Browsing by Author "R.S. Bana"

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Post-emergence herbicides for effective weed management, enhanced wheat productivity, profitability and quality in north-western Himalayas: A ‘participatory-mode’ technology development and dissemination
(MDPI AG, 2021) Anil K. Choudhary; D.S. Yadav; Pankaj Sood; Shakuntla Rahi; Kalpana Arya; S.K. Thakur; Ramesh Lal; Subhash Kumar; Jagdev Sharma; Anchal Dass; Subhash Babu; R.S. Bana; D.S. Rana; Adarsh Kumar; Sudhir K. Rajpoot; Gaurendra Gupta; Anil Kumar; M.N. Harish; A.U. Noorzai; G.A. Rajanna; Mohammad Halim Khan; V.K. Dua; Raj Singh
‘Participatory-mode’ adaptive research was conducted in wheat in north-western Himalayas (NWH) during 2008–2014 to develop an improved chemical weed management (ICWM) technology. First of all, two years ‘on-farm experimentation’ was performed in a randomized block design at 10 locations in NWH using seven treatments (Clodinafop @ 60 g a.i./ha (Clod); Clod followed by 2,4-D (Na-salt) @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha (Clod-fb-D); Isoproturon 75 WP @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha (Iso); Iso + D; Sulfosulfuron 75% WG @ 25 g a.i./ha + Metsulfuron 5% WG @ 2 g a.i./ha (Sulf + Met); weed-free-check; and un-weeded-check). In this study, the post-emergence application of Sulf + Met reported the lowest weed-index and NPK depletion by weeds with higher weed control efficiency (86.4%), weed control index (81.1%) and herbicide efficiency index (2.62) over other herbicides. Sulf + Met exhibited significantly higher wheat productivity (3.57 t/ha), protein yield, net-returns and water-productivity, which was followed by Iso + D and Clod-fb-D, all of which remained statistically at par with each other. An impact assessment of intensive technology-transfer programme (2008–2014) revealed a higher technology adoption rate (71–98%) of ICWM leading to higher wheat productivity (~22%) and net income gains (2.8–26.4%) in NWH. Overall, Sulf + Met proved highly effective against mixed weed flora in wheat to boost wheat productivity, profitability, quality and water productivity in addition to a higher technology adoption rate and NIGs to transform rural livelihoods in NWH. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Sole- or Dual-Crop Basis Residue Mulching and Zn Fertilization Lead to Improved Productivity, Rhizo-modulation and Soil Health in Zero-Tilled Pigeonpea–Wheat Cropping System
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2022) Adarsh Kumar; K.S. Rana; Anil K. Choudhary; R.S. Bana; V.K. Sharma; Gaurendra Gupta; Sudhir K. Rajpoot; Ingudam Bhupenchandra; Mukesh Choudhary; Praveen Jakhar; Amit Kumar; Abhishek Kumar; Prabhat Kishore; Amaresh Pradhan; Vishal Tyagi; Kuldeep Kumar
Conventional tillage has led to deteriorated soil health in semi-arid ecologies of south Asia. Sole- and dual-crop basis residue mulching in a predominant pigeonpea-wheat cropping system (PWCS) of the region may boost crop productivity and soil health. Widespread Zn deficiency also invokes for developing sound Zn fertilization practices (ZFPs) for improved Zn bioavailability and crop productivity. We assessed the comparative performance of single- and double-crop basis residue mulching + hydrogel in main plots, and the ZFPs in sub-plots in split-plot design under a zero-tilled PWCS in semi-arid agro-ecology. Dual-crop basis residue mulching + hydrogel exhibited ~ 17.1–22.3% higher system productivity with improved rhizo-modulation and soil health over sole-crop residue mulching and no-residue mulchings in a zero-tilled PWCS. Dual-crop basis residue mulching (8 t ha−1 year−1) + hydrogel (2.5 kg ha−1) maintained significantly higher soil organic carbon (4.4 g kg−1); soil organic carbon stock (9.06 t ha−1); nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients; and soil biological parameters compared to sole-crop residue mulching (4 t ha−1 year−1). Interestingly, soil physico-chemical and biological properties and carbon stock showed an improvement while enhancing residue covering from 4 to 8 t ha−1 year−1 compared to no residues. Among ZFPs, 5 kg Zn ha−1 + Zn solubilizer (Bacillus endophyticus) exhibited 7.4–13% higher system productivity and soil health. Correlation analysis exhibited significant positive correlation (p < 0.01) amongst system-productivity and soil-health parameters. Double-crop basis residue mulching + hydrogel along with 5 kg Zn ha−1 + Zn solubilizer improved the soil health with optimized root development and hence harnessed higher system productivity in PWCS. Likewise, pigeonpea residue mulching proved more beneficial than wheat residue mulching in succeeding crops in realizing higher system productivity and soil health, where otherwise livestock inevitably need crop residues as quality fodder in semi-arid agro-ecologies. © 2021, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo.