Kulvir Singh

Impact of Harvest-aid Defoliants on Yield of American Cotton and Their Monetary Evaluation

Field experiments were conducted during Kharif 2012 and 2013 to determine the effect of two harvest-aid defoliants i.e Dropp ultra® and Ethrel, their application rates and time of application on three American cotton cultivars. Pooled data revealed significantly higher seed cotton yield for Bt hybrids MRC7361BGII (3055.2kg/ha) and MRC7017BGII (2913.0 kg/ha) as compared to non Bt variety F1861 (2346.0 kg/ha). Among tested defoliants, Dropp ultra® @200ml/ha resulted in better SCY, lint and seed yield. This yield enhancement in case of Dropp ultra® @ 200 ml/ha further lead to significantly better net returns (? 85373/ha) and B: C ratio (2.31) over other treatments. Application of defoliants at 150DAS resulted in significantly improved net returns (? 79288/ha) as compared to earlier application (? 73632/ha) at 140 DAS. Improved water productivity and fertilizer use efficiency coupled with better B: C ratio for Dropp ultra® @ 200 ml/ha at 150 DAS clearly indicated its superiority among all treatments. Therefore Bt hybrids seems to be superior over the non Bt varieties and application of ethrel@2000ppm or dropp ultra® @ 200 ml/ha at 150 DAS should be adopted as useful production practice for enhancing cotton yield under semi-arid conditions of north-western India.

Information Communication Technology for Extension: A Mobile Phone Based Voice Call System for Dissemination of Cotton Production Technologies

ABSTRACT Dissemination of newer crop production technologies among growers is the major bottleneck in the existing extension system. This study proposes an innovative method for dissemination of cotton cultivation technologies through mobile phones. The voice advisories on different aspects of cotton cultivation were sent to mobile phones of growers, as and when required in the field. Feedback from growers revealed it as a highly acceptable extension technique, which helped them to make crucial time-specific decisions for crop management. The system has the potential to reach and benefit each and every grower at a very low cost compared to conventional training and visit extension system.

Weed management in cotton with pre-and post-emergence herbicides

Weed control method effective in one set of conditions may not be effective in other set of conditions due to fertility variation and irrigation water availability (Nadeem et al. 2013). Herbicides have remained the principal tool and foundation of most effective weed control programs (Norsworthy et al. 2012). With increasing availability of new chemicals, their weed control efficiency needs to be evaluated. Generation of such information through field experimentation under site-specific conditions is very crucial for guiding cotton growers.

Investigations on Competition in Sugarcane-Garlic Intercropping Systems

Increasing area under food crops is not possible due to limited availability of agricultural land owing to ever growing human population. The sole option is to enhance food production on the available land. Intercropping, if properly managed, can go in a long way to solve the problems of low productivity per unit area and sustainability of a production system. A field experiment was conducted on sugarcane and garlic based inter-cropping systems during autumn season of 2009–10 and 2010–11 at Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Faridkot. Sugarcane was planted by conventional flat method at 90 cm row spacing and paired row trench planting (90: 30 cm). Two and three rows of garlic as an intercrop were planted in sugarcane and were compared with their sole crops. Paired row trench planting sugarcane either sole or intercropped with garlic, recorded higher cane equivalent yield and economic returns than sugarcane planted in furrows on flat beds. Inter-cropping system of two and three rows of garlic with autumn sugarcane recorded similar cane yield. However, economic returns were better than sole sugarcane crop under both the planting methods. Three rows of garlic, when intercropped in conventional flat planted sugarcane, gave 50 and 41% higher B: C than sole sugarcane during 2009–10 and 2010–11, respectively. The corresponding values for paired row trench planted sugarcane were 27 and 20%, respectively, for both the seasons. This was mainly due to higher price of garlic.

Effect of different defoliants and their rate and time of application on American cotton cultivars under semi-arid conditions of north-western India

Field studies were conducted to determine the effect of different defoliants i. e. Dropp ultra® and Ethrel (ethefon), their rates and time of application (140 and 150 DAS) to influence earliness and yield in three cotton cultivars. MRC 7361 BGII (3171.8 kg/ha) and MRC 7017 BGII (3083.3 kg/ha) gave significantly higher yield as compared to F 1861 (2454.9 kg/ha) due to better boll retention, boll weight and sympods. Dropp ultra® @ 200 ml/ha recorded significantly highest yield (3111.6 kg/ha) followed by Ethrel @ 2000 ppm (2948.3 kg/ha) and control (2878.9 kg/ha), while statistically least yield (2674.5 kg/ha) was observed with Dropp ultra® @ 225 ml/ha. Defoliants applied at 150 days after sowing (DAS) resulted in significantly higher yield (3017.7 kg/ha) as compared to early application at 140 DAS (2789.0 kg/ha) owing to significantly improved boll retention and better boll weight. Data indicated that Dropp ultra® @ 200 ml/ha had potential to promote crop earliness, better boll retention by keeping vegetative and reproductive growth in harmony to enhance seed cotton yield.

Growth, seed cotton yield and yield attributes of American cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) hybrids under different spacing and nitrogen levels.

Field studies were conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Station, Faridkot during Kharif 2013 to evaluate the performance of two hirsutum hybrids (FHH200 and LHH144) in main, two spacing levels (67.5×75 cm and 67.5×90 cm) in sub and three nitrogen levels (i.e. 112,150 and 187 kg N/ha) in sub plots of Split Plot Design replicated thrice. FHH200 recorded significantly highest seed cotton yield (SCY) of 2953.1 kg/ha followed by LHH144 (2495.2 kg/ha), while among spacing levels differences were non-significant. Among tested N levels, 150 kg N resulted in highest SCY (2868.1 kg/ha) followed by 187kg N (2738.1 kg/ha) while statistically least SCY was recorded with 112 kg N (2566.3 kg/ha). Though cost of cultivation increased with each increase of nutrient levels, but gross as well as net returns improved significantly only up to 100 per cent RD and declined thereafter. B:C ratio was significantly higher under 150kg N/ha (2.34) as compared to 187 kgN/ha (2.15). Farmers should opt for FHH200 and a spacing level of 67.5×75cm for hirsutum hybrids and must apply N @150kg/ha to realize higher SCY and consequently remunerative returns.

Effect of agronomic manipulations on growth, yield attributes and seed cotton yield of American cotton under semi-arid conditions

Field studies were conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Station, Faridkot during Kharif 2012 to evaluate the performance of three hirsutum genotypes (Bihani251, CSH3129 and LH2076) in main, two plant geometries (67.5×60 cm and 67.5×75 cm) in sub and three nitrogen levels (56, 75 and 94 kg N/ha) in sub plots of Split Plot Design replicated thrice. None of the tested new genotypes i.e. Bihani 251 (2074.5 kg/ha) and CSH3129 (1969.6 kg/ha) could out yield check variety LH2076 (2281.1 kg/ha). Among plant geometries, 67.5×60 cm recorded significantly better SCY (2258.7 kg/ha) as compared to 67.5×75 cm spacing (1958.1 kg/ha) primarily owing to higher plant population though bolls per plant were significantly superior under wider (44.6) over the narrow (40.9) plant geometry. Seed cotton yield also differed non-significantly for nitrogen levels. Though cost of cultivation increased statistically with each increase of nutrient levels, but gross as well as net returns and B:C ratio could not improve significantly indicating 56 kg N to be optimum level under semi-arid conditions.