at 10 days interval starting from 10 DAT and a control (transplanting 21 day old seedlings at a spacing of 20 x 10 cm and hand weeded twice at 20 and 40 DAT). Among the different spacings followed, closer spacing of 20 x 20 cm recorded higher growth characters and produced more number of productive tillers hill-1 and per unit area. The closer spacings registered higher grain yield than 30 x 30 cm spacing, though not significant. However, all the SRI treatments registered significantly higher values for growth characters and yield attributes thus resulting in a higher yield compared to control. Among the weed management practices, the use of butachlor followed by hand weeding, recorded better growth attributes and productive tiller count hill-1 thus contributing to a significantly higher grain yield which was on par with hand weeding twice. Though the control plot recorded a significantly lower value for weed parameters during the early stages of observation, at later stages the variation between control and treatments was found insignificant. The nutrient uptake by the crop was the highest at 20 x 20 cm spacing whereas for weeds, 25 x 25 cm spacing recorded higher values. Among the weed management practices, hand weeding twice recorded significantly lower nutrient uptake by weeds. The control plot was superior to other treatment combinations and registered significantly lower nutrient uptake by weeds. The closer spacing of 20 x 20 cm along with the use of herbicide followed by hand weeding resulted in the highest net income and benefit-cost ratio. The net income and benefit-cost ratio in SRI treatments were higher than the control. Compared to the existing method of rice cultivation, SRI treatments showed their superiority in augmenting the grain yield and income.
Stress induced source-sink modulation in yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdcourt)
(Department of agronomy, College of agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Anjana Babu, R S; Sheela, K R
Studies on fertigation in yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdcourt)
(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2016) Elsa Giles; Sheela, K R