The present study investigated levels of understanding of pesticide handling among the farmers of Punjab by focusing on their ability to understand the information displayed on product labels, which might affect risk reduction. A set of 9 statements were put to the farmers through Google forms during the Covid-19 pandemic period as it was not possible to visit individual farms of the farmers. Basic information about the farmer such as gender, age, educational level, and farming practices (crop types and yields, agrochemical products used etc.) was recorded. A discussion was also performed with individual farmer regarding practices of pesticide application followed. It was found that 27 (24.32 %), 60 (54.10%) and 24 (21.62%) farmers were in the age group of young (up to 30 yr), middle age (30-50 yr ) and elder (>50 yr) , respectively. The land holding status revealed that 46 (41.44%), 32 (28.83%) and 33(29.73%) farmers possessed less than 2 ha, 2 to 4 ha and more than 4 ha. indicating that majority population falls under small land holding (<2ha). Similarly, it was observed that majority of the middle age group (38-50 yr) farmers were more aware of the various questions posed by the researcher, as compared to the youngsters (<30 yr). On the other hand, elder farmers (>50 yr) were either equally or more aware than the younger population. The study revealed that there was no correlation between the land holding, age and awareness level about various pesticides usage and its harmful effects. Hence, it was observed that the education level could have played a significant role in the awareness level of farmers.

Azolla is a small fast-growing free-floating water fern and has been proved as sustainable source for the poor and disadvantaged women and men farmers in their hardships of finding viable feed for the farm animals and enriched bio-manure in rice farming. Keeping above points in view backyard azolla cultivation was introduced to 10 self help groups by KVK, Uttar Dinajpur in the year 2013 under frontline demonstration programme covering five villages. Through farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing and proper training, now it had been reached to 55 SHGs covering more than 50 villages and 650 farm families in five blocks of the district. Azolla had been introduced in domestic animals and birds’ feeds. As azolla produces abundant biomass, and has 5-7 per cent protein respiration abilities, offer cost-effective solutions for fodder security [more than 30-40 per cent cost saving] and significantly reduces costs towards chemical farming. It was revealed that there is significant change in knowledge, attitude and skill level of SHG women practicing azolla cultivationafter getting training. Reasons for adoption and discontinuation were also assessed for the selected group.

The study focused on the effectiveness of newly initiated skill-oriented certificate courses namely bee keeping, mushroom cultivation and terrace gardening offered through distance learning approach in imparting knowledge and skills during the year 2019-20. The study was conducted with 180 randomly selected participants of three certificate courses each of 3 months duration and aimed to measure the effectiveness of the distance learning courses on the basis of 8 parameters such as course content, contact sessions, resource person expertise, duration of course, communication pattern, exposure visits, practical,new learnings gained and course objectives achieved. Profile of the respondents who have undergone the certificate course programme was studied. The data were collected from respondents using structured interview schedules and check lists. Effectiveness index was computed by summating the scores on all8 parameters of distance learning. The findings of the study showed that the respondents of bee keeping course perceived the course to be effective (58%) followed by highly effective (32%) while majority of the respondents of mushroom cultivation course perceived the course to be highly effective (60%) followed by effective (40%) and 55 per cent of the Terrace gardening course respondents perceived it to be effective. Age, gender, education and farming experience had no significance with perceived effectiveness of distance learning courses while innovativeness and higher aspirations showed high positive significant relationship.

A study was undertaken to analyse the constraints faced by shrimp farmers in Palghar district which has highest shrimp production (2908t) in Maharashtra. The district has 796 ha brackishwater area under shrimp culture. Out of 65 registered shrimp farmers, information was collected from 55 shrimp farmers. List of constraints was prepared through focused group discussions with key informant famers. These constraints were then classified into five categories viz. extension, financial, production, marketing and infrastructural.
Shrimp farmers were asked to provide their level of agreement towards these constraints on a five point Likert scale. Weighted average (WA) scores were calculated to rank constraints. Study revealed that Palghar has not been able to exploit its full potential due to various constraints. Out of this, production and extension constraints ranked high. Few remedial measures for disease had highest WA (19.4) followed by high cost of feed (17.9), less availability of quality seed (17.8) and shrimp price fluctuation (17.6). Less credit facility, insurance and market price information also had high WA. Value of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) was 0.85 suggesting overall agreement among shrimp farmers. It was suggested
to set up Aqua One Centres (AOCs) to provide complete services for sustainability of shrimp farming.

The present study attempts to assess the contribution of commercial desi bird venture to socio-economic well being of the households in Tamil Nadu. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study. Data were collected from 60 farmers involved in commercial desi bird venture in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu using using proportionate random sampling. The average poultry meat and egg consumption of families rearing commercial desi venture was 56 kg and 385 eggs, respectively per annum. The average net income generated in commercial desi bird venture was Rs.2.2 lakh and contribution to total family income was 30.0%. Flock size, investment and expenditure on feed were the factors that significantly influenced the net income from poultry in commercial desi bird venture. The income generated was utilized for household purpose, to increase flock size, agriculture expenses and education of children. Incidence of disease, predator problem, damage to crops and lack of government support were ranked as important `constraints. Thus, it could be concluded that commercial desi bird venture is a viable and profitable enterprise and flock size, investment and expenditure on feed were the factors that significantly influenced the net income from poultry in commercial desi bird venture.

A study was conducted in Banaskantha district of Gujarat state, state about the participation of rural youth in making decision about farming. Out of thirteen blocks in the district, four blocks randomly selected  and four villages from each block were selected randomly. From each selected village ten rural youth were selected randomly for data collection. The total sample size of the study was 160 rural youth of Banaskantha district. A structured interview schedule was used to collect the data. A three point scale developed by Nandapurkar (1981) was used. The study revealed that 68.74 per cent of rural youth had medium level of decision making while participation in farming. Age and size of family had not-significant relationship with decision making of rural youth in farming. Innovativeness, attitude and sources of information had positive and highly significant relationship with decision making of rural youth in farming.

In India the area under onion cultivation is about 1.064 ha with 15.1 Mt of bulb production. The average yield of onion in India is about 14.2 t/ha which is very low as compared to the world average yield of 19.1 t/ha. The labour requirement in manual transplanting of onion seedlings is as high as 100-120 man-day/ha as 8.9 lakh seedlings per hectare are to be transplanted. Efficient machinery helps in timely farm operation, input use efficiency, increasing productivity. Onion can also be grown by direct seeding method which is an
evolving technology and this can also help in saving labour therefore, the design and development of onion drum seeder was done in the department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering of PAU, Ludhiana, Punjab. The forwarding speed of onion drum seeder was 1 to 1.5 km/hr. The field capacity observed was 0.05 ha/hr and field efficiency was 83 per cent. The draft calculated was 10.61 kgf. Onion drum seeder was capable of sowing six row at once with row to row spacing of 10 cm and seed to seed spacing of 7.5 cm.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) is one of the most important winter vegetable crops in India. It is grown in almost every household in Kinnaur district- a dry temperate region of Himachal Pradesh. It is grown as an off-season vegetable during summer in the district. Farmers get good price of their produce due to off-seasonality. To study the effect of integrated nutrient management on cabbage production, experiment was conducted during the year 2017-18. Total five trials were laid out at farmer’s field to compare three treatments, T1was farmers’ practice consisting of use of FYM only and T2 , use of FYM and recommended fertilizer dose whereas T3 was use of FYM and recommended doses of fertilizers + seedling treatment with Azotobacter. It was found that use of FYM and recommended doses of fertilizers + seedling treatment with Azotobacter recorded maximum yield of 22.45 t/ha. T3 also recorded the highest net return (Rs.3,59,819/ha) and benefit cost ratio (4.03) in comparison to recommended and farmers’ practice.

The present investigation was conducted at farmer’s field during Zaid season of 2019-20 and 2020-21 to assess the effect of plastic mulch on growth, yield and economics of chilli crop. Two treatments i.e. T1 -Farmers’ practice (without mulch) and T2 (25 micron Silver black double coloured plastic mulch) replicated at twenty farmers’ field. The use of plastic mulch as a soil cover was found effective in improving growth, yield and economics of chilli (Capsicum annum L.). The Treatment T2 (double coloured plastic mulch) recorded minimum weed intensity (5.06), maximum plant height (49.66 cm), number of primary branches/plant (11.62), green fruit yield/plant (530g) and yield/ha (256.59 q). The maximum net return per hectare (Rs 2,90,422/-) and benefit cost ratio (4.15) were also recorded under treatment T2 whereas, in farmers’ practices net return and benefit cost ratio were found Rs. 2,37,932/- and 3.90, respectively. Therefore, silver-black mulching appears to be a viable tool to increase the chilli production and recommended for cultivation.

Field experiments were conducted during 2018-19 and 2019-20 to assess the performance of high yielding turmeric varieties, IISR – Prathibha and Pragati in Onattukara region of Alappuzha district. The trials were conducted at 10 farmers’ plots each during both the years and compared with traditionally cultivated local varieties. Observations on plant height, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width, and number of clumps per plant were recorded in addition to the fresh and dried yield. The results showed that the plant height (135.3 cm), leaf length (61.3 cm), leaf width (15.8 cm) and number of clumps per plant (4.9)were higher in Prathibha variety compared to Pragati (109 cm; 51.25 cm; 12.9 cm; 3.25, respectively).
IISR – Prathibha recorded the highest average yield of 20730 kg/ha followed by Pragati 20013 kg/ha compared to the farmers’ variety (12728 kg/ha). It could be concluded that both Prathibha and Pragati were suitable varieties for large scale cultivation of turmeric in Onattukara region of Alappuzha district.

A study was conducted at the farmer’s field in Sikar district during kharif season of 2018-19 and 2020-21 on Agrifound Dark Red cultivar of onion. Yield attributes under both demonstration and farmers’ practices were recorded and percent yield enhancement, technology gap, extension gap, technology index, were analyzed. The data revealed that average bulb yield under demonstration was obtained 240.87 q/ha compared to the farmers’ practices (203.26q/ha) andthe per cent increase in bulb yield was 20.15.The average technological gap,extension gap and technological index were observed as 55.80 q/ha, 40.95 q/ha and 18.60 per cent, respectively. The net profit of demonstration was Rs. 4,09,640/ha under recommended practices while, it was Rs 2,82,016.7 under farmers’ practices. The gross returns and BCR on demonstration were higher (Rs. 4,49,490/ha and 4.40) respectively as compared to farmer’s practices (3,73,823/-ha and 4.07). Hence, it can be said the yield of kharif onion could be enhanced to a great extent with increase in the income level of the farming community.

A field experiment was conducted at the Horticultural Research station, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha during Rabi 2017 and 2018 seasons. Five hundred seeds of variety Utkal Kumari (BT 10) were taken and subjected to single and combined mutagenic treatment as per the specification. The experiment was laid down in Randomised Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Leaf area (dm2 /plant), total dry matter and chlorophyll content were measured at 30, 60 and 75 days after transplanting(DAT). NAR (Net assimilation rate) and CGR (Crop growth rate) were also calculated at 30-40 DAT and 50-60 DAT. All the treatments showed increase in yield over control and buffer except in treatment Sodium Azide (SA) 0.06% which indicated that the mutagens had positive effect on the plant for increasing yield. The increase in yield depends on leaf area or photosynthesizing tissues, total respiring tissues or total biomass, photosynthetic efficiency as reflected by chlorophyll content, Net assimilation rate (NAR) and crop growth rate (CGR). Ethyl methane sulphate (EMS) at 0.6% concentration had shown maximum increase in yield which was attributed to maximum leaf area (55.19 dm2
/plant), maximum total dry matter (19.44g/plant) and maximum crop growth rate (0.347g.m-2.day-1). The chlorophyll content and NAR (Net assimilation rate) were also significantly high for this treatment.

A field experiment was conducted during kharif seasons of 2016-17 and 2017-18 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra East Singhbhum to investigate the performance of different pigeon pea (cajanus cajan) varieties viz., ICPL 8863 ( Maruti), IPA 203, Birsa Arhar1 and LRG 41 with respect to yield, yield attributing characters and economics under rainfed condition. The result revealed that the grain yield ( 12.40 q/ha ) and straw yield ( 49.75 q/ha) and yield attributing characters viz., plant height (241.37cm), number of branches/plant(7.95), pods/plant(191.25), grain/pod(3.80), 100 seed weight (9.53g), biological yield ( 62.15 q/ha), harvest index (19.98%) and economics viz net return ( Rs 58375 /ha) and B:C ratio ( 3.77) were found maximum in case of pigeonpea cultivar LRG41 as compared to grain yield of cultivar IPA 203 (11.40q/ha), ICPL 8863 ( 10.56 q/ha) and Birsa Arhar1 (10.03 q/hq).
It was observed that the long duration variety LRG41 suitable for the fallow and uncultivable land to increase the total cultivable land area and soil productivity as well under rainfed condition of farming.

A field study was carried out to determine the effect of calcium nitrate and boron on yield and fruit cracking of Pomegranate cv. Sindhuri (Bhagwa). Different treatments were T1-Farmers’ practice, T2-recommended dose of fertilizers as per package of practices (FYM 25 kg per plant + NPK 625: 250: 250g per plant and micro nutrient 25 g per plant) with(Micronutrient) multi-mix at the rate 25g per plant per year in the month of July –August (Basel dose of Manure & fertilizer),T3- RDF and the foliar spraying at different growth
stages (Calcium (CaNa2) @ 0.2 per cent and Boron as borex @ 0.3 per cent) at the time of full blossoming and one month after full blossoming (developing stage of fruit). The results of the study revealed significant improvements in both yield and quality of pomegranate. However, calcium (CaNa2) @ 0.2 per cent and boron as boric acid @ 0.3 per cent proved to be the best treatment over other treatments. Furthermore, an average enhancement of yield to the tune of 29.26 per cent and quality in terms of “A” grade pomegranate followed by a reduction in fruit cracking to the tune of 3.74 per cent were achieved over control. Thus, it can be concluded that foliar sprays of calcium nitrate and boron on pomegranate not only reduces fruit cracking but improve yield and quality and thus resulted in significantly higher economic returns.

The study was conducted to measure the adoption of backyard poultry farming practices by the beneficiaries in SKNAU Jobner-Jaipur, Rajasthan. Out of a total 120 beneficiaries from Jaipur district, 80 were selected randomly for the study purpose. The data were collected with the help of personal interview technique through a suitable well-structured interview schedule for measuring adoption by the beneficiaries. The study concluded that majority of the beneficiaries (76.3 %) belonged to middle level of adoption followed by low level of adoption (15.0 %) and only 8.8 per cent beneficiaries were having high level of adoption. First rank was given to provision of night shelter, adequate and clean water, adoption of improved breeds, vaccination against diseases. Regarding overall adoption housing practices was at the first rank.

Field preparation is considered to be pre-requisite for the successful cultivation of rice. Three different field preparation treatments consisting of farmer’s practice (FP) as preparing field through cultivator (3 pass) and then planking (CP), second was technical option 1 (TO1) as preparing field through cultivator (1 pass) and then rotavator (1 pass) (CR) and third was technical option 2 (TO2) as preparing field through rotavator (1 pass) (R) were used to assess the puddling performance on productivity of rice. Depth of puddling was 9.8,
12.8 and 11.9 cm in these treatments, respectively. Transplanting of rice was done by seasonal daily labourer in each plot. Cost of puddling was Rs 3100/, Rs 2100/ and Rs 1100/ ha for CP, CR and R, respectively. The grain yield for FP, TO1 and TO2, treatments was found to be 33.9, 36.8 and 34.4 q/ha, respectively. The average grain yield was observed as slightly higher (36.8 q/ha) in TO2 i.e., puddling rice field by cultivator  (1 pass) & then rotavator (1 pass) among other treatments of puddling. The benefit cost ratio (B:C ratio) was also recorded highest 2.00 in TO2 i.e., puddling by cultivator (1 pass) & then rotavator (1 pass) (CR).

The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of reduced dietary crude protein (CP) supplemented with L-threonine on economic feasibility of in commercial broiler diets. A total of 480 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments following completely randomized design, each treatment had six replications of 20 birds each. The control dietary formulation was prepared to meet requirement of nutrients and amino acids. The dietary CP was reduced by 1, 2 and 3 per cent unit to the standard recommendation in other 3 treatments. The diets with reduced CP level were supplemented with synthetic threonine. From the study, it was found that the economic indices viz., cost of production per bird, cost of production per kilogram live body weight, net return per bird, net return per kilogram live body weight, performance index score (PIS) and economic index score (EIS) were significantly influenced by the supplementation of L-threonine in reduced dietary CP levels. The lowest cost of production per bird was recorded in birds fed with 3per cent crude protein reduced diet, where as the lower cost of production per kilogram live body weight was recorded in birds fed with control and 1 per cent crude protein reduced diets. Net returns per bird, net returns per kg live weight,PIS and EIS were better in birds fed with control and 1 per cent crude protein reduced diets. Up to one percent unit crude protein could be lowered at all growing phases of commercial broiler birds safely as it was economical.

ICAR-National Research centre on Integrated Pest Management, New Delhi and University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India were organising various training programs to cater felt needs of the remote tribal farmers. The training programs focus on integrated pest management technologies which make use of locally available material for managing pests. The present study was conducted during the year 2020 and a total of 85 tribal farmers and women were selected from Sirsi district of Karnataka. The ex-post facto evaluation of training programmes revealed that there was an overall increase of 45.9 per cent in knowledge level of respondents regarding various plant protection activities.
However, 23.0 per cent gaps indicated that tribal men farmers and women were  not well conversant of IPM activities. More technical gaps were recorded on identification of pest and natural enemies, use of bio control agents. Socio-economic attributes of tribal farmers had not much influence in improving their knowledge on plant protection strategies and hence, a number of training programmes were organised need-based training IPM training programmes to enhance their knowledge and skill of these farmers to modify their plant protection strategies for enhancing the crop yield and income for their lively-hood.

The study was conducted in Tigiria, Baramba and Banki damapara blocks of Cuttack district of Odisha having 153 Bandha weavers. Raw materials used for fabric production were yarn and dyes. Majority (56.20%) of respondents use only mercerised cotton and mercerised cotton with silk (31.37%), synthetic dyes (98.69%) and natural with synthetic dyes (1.31%). No one used natural dyes. Types of synthetic dyes used were mostly vat dye with napthol and acid dyes. They mostly depend on multiple sources like master weavers, local markets
and weavers’ co-operative societies to get their required raw materials and selling of products, indicating majority of respondents were very poor socio- economic status. Nuapatana Khandua silk saris, maniabandha cotton saris, cotton, silk and tasar Bandha yarns, and lord’s fabrics of famous Jagannath Temple, Puri using single Ikat technique prior to 12th century were the unique traditional Bandha products of Cuttack district of Odisha.So some recommendations were forwarded to Govt.for sustainability of such indigenous Bandha
products as well as improvement in livelihood system of Bandha weavers in the coastal part of Odisha.

A field experiment was conducted during the kharif season to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management on soil chemical properties of rajmash in Phek district of Nagaland at Porba village. The experiment had three replications and 18 treatments. The integrated treatments involving both organic and inorganic fertilizer influenced favourably the fertility status of the soil as compared to the control. An increase in the pH of the soil at the end of the cropping sequence from the initial value was observed. Organic carbon content, EC and CEC of the soil were found to be increased in all the treatments over the initial value and the highest value was recorded in treatment where 5 t FYM + Biofertilizer + Lime+ 50% NPK were applied.

The study was undertaken in the operational area of Vedanta in Jharsuguda district of Odisha. Since the corporate house has the highest investment under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Rs. 63.21 crore in Odisha and implemented various developmental programmes for the welfare of the tribal communities particularly women and children, the Vedanta in Jharsuguda has been purposively selected for the study. The knowledge gained is a very important parameter which affect the adoption level of various developmental
activities. Survey research design was used to gather data. Multiphase sampling technique has been followed to select blocks, panchayats, villages and respondents. The study sample included a total of 240 women in the operational area of Vedanta. The study revealed that majority of the respondents (65.84%) had medium socioeconomic status. Significant gap (35.33%) was observed on the extent of knowledge gained by the beneficiary and other category of the respondents on different developmental activities like rehabilitation and resettlement, creation of community assets, health care and sanitation, infrastructure developed, educational and farm activities. Statistical tools used were percentage, mean score, standard deviation, rank order and score gap.

Goat farming is a significant source of income for the poor, particularly for disadvantaged farmers who rear goats in a traditional system with little to no inputs. Goats are a climate-adaptable species that can provide food security in the future. In this background current study was conducted to know about the goat farmers’ knowledge on climate change through pre-tested interview schedule, data were collected from 381 Kanni Adu goat farmers in southern region of Tamil Nadu. The findings of this study revealed that 75.33 per cent of
the respondents had knowledge on rainy season begins in the month of October under individual statement wise knowledge category. In component wise knowledge level, nearly half of the respondents had knowledge on weather items such as rainy season, southwest monsoon and northeast monsoon whereas knowledge gap has been observed in understanding the meaning of climate change (96.59%) and causes of climate change (90.60%). Under overall category, the majority of farmers (85.04%) had a medium to low level of knowledge. Under these circumstances, raising awareness about the negative effects of climate change is unquestionably warranted through a variety of approaches to be taken by the Government Institutions concerned.

An experiment was carried out at farmer’s field in intermediate zone of Rajouri district in Jammu & Kashmir to assess the effect of sowing system on yield and cost of practice of maize crop. The study consisted of treatment T1: broadcasting of maize seed after three times tractor drawn cultivator, T2: broadcasting of maize seed after one time tractor operated rotavator and one time cultivator and T3: Tractor drawn multi crop planter after one time tractor operated rotavator for sowing of maize crop at farmers’ field. The multi crop planter was used for line sowing of seed and fertilizer at proper depth to achieve increased productivity. The use of precise planter for seeds could save the seed in the require 15 to 20 per cent. Multi crop planter helped in efficient conduct of intercultural operation to reduce the weeds and use of other inputs. It was found that the yield of maize under treatments T1
, T2 and T3 was 21.0q/ha, 23.0q/ha and 31.0q/ha, respectively where as net returns were Rs 18,400/ha, Rs 22,100/ha and Rs 31,200/ha, respectively. The benefit cost ratio in treatments T1, T2 and T3 was 1.38, 1.86 and 1.98, respectively. Increase in yield by treatment T3 was 42.86 per cent over treatment T1 . The results of agronomic observations revealed that plant height and depth of root were superior in treatment T3 where as treatment T1 was found to be less effective.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the man power utilization in management of different groups of cattle at Agrim dairy farm, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The study was carried out on 140 animals in different groups of animals under various operations which are milking, washing the animals, cleaning the shed, feeding, watering and miscellaneous works. The animals were divided into six groups i.e. milch (G1), pregnant (G2), dry animal (G3), calves (G4), heifers (G5) and bull & bullock (G6). It was observed that the average time taken in milking operation was 14.05±0.048 min/animal/day. The average time taken in washing and cleaning operation in milch, pregnant, dry cows, calves, heifers and bull & bullock
was 9.85±0.058, 7.90±0.073, 7.25±0.060, 7.10±0.066, 8.95±0.069 and 8.75±0.077 man-minutes/animal/day, respectively. Milch cows took more time in washing and cleaning operation than other categories of animals. This might be due to clean milk production. Feeding and watering operation of milch cows also took more time over the pregnant and dry animals because of the additional work involved  in soaking of concentrate mixture two times prior to feeding at the time of milking. Pregnant cows took more time for miscellaneous works because of additional care shown towards their management.

In present investigation was carried in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh. Twelve milk producing villages from Bhagyanagar and Acchalda blocks of Auraiya district were selected randomly and 10 farm women from each village who had minimum 5 years of experience in dairy farming were selected. Thus, a total of 120 dairy farm women were interviewed in the present study. Five major areas of animal husbandry practices i.e., breeding, feeding, fodder production, management and animal health care were identified. The reults revealed that amongst various animal husbandry practices followed at a dairy farm, the participants ranked management practices at number 1 with a mean score of 2.98 followed by breeding practices (2.96), animal health care (2.91), fodder production (2.84) and feeding practices ( 2.54). Therefore, it can be said that while finalizing annual action plan by any agency in the field of dairy husbandry must take into account above area of  training needs and include in the training programme for rural women in the district Auraiya of Uttar Pradesh.

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) accounts for 14 per cent of the total world production of edible mushroom. In Kerala, paddy straw is the most common substrate used for the production but since availability of good quality straw has become a limitation, farmers were forced to shift to new substrates. Rubber saw dust has been proved to be an alternative substrate but not commonly available. Hence an effort was made to assess the suitability of match wood (Ailanthus exelsa)saw dust which is commonly available in Alappuzha district
as a substrate for production of oyster mushroom. For this, an On Farm Testing (OFT) was conducted in five mushroom units in Chengannur block of Alappuzha district. It could be observed that the spawn running period, days to harvest and interval between flushes were almost same in match wood saw dust medium compared to that in rubber saw dust but better compared to that of paddy straw. The yield obtained per bed was 1.07 kg compared to 1.02 kg from rubber saw dust for a crop duration of about 120d whereas the beds with paddy straw yielded 0.69 kg for a duration of 60d. The study indicated that match wood saw dust can be used as an alternative substrate for mushroom production as it is cheaper and yielded at par with rubber saw dust. The BC ratio also was found to be favourable compared to the other substrates.

Karpooram is a traditional mango variety found mainly in the homesteads of southern Kerala viz., Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram, districts. The fruit of this variety has a characteristic flavor of Karpooram or camphor. This is a table variety with medium to large fruit size, high pulp content, less fibrous flesh compared to other traditional mango varieties. The study was conducted at the Farming Systems Research Station, Sadanandapuram, Kerala Agricultural University during 2018 – 2020 to evaluate the various accessions of traditional mango variety Karpooram in Southern Kerala. During the survey, a good number of Karpooram mango trees were located in Kollam district. Fruit weight varied between
250g to 675g. The tree is moderately vigorous with spreading habit. The values for other characteristics like inflorescence (12.6 cm – 38.6 cm0, inflorescence width (7.4 cm – 31.2 cm), inflorescence shape from pyramidal to broadly pyramidal, inflorescence colour from cream and pink flowers, inflorescence position is mostly terminal, petiole length (1.7 cm – 6.5 cm), leaf length (13.5 cm – 27.9 cm), leaf width (3.2 cm – 7.2 cm), tree height varies from tall to medium (6.2 m – 12.4 m) were observed. Fruit bearing type was solitary. Highest TSS (200
brix) was reported from accession KLM 35 and KLM 36, lowest acidity of 0.32 per cent was reported from KLM 21, KLM 22, KLM 32 , KLM 33 and PTA 2. Highest carotenoid content
of 4.89 mg/100g was reported from KLM 26, highest ascorbic acid content of 30 mg/ 100g was reported from KLM 32. Highest total sugar content of 18.6 per cent was reported from KLM-21. Reducing sugar content (3.6%) was highest in KLM 33.Highest fruit number of 800 was reported from accession KLM 21.

Front line demonstrations on rainfed crop management in Moth bean was conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Athiyasan, Nagaur-I during kharif 2019 and 2020 in Mandeli, Teetari, Didiya Kalan and Jhadeli village of the Nagaur district on an area of total 40 ha with the objective to demonstrate the improved technologies meant for proving production potential of Moth bean. The improved technologies consisted use of improved variety, soil treatment by Trichoderma viride, seeds treatment with Carbendazim @ 2.0 g/kg seed and inoculated with Rhizobium @ 10 g/kg seed and PSB @ 10 g/kg seed and weed management by Imizathapyr. The yield was found 5.60 q/ha in demonstration plot as compared to farmer’s practice (4.33q/ha) which reveals 25.17 per cent higher yield by use of improved technology. The higher net income (Rs. 20437/ha) and benefit cost ratio (2.30) was realized in demonstration of integrated crop management practices. The lower net income (Rs. 11702/ha) and benefit cost ratio (1.83) was recorded in farmer’s practice.

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the Rice (Oryza Sativa) varieties suitable for natural farming syatem. The experiment was carried out in the Kharif season of 2019 and 2020 at ICAR-Krishi Vigyan  Kendra, North & Middle Andaman, Nimbudera to study the yield attributes of different rice varieties. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) and replicated fourth times. The treatments consisted of 05 five rice varieties viz., Gayatri, Sarala, Hasanta, Maudamani, CSR 36. The variety Maudamani produced significantly higher grain yield of 8.6 t/ha and straw yield 9.6 t/ha and registered a enhanced yield increase ranging from 32 to 82 per cent over the other varieties. It was found that varieties and cultures differ widely among themselves when grown under similar natural farming system in terms of grain and straw yield. Hence, it was inferred that Maudamani rice variety proved better yield performing followed by Gayatri.

An On Farm trial (OFT) was conducted during Kharif 2019-20 and 2020- 21seasons at the farmers’ field to manage the leaf folder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis through conventional and newer insecticides in rice. Three treatments assessed were T1-Farmer’s practice (Chloropyriphos 20 EC @ 2 ml/l), T2- Monocrotophos 36 WSC @ 1.5 ml/l of water (recommended) and T3 -Flubediamide 480 SC (Fame) @ 0.3 ml/l (New Intervention).The results revealed that use of Flubediamide 480 SC (Fame) @ 0.3 ml/l of water was observed to be superior which resulted in 64.86 per cent reduction in damage to leaves of Paddy and increased the grain yield to an extent of 43.18 per cent over farmers’ practice (Chloropyriphos 20 EC @ 2 ml/l of water) followed by Monocrotophos 36 WSC @ 1.5 ml/l of water In terms of cost benefits Flubediamide 480 SC was proved to be the best. Therefore, the use of Flubediamide 480 SC @ 0.3 ml./lt. of water can be recommended for control of leaf folder in paddy.

Paddy parboiling is one of the tedious tasks done by female workers. Traditional method of paddy parboiling by using traditional utensil is fatigue, consumes time and output is also very low. Different manual paddy parboiling techniques have been developed by various research centres and use of paddy parboiling drum is one of them. Keeping this in view, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mayurbhanj-1 had conducted demonstration on paddy parboiling drum for drudgery reduction of farm women and compared its performance with traditional method of parboiling by traditional utensils. Ten female subjects each were selected from two village in the age group 25-45yr. The mean value of working heart rate was observed to be 112 and
111 beats/min under traditional method of paddy parboiling whereas 102 and 103 beats/min in NRRI paddy parboiling drum in Kadalibadia and Gundihudi villages, respectively. The output was observed to be maximum 68 and 69kg/hr in NRRI paddy parboiling drum whereas 37 and 35.5kg/hr in traditional method of paddy parboiling for both the village in Mayurbhanj district. The energy expenditure in paddy parboiling by NRRI paddy parboiling drum was same for two villages i.e 8.61kj/min and traditional method was 5.43and 3.681 kJ/min respectively in two villages. Hence, from drudgery aspect and output point of view NRRI paddy parboiling drum was better than that of traditional method of paddy parboiling utensils.

The study was carried out by the active participation of five farmers with the objective to demonstrate the nutrigarden in terrace for organic vegetable production in an area of 25 square meter using various organic materials with continuous observation and management practices. The results showed that the bhendi equivalent yield of multi vegetables was 276.6 q/ha and 49 per cent more yield over check yield (186 q/ha). The farmer’s average income was increased from Rs.509/-d/ha (land-check) to Rs.758 /d/ ha (terrace-demo). Per capita consumption level of vegetables increased from 100g to 310g per day per family. The nutrition garden ensured access to increase economic value and healthy diet at doorstep.

The main aim of the study was to prepare organoleptic accepted fish pickle by using preservatives like vinegar, sodium benzoate, salt at different ratios and study shelf life for a period of180d by observing changes in colour, flavor, texture and appearance of fungus. The results showed that fish pickle stored successfully for 180 d at ambient temperature (26 ± 4? C) without any significant change in the quality attribute after incorporation of vinegar and sodium benzoate as a common preservative. Therefore, the preservation of fish pickle by making use of vinegar and sodium benzoate was the best method for extending the shelf life and to retard the growth of microbial load. It was also found that vinegar cured fried fish blanched +8per cent salt +spice+35per cent mustard oil 0.1% sodium benzoate and store in sterilized glass bottle got highest sensorial score in terms of colour, flavour, texture, taste, appearance and overall acceptability than other four treatments.

Mushroom production has enormous potential to improve food security and financial security, resulting in higher economic growth. The study was conducted in the farmer’s setting and laboratory of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Wayanad. The data for economic analysis and farmers’ constraints was the response data collated from Wayanad farmers who attended the training programmes on mushroom cultivation at KVK Wayanad. Experiments on mushrooms were conducted as FLDs and OFTs of KVK in the KVK laboratory and farmer’s setting. Experimental trials prove that the respondents prefer Pleurotus cystidiosus due to its higher yield, B: C ratio, and fewer days for bud initiation. The comparative economic analysis of the various agricultural enterprises revealed that value addition in mushrooms is highly profitable. The study also shows that milky mushroom production is not beneficial in the study area and banana pseudostem waste is a suitable substrate for mushroom cultivation. Results also unveil that unorganized market structure is the major constraint faced by the farmers.

The farmers of Tiruchirappalli District were found cultivating age old groundnut varieties VRI 2, TMV 7 and other local varieties and hence were getting lower productivity. An on farm research TRIAL was conducted during 2017-2018 with main objective to assess suitable drought tolerant groundnut variety in terms of yield, acceptability and adoption potential during Kharif season. The experiment was laid out in five replications in five locations with four treatments in Manapparai block of Tiruchirappalli district as a rainfed crop. The treatments were TO1-Farmers’ Practice – Groundnut variety VRI2; TO2-varietyCO 7, TO3 – variety VRI 8 and TO4- variety Kadiri 9. The results revealed that the groundnut variety VRI8 gave higher yield (42% higher than local) followed by Kadiri 9 and CO7 compared to local or old varieties in use by the farmers. The plant population stand was higher in VRI 8 (23.2 no/m2 ) and the number of pods per plant (31) than in other varieties and performed well under drought situation, even it withstood delayed irrigation for 10-15 d.
Through KVK interventions like conduct of on and off campus training, field days, focus group meetings sponsored trainings and supply of improved groundnut technologies for getting higher yield. It could be concluded that the groundnut varieties VRI 8 and Kadiri 9 were almost on par in yield parameters and application of crop booster groundnut rich resulted in enhanced yield up to 25 per cent. Major constraints faced by the farmers were the pod size differed for all the varieties so the market rate, lack of knowledge to store the latest varieties and sell them separately and no timely supply of seeds from government/Institutions.

The objective of this programme was to increase indigenous production of pulses and make available  quality improved/ high yielding / climate resilient varieties to farmers, government, non- government organizations in time as per indent or demand placed and to achieve self sufficiency in respect of seeds at village level itself. The seeds are sold at the price fixed by KVK with 10 to 20 per cent more either on market price. Farmers of selected village for seed hub are working under the technical support and guidance of KVK scientists. They were trained technically and made more sound by adopting good agronomic practices to fulfill the objective. About150 farmers from 16 villages of Ramgarh block participated actively in this participatory seed production programme. Improved varieties of six types of pulses were cultivated and seeds produced. Under this programme pigeon pea production area in Dumka occupied 90 ha in kharif which was maximum followed by chick pea with 61 ha in rabi and overall 223 ha area was covered to produce 2051 q of pulse seeds since kharif 2016 to rabi 2020, Zonal research stations, government departments, NGOs and other KVK lifted seeds as per their indent.

An improved variety for backyard poultry namely Rajasri bird was distributed to rural farmers belonging to SC community to improve their livelihood in the year 2020 in Guntur district. A total of 1250 day old chicks were reared under deep litter system at Krishi Vignan Kendra, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Guntur district up to the age of 6 wk on balanced diet and vaccinated as per the recommended protocol. At the end of 6th week, a total of 900 birds were distributed to 45 identified SC beneficiaries free of cost. Each unit comprised of ten males and ten females (20 birds in each unit). In the present study, Rajasri birds achieved sexual maturity at the age of 165 d with an average body weight of 1300 – 1400 g. The average annual egg production/ bird was 160 – 170eggs per year with an average weight of 45 – 55 g, less mortality rate was observed in Rajasri birds. The results revealed
a significant increase in income @Rs.8950/-per family per annum by sale of eggs and male birds and also a significant increase in consumption of eggs and meat among below poverty line (BPL) families.

Fruit beverages serve as dietary supplements that are rich in vitamins, minerals and vital micronutrients with many potential health benefits. Functional beverages are the fastest growing product category for delivery of a range of functional ingredients that contribute to human health. Cashew is an important commercial crop and is designated as Dollar earning crop of the country. During the cashew processing, the nutritionally rich cashew apple is wasted which has good potential in fruit beverage industry. Aloe has been recognized internationally as a functional food resource especially for the preparation of health drinks. In the present study, development of functional cashew apple ready to serve (RTS) beverage
with different levels of aloe gel supplementation was done and assessed the storage stability at room temperature. Biochemical, sensory and microbial analyses were conducted periodically during the storage. The RTS formulation supplemented with 10 per cent osmo-dehydrated aloe gel cubes recorded the highest TSS (13.000Brix), reducing sugar (4.92%), total sugar (7.95%), ascorbic acid (20.84mg /100g), antioxidant activity (80.72%), total phenols (90.51 µg /g) and crude fiber content (0.99 %) with the highest sensory scores for appearance, colour, flavour, taste and overall acceptability. The formulation was acceptable for sensory and biochemical qualities and microbiologically safe up to three months of storage.

The present research study was conducted to explore relationship between the selected socio-economic characteristics of the rural women and constraints faced by them during agricultural activities in Jaipur district of Rajasthan. From selected district, two panchayat samities (Dudu and Jalsu) were selected by using simple random sampling. From these panchayat samities, five villages from each panchayat samiti were selected by using simple random sampling. Similarly, from 10 selected villages 120 respondents were selected by proportionate random sampling. The result of the study showed that the farm women’s education (-0.222), farming experience (-0.301), annual income (-0.314), and extension participation (-0.317) were negative and significant relationship with constraints encountered by rural women during agricultural activities. The farm women’s age (-0.064 NS) and land holding (-0.036 NS) were found to have a negative and non-significant relationship with their participation in agricultural activities and the farm women’s marital status (0.044 NS) was found to have a positive and non-significant relationship.

The experiment was conducted during kharif 2017 and 2018 seasons in five villages of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh to study the impact of zinc supplementation on growth and yield parameters in paddy. Three treatments were comprised of T1 : Farmer’s practice (FP) 12:32:16 (NPK) 100 kg/ ha and Urea 100 kg/ha, T2 : FYM @ 20 t/ha + Recommended dose of 100% NPK @ 125:100:60 kg/ha and T3: T2 + zinc sulphate @ 25 kg/ha. Farm Yard Manure (FYM) @ 20 t/ha + recommended dose (100 % NPK) along with ZnSO4 @ 25 kg/ha applied at the time of transplanting. The significant increase in growth parameters viz. plant height (111.2 cm), number of tillers (14.30), ear length (27.65 cm) and days of maturity (113.32) was recorded as compared to the control T1 (103.05 cm, 10.70, 21.85 cm and 110.6). 1000 grain weight, grain yield and straw yield recorded in T3 were 21.77 g, 45.75 and 56.28 q/ha, respectively. The highest net return and B:C ratio were recorded in T3 (Rs. 42791/-and 2.26) over the farmers’ practice T1with net return of Rs. 29625/- and B:C ratio 1.94 where the zinc was applied. The harvest index and nutrient concentration in soil also recorded the increase during both the years of study. The treatment T2 also reported the significant improvement over the farmer’s practice T1 in growth and yield parameters, harvest index, zinc content in soil and economics during both the years.

This study was carried out with the objective to assess soil erosion losses after intervention of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Chandel with modern scientific technology in the traditional conventional cultivation followed in the hilly sloping areas of the district. This is for the first time such a resource conservation technology has been demonstrated in the district of Chandel in Manipur. Bench terracing is a timeproven technology practiced across the world in sloping fields. Though construction of bench terraces is often time-consuming and laborious at the initial stage, but is worth it, given the long-lifespan and the efficacy it shows. It was demonstrated that soil retention up to a tune of 207.5 t/ ha/yr in the first
year, nearly 136.5 t/ha in the second year, nearly 88.9 t/ha in the third year and almost 78.3 t/ha in the fourth year could be achieved. Thus, it was concluded that systematic and proper layout of bench terraces in the hill fields can dramatically reduce a huge amount of soil from getting eroded from the farm land of Chandel, Manipur and thus lead the tribal farmers towards sustainable existence through agriculture.

The zooplankton provide a direct link between primary producers and higher tropic levels. The present study was conducted during September, 2019 to August, 2020 in lake Kharungpat of Manipur which is situated towards the southern lowlands of the central valley of Manipur in the Kakching district. Cladocera, Copepoda and Rotifera were three major zooplankton groups identified with a percentage composition of 47.72, 33.87 and 18.41 percent, respectively. A total of 16 species under 13 families and 8 orders were identified in which Cyclops spp., and Brachionus spp. Daphnia spp. was observed highly abundant followed by Trichocerca spp. and Moina spp. Site wise biodiversity indices calculated showed that the Dominance index ‘D’ was found maximum in Site 2 (0.0997) followed by Site 1 (0.09947), Site 5 (0.09826), Site 3 (0.09628) and Site 4 (0.09315). The Simpson index was found highest in Site 4 (0.9068) followed by Site 3, Site 5, Site 1 and Site 2 with an index value of 0.09037, 0.9017, 0.9005 and 0.9002, respectively. The Shannon index value for Site 1, Site 2, Site 4 and Site 5 were 2.535, 2.538, 2.557, 2.552 and 2.525, respectively. The Evenness richness index showed maximum value in Site 3 (0.8059) followed by Site 4 (0.8017), Site
2 (0.7906), Site 1 (0.7888) and Site 5 (0.7809). The ecological conservation and management of the lake by giving due emphasis on zooplankton community structure should be taken up to managed the lake.

White leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farming is getting faster attention and therefore, an investigation was carried out to study economics of L. vannamei culture carried out by a group of aqua-entrepreneurs. Information was collected from the farmer group through focused group discussion and the results revealed that, with initial investment through individual contribution started shrimp farming in 0.4 ha area. Initially this group faced some technical and management related problems due to unaware of scientific shrimp farming. After undergoing shrimp culture skill training, successfully doing shrimp farming and each group member now earning approximately net income Rs. 1.66lakh/yr. The study also revealed that this group has brought a significant improvement in socio-economic status of group members. It is suggested that potential farmers can come together and form groups and start group farming activity with the financial assistance from financial institutions.

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Darsi conducted on farm trials on short duration varieties of Redgram (Co (RG) 7, ICPL 20338, LRG 41) at 12 farmers fields in three villages viz., Korlamadugu of Darsi mandal during 2016- 17, Botlapalem and Reddynagar of Mundlamuru mandal during 2017-18. OFT was conducted on 4.8 ha with seed rate of 5kg/ha. Urea @ 50 kg/ha was applied. Harvesting was done by cutting the above ground parts. LRG 41 has shown advantage over short duration varieties in terms of yield attributes, yield, net returns and C: B ratio but cost of cultivation was less in short duration varieties and also suitable for double cropping system. Mean yield of short duration varieties CoRG 7 and ICPL 20338 was 8.1 and 7.9 q/ha, respectively. LRG 41 recorded mean yield of 11.0q/ha. Gross returns were substantially higher in Co RG 7 compared to ICPL 20338 whereas, net returns and C: B ration was higher in ICPL 20338. Mean gross returns of Rs. 40500/-, 39500/- and 56250/-ha were recorded in CoRG 7, ICPL 20338 and LRG 41, respectively.

The field experiment was conducted at students’ farm, Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to study the response of groundnut cultivars (bunch and spreading nature) to planting methods and sulphur levels. The experiment was laid in split plot design with three replications comprising five planting methods viz., flat, bed, ridge, trench and furrow sowing with earthing up and two varieties i.e., SG 99 and M 522 in main plots while three sulphur levels viz., S0, S25 and S50 in sub plots. The results revealed that maximum seed yield of groundnut (23.78 q/ha) was obtained in furrow sowing followed by earthing up method which was significantly superior over flat and ridge planting and at par with trench and bed planting methods. Similarly, plant height, leaf area index, dry matter accumulation, pods/plant and kernels/pod were more in furrow sowing followed by earthing up planting method. Among varieties, the highest pod yield of 22.42 q/ha was recorded in bunch type variety SG 99 which was statistically at par with the spreading type variety M 522 (22.34 q/ha). The maximum pod yield (23.34 q/ha) was observed with 50 kg S/ha, which was at par with 25 kg S/ha (22.73 q/ha) and significantly higher over control (21.19 q/ha). Haulm yield and total yield were not significantly influenced by various levels of sulphur but both were increased with increase in sulphur levels.

The technological and extension yield gaps of oilseeds were studied during kharif and rabi seasons of year 2016-17 to 2018-19 under cluster front line demonstrations programme of oilseed crops in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh. It was revealed that there was a wide yield gap between potential and demonstrations yields in oilseed crops mainly due to technology and extension gaps. The maximum extension gap was found in mustard followed by linseed. By adopting the improved production technology of different crops, the productivity can be raised up to 24.42 per cent in soybean, 46.88 per cent in mustard and 52.83 per cent in linseed crops, respectively.

A study was conducted to make use of different mulch materials and its effects on various growth parameters of strawberry (Fragaria x Ananassa Duch.) var. Sweet Charlie at N. Vanlaiphai, Mizoram. Mulch materials used were – Straw (T1), Saw dust (T2), Wood shaving (T3), Leaf litter (T4), Pine needle(T5), Cut grass (T6), Rice husk (T7), Black polythene (T8), Silver on black polythene (T9) and Control(T10). The strawberry plants were cultivated under open condition provided with sub-surface irrigation. The maximum plant height (26.89 cm), maximum plant spread (33.16 cm) (N-S), maximum plant spread (31.23 cm) (E-W), maximum no of leaves (26.33) was recorded with black polythene mulch (T8) up to
90 days after planting. Maximum number of flower (43.2) and fruit formation (38.5) were obtained with black polythene mulch (T8). Also, highest record of fruit length (4.23 cm), fruit width (3.52 cm) and runner formation (6.8 nos.) were again obtained in black polythene mulch (T8) along with maximum fruit weight (20.24 g). Highest record of anthocyanin content (38.53 mg/100g) and TSS (8.28 Brix) was again obtained under black polythene mulch (T8). On the other hand, minimum record of weed intensity (1.33) was in black polythene mulch while maximum record of weeds intensity (15.93) was in control (T10). Thus, black polythene mulch showed superior plant performance among various mulch materials tried in the experiment.

The present experiment was conducted at the farmer’s field during the year 2018, 2019 and 2020 to evaluate varietal performance of three strawberry cultivars. A net area of 180 sqm was selected for the experiment and plots were made (3m x 4m each) in a randomized block design with five replications. The sapling of all 3 varieties of strawberry was planted at a spacing of 30cm x 30cm following good agricultural practices to have a good crop. The results revealed that variety Winter dawn produced higher vegetative growth characters
like plant height (22.38 cm), number of leaves (25.69), numbers of runners (5.34) and length of runners (65.08 cm) per plant as compared to Sweet Charlie and local farmer’s variety that showed the minimum vegetative growth. Early flowering with more number of flowers (45) and early fruiting with more numbers of fruit per plant (35.61) were observed in variety Winter dawn in comparison to both Sweet charlie and local farmer’s variety. The fruit characters like individual fruit weight (34.57g) was higher in variety Winter dawn that varied significantly with Sweet charlie (20.71g) and Local farmers variety (13.59g). The highest yield per plant (1231.04g) was obtained from Winter dawn where as Sweet Charlie and local farmers variety produced 526.03g and 252.09g per plant, respectively. The cultivation of Winter dawn was more economical as compared to Sweet charly and farmer’s variety in terms of yield performance of among three varieties and Winter dawn can be recommended for commercial cultivation by the farmers to have a good crop.

The study was conducted in the different blocks of Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh. On farm trials with zero tillage wheat has shown primarily positive impact on wheat crop management, particularly through reduced input needs combined with yield increase. The trials were conducted during the rabi season at 40 farmers fields, to assess the production potential and economic benefit of sowing of wheat under zero tillage method versus conventional tillage (farmer’s practice). Improved technology consisted of wheat variety GW 322, integrated nutrient management (100:60:40:25 kg of N:P:K:S/ha+ Azotobacter + PSB @ 10 ml/kg of seed), integrated pest management (deep ploughing + seed treatment with Trichoderma viridae @ 10 ml/kg seed) under irrigated conditions during rabi seasons of 2016-17 to 2019-20. The improved technologies recorded mean yield of 44.66q/ha, which was 24 per cent higher than that obtained under farmers’ practice of 38.29q/ha. Similarly, improved technologies gave higher mean net return of Rs. 59874/-ha with a benefit cost ratio 3.41 as compared to farmers’ practice (Rs. 43848/-ha).

The assessment on cross breeding technology employing boer cross breed bucks with local non-descript goats was carried out by KVK, Kattupakkam, Kanchepuram district to find out the performance of boer cross bucks with local non-descript goats. The results revealed that the breeding parameters of boer cross namely tupping, kidding and twinning percentage observed were as 42.81, 46.43 and 41.67, respectively and the average birth weight of boer cross bred kids was recorded as 1.93 kg, whereas the weaning weight of kids at two months of age was 7.53 kg. The economic analysis of the study revealed that the benefit cost ratio for the technological intervention of cross breeding of boer cross bucks with local nondescript goats was 1.39 :1 which was comparatively higher than pure breeding of local non-descript goats.

Bovine mastitis is a dairy cattle disease with high economic impact. Subclinical mastitis (SCM) contributes to most of the financial losses. A total of 229 milk samples were subjected to surf field mastitis (SFMT) test and Tanuchek SCC kit to quantify their efficacy in detecting sub clinical mastitis in dairy cows, of which 41 samples were found to be positive with SFMT and 20 samples positive with Tanuchek SCC kit. The study concluded that SFMT was significantly (p < 0.05) more sensitive than Tanuchek SCC kit.