Ao Xam Book

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AGRICULTURE SYLABUS (Single Paper)
1. IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE : Importance of Agriculture in Indian Economy and its sectoral

relationship - Agricultural Development through five year plans in India and Tamil Nadu - Growth pattern
of crops in India and Tamil Nadu in terms of area, production and productivity.
2. CROP PRODUCTION : Factors of Production - Agricultural seasons of India and Tamil Nadu -
Cropping patterns in India and Tamil Nadu - Package of practices of different crops - Agro Climatic zones
of India and Tamil Nadu and their features - Weather and Climate - Weather forecasting.
Soil - Soil structure - Factors influencing soil structure - Physical and Chemical properties - Effect of
nutrient availability and plant growth - Problem soils and their management - Soil survey - its objectives
and scope - Soil fertility and productivity - Organic manures, Green manures, Bio fertilizers - Balanced
usage - integrated nutrient management (INM)
Physiological disorders in crop plants and their management - Dry farming - Rainfed agriculture -
Conservation of soil and water - Watershed and Waste land development.
3. CROP IMPROVEMENT : Principles of breeding - Breeding methods - Modern tools in crop

improvement - Hybrid production - Latest varieties of major crops in Tamil Nadu - Application of bio
technology in Agriculture - Tissue culture & its significance - Transgenic Plants.
Seeds - Importance of quality seeds in Agriculture - Nucleus, Breeder, Foundation, Certified and Labelled
seeds - Seed certification techniques and processes in Tamil Nadu - Seed testing - Seed village concept.
4. CROP PROTECTION : Importance of pest, disease and weed management in agriculture - pest and
disease surveillance and forecasting weather on pest and disease incidence - Symptoms of damages and
control measures of pest and diseases of major crops in Tamil Nadu - Integrated pest and disease
management in crop production - Pesticide and their use - Pattern - plant production equipments and their
use - Plant quarantine.
Storage pests & disease and their management. Importance of biological control in insect management.
Weeds - Major weeds and their control.
5. CROP MANAGEMENT : Land use pattern and planning - Size and distribution of holdings - types and
systems of farming - Water resources development and management - Irrigation management of different
crops - Command area development - Ground water Development and Conjunctive use - Water use
efficiency - Quality of irrigation water - Its effect in soil and crops - Management of poor quality water for
crop growth.
TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003
e-mail: jaibeem_212@rediffmail.com
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Cropping system and integrated farming - Recycling of agricultural waste - Mushroom cultivation,
Bee keeping, Silkworm rearing etc., Energy in Agricultural production - Sources - solar, wind, animal,
biomass and biogas - Mechanization in agriculture - Tractors & Tillers - Agricultural Implements and
Machineries and their usage.
Farm management - Principles of farm business management - Cost concepts - Management of resources -
Farm Planning and budgeting - Investment analysis - Agricultural credit system in India - Multi credit
delivery system - Role of nationalised banks and Regional Rural Banks - Lead Bank Scheme - Service Area
Approach - Scale of finance.
Marketing - Agricultural marketing and price policy of agricultural commodities - Market structure -
Warehouses & Rural godowns - Post harvest technologies - Agri business management - Marketing
Institutions.
Policies for agricultural development - Economic liberalisation - WTO and its impact on agricultural
export. Extension methods for transfer of technology - Agricultural Information technology - Role of
women in Agriculture.

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IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture data
India is the highest producer of milk in the world & Second largest producer of fruits & vegetables
Global ranking of India in rice productivity - 52
Agriculture contribution in GDP of India : 22 %
Agriculture provides employments to 56.7 % of the Indian population
Export earning from agriculture in India : 14.7 %
Food production target in India by 2050 is 450 million tones
India is Tropical monsoon bound country
Average annual rainfall of India : 1197 mm, TN 988 mm, World 1000 mm
Average food grain production in India : 1552 kg / ha
Under fruit crops : maxi area covered by Mango & maxi production obtained from Banana
In 2006-07, Food grains production target is 220 mt & achievement is 211.78 mt
Cotton : one bales is 170 kg
Jute and Mestha : one bales is 180 kg
Consumption of pesticides (ton of tech grade) : I st Punjab & IInd UP
Wheat area and production in India : 4th place in the world
Agriculture utilize 85 % of the total water availability in the country
Oil seed production in India : 3rd in production (World rank)
First in : production of groundnut, sesame
Second in : rapeseed - mustard
India is largest producer and exporter of spices
India is first place in coconut and arecanut production
In India, rainfed agriculture is carried out in 65 % of the cultivable area, which contributes 42 % of total
food production (TN area 52 %, contribution 40 %)
India
Land utilization pattern (India & TN)
Total Geographical Area : 328.00 m. ha (TN 13.00 m ha)
Net Area Sown : 141.12 m ha (TN 6.30 m ha)
Gross Cropped Area : 57 mha
Gross Area Sown : 164.00 m ha (TN 7.30 m ha)
Net Area Irrigated : 31.20 m ha (TN 2.70 m ha)
Gross Area Irrigated : 80.50 m ha (TN 3.50 m ha)
Area under forest : 65.90 m ha (TN 2.00 m ha)
Cropping Intensity 135.1 %
Forest area 23.03 % (target 33 %)
Rainfed area 65 % of the Net Cultivated Area
Land use classification : 9 fold classification (Ex. Forest, Grassland, Fallow etc.,)

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Tamilnadu
Rice productivity : 3264 kg per ha
Agmark labs : 30
Total no. of Uzhavar Sandhai : 117 (first & last at Madurai)
First Cooperative Society in India : Thirur of Thiruvallur district (1904)
Classification of district in India
1. Rural district
2. Urban district
3. Industrial district
4. Backward district
5. Hill district
Highest current fallow : Erode
Highest permanent pastures and other grazing land declining : Kanchipuram
Micro nutrient production center : Kudumianmalai
Biofertilizer production centers : Ramnad, Trichy, Kudumianmalai, Salem, Cuddalore, Sakkotai
Total nos. of Soil Testing Labs : 19 + Mobil STL 16 (Central control lab : Kudumianmalai)
Five year plans

First five year plan : importance was given to agriculture & irrigation projects
Mettur dam in TN
Food grain production target was 62.6 million tones
National extension service scheme 1953
Third five year plan failed in agriculture front
Annual plans (3 nos.) : HYV programme 1967 (food production rose to 95.1 m t)
Fifth five year plan : First KVK in Pondycherry in 1974 & Other KVKs in 1977
At present total no. of KVKs in India : 564
Sixth five year plan : called as Janata Govt Plan.
NABARD was formed in 1982
Ninth plan : Kisan Credit Card scheme launched in 1998
Tenth plan : Agriculture was the core element.
Kisan Call Centre 1551
Krishi Darshan TV channel &
Krishi Vani Radio channel has been initiated
Eleventh plan : It increases agricultural GDP growth rate to 4 % per year
ICAR at a glance
Chairman = Director General
President = Union Minister of Agriculture
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Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa, Bihar in 1905, which was shifted to Delhi in 1936 after a
devastating earthquake (now IARI)
On recommendation of Royal Commission report of 1928, the Imperial Council of Agricultural
Research was established on 16 July 1929 (now ICAR) after independence
DARE - Dept. of Agricultural Research and Education was setup in 1973 in the Ministry of
Agriculture to link ICAR with Central & State Govt. and International organizations
The ICAR and collaborating institutes share expenditure on 75:25 basis. However, the Central
institutes and NGOs are funded by the ICAR on 100 % basis
Based on the recommendation of First Education Commission (1949) headed by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan,
the first SAU was setup at Pantnagar, Uttaranchal (1960)
No. of SAU at present in India 38 + one Central Agricultural University at Imphal (Manipur - multi state)
ICAR had appointed Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta committee in 1973. The committee suggested that
establishment of Farm Science Centre (Krishi Vigyan Kendra)
First Krishi Vigyan Kendra started at Pondicherry in 1974 under TNAU
NATP - Externally funded project (funded by world bank)
Technology Mission on Oilseed & Pulses : A division of Ministry of Agriculture, GOI
Publications
Published by Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi
Intensive agriculture
Agricultural situation in India
Agricultural statistics at a glance
Published by Pant University
Indian farmers digest
Institutes
International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, AP
International Plant Genetic Resource Institution, Rome, Italy
NARS - National Agricultural Research System
National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad, AP
National Gene bank at NBPGR, New Delhi
National Centre for IPM, New Delhi
National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad, AP
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta, Bangalore
Indian Institute of Spices Research, Calicut, Kerala ( Spice Board)
Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, UP
Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal (MP)
Indian Institute of Cotton Technology, Mumbai
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Indian Institute of Jute & Allied Fibres Technology, Kolkata

Indian Lac Research Institute, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, TN
Central Institute on Medical and Aromatic Plants, Bangalore
Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasargod, Kerala
Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Trivandrum, Kerala
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana
Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana, Punjab
Central Institute of Arid Horticulture, Bikaner, Rajasthan
Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar
Central Institute of Sub Tropical Horticulture, Lucknow, UP
Central Institute of Dry land Agriculture, Hyderabad, AP
Central Institute of Arid Zone Research, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Central Silk Board, Bangalore
Wheat Breeding Sub Station, Wellington, Nilgiri, TN
Plant Virus Research Station, Wellington, Nilgiri, TN
Potato Experimental & Training Centre, Nilgiri, TN
Brackish Water Aquaculture, Chennai, TN
Fresh Water Aquaculture, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa
ICAR Research complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar
ICAR Research complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Barapani, Meghalaya
National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning, Nagpur, Maharastra
National Bureau of Plant Genetics Resource, New Delhi
National Research Centres (NRC)

First NRC for Groundnut
First AICRP on Maize
Total no of All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRP) : 54
Crop Centre Crop Centre
Agroforestry Jhansi (UP) Sorghum Hyderabad
Cashew Puttur (Karnataka) Soyabean Indore (MP)
Citrus Nagpur (Maharastra) Groundnut Junagath
Grapes & Onion Pune Rape seed - Mustard Bharatpur (Rajasthan)
Oil palm West Godavari (AP) Spices Calicut (Kerala)
Orchids Pakyang (Sikkim) Seed spices Ajmer (Rajasthan)
IPM Faridabad (Haryana) Pomegranate Sholapur (Maharastra)
Orchids Gangtok, Sikkim Banana Trichy (TN)
Plant Biotech New Delhi (Pusa) Medicinal & Aromatic plants Anand (Gujarat)

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DNA Finger Printing New Delhi (Pusa) Mushroom Sholan (HP

Weed science Jabalpur (MP) WTC for Easter Region Bhubaneshwar (Orissa)
Crop Science New Delhi (IARI) Arid Zone Research Jodhpur (Rajasthan)
Project Directorates
Crop Location Crop Location
Rice Hyderabad Water Management Patna, bihar
Oil seeds Hyderabad Biological control Bangalore
Wheat Karnal, Haryana Cropping System Res. Modipuram, UP
Maize Pusa, New Delhi Seed Research Mau Nath Banjan, UP
Pulse Kanpur or Kalyanpur
Soyabean Bhopal, MP
Major food crops & Producing states

Crop States Crop States
Rice WB, AP, UP Pulse MP, UP, Maharastra
Groundnut Gujarat, AP, TN Sugarcane UP, Maharastra, TN
Cotton Gujarat, Maharastra
Crops and Places

Crop Place Crop Place
Pulses Kanpur Cotton Coimbatore
Oil seed & Castor Hyderabad Sugarcane Lucknow
Sunflower Bangalore Forage crops Jhansi
Potato Simla Bio control Bangalore
Nitrogen fixation New Delhi Weed control Jabalpur
Dry land agriculture Hyderabad Water management Karnal
Power tiller Bhopal Farm implements & Bhopal
machinery
Recent developments in agriculture

 Permaculture : Successful management of resources for agriculture
 Kisan khad : Ammonium nitrate + Limestone (neutral fertilizer)
 Transgenic crops : Golden Rice, Transgenic Banana, Nutritionally improved Potato
 Golden rice : Genetically engineered vitamin A rich rice
 Bt Cotton : Developed by Mansanto and registered under the name Bollguard

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 Bio Fuel or Green Fuel : It is extracted from Jatropha seed. The scheme is implemented by
Ministry of Rural Development
 Bio Crop : It is a composting technology developed by TNAU to produce enriched organic
manure from coir dust rapidly
 Molecular Farming : To develop transgenic animal (urine or blood are isolated and purified is
called molecular farming)
 Jalshakti : It is a soil amendment, improves the aeration, infiltration and WHC of the soil
 APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) : A
promotional agency and does not undertake direct export of any product
 Golden Revolution : Horticultural Development
 Vertical Revolution in Agriculture : Maxi production per unit area per unit time using intensive cropping
systems
 Varsha Bima Policy : Agricultural Insurance Company of India Ltd., has launched this policy for
farmers against deficient rain fall during kharif season
 Agriclinic & Agri Business Scheme : Launched in 2001 in collaboration with NABARD
 Agri Export Zone : Central Govt. has sanctioned 45 AEZ being set up in 17 states under EXIM
policy of India 2001
 Precision Farming : Site specific crop management
 Kisan Call Centres : Toll free telephone no. is 1551. It is launched by Dept. of Agriculture &
Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI. It is one of the Extension service given from 2004
Pit method of sugarcane planting

Pit to pit spacing 1.5 m (5 feet)
Pit diameter 90 cm
No. of setts per pit 32 single budded or 16 double budded
Organic farming or Natural farming

First produced chemicals
Fertilizer SSP
Pesticides DDT, BHC
Fungicide Bordeaux mixture (Grape - downey mildew)
Herbicide Bordeaux mixture, Nitrophenols
Green Revolution : mid 1960 (1966 - 67)
IFOAM : International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (1972)
In India, organic farming is promoted by
1. National Steering Committee, Ministry of Commerce
2. APEDA (Agricultural Produce & Processed Food Export Development Agency)

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Organic produces certified by : IFOAM, Coffee Board, Tea Board, Spice Board, Coconut
Development Board, Directorate of Cashew & Cocoa
Organic produce exported by : APEDA (in the brand name of India Organic)
Organic produce mainly exported are : Organic cotton, Basmati rice, Sesame
Organic states : MP, Uttaranchal (they declared itself)
Organic state : Sikkim
First VAT introduced state : Haryana
Food grain production in India (2007-08) : 230.67 million tones
First agricultural census was taken in 1971
o Agricultural census taken every 5 years interval
o Till date 7 nos. of agricultural census completed
o 8th agricultural census (2005-06) is to be completed

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YEARS
1875 IMD at Pune, Maharastra
1904 First Cooperative Credit Societies Act
1905 Imperial Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, Bihar (now IARI, New Delhi)
1927 All India Radio, New Delhi (1930 in Chennai)
1928 Royal Commission
1929 Imperial Council of Agricultural. Research (now ICAR 1948)
1943 Bengal Famine (caused by Helminthosporium oryza)
1945 Grow More Food Programme
1947 Central Tobacco Research Institute, Rajahmundry (AP)
1947 Firka Development Scheme of TN
1950 Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore
1951 Bhoodan Movement
1951 All India Rural Credit Survey (1969 All India Rural Credit Review Committee)
1951 Cooperative Movement
1951 First Agricultural Labour Enquiry Committee (1956 Second Committee)
1952 Community Development Programme (Oct 2, Gandhi birth, now Rural Development Programme)
1956 Balwant Roy Mehta Committee - Panchayt raj 3 tier system (1977 Ashok Mehta 2 tier system)
1957 State Seed Farm Project
1957 Central Warehousing Corporation
1957 Fertilizer Control Order
1958 Panchayat Raj System (Rajasthan)
1960 Intensive Agricultural District Programme - (7 district in the country, Thanjavor in TN)
1960 First Agricultural University at Pant Nagar
1963 National Seed Corporation
1964 Intensive Agricultural Area Programme
1965 Indian National Agricultural Policy or Pre Green Revolution period
1965 Agricultural Prices Commission (now 1985 Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices)
1965 National Demonstration Scheme (to be conducted by scientists in farmers field)
1965 Food Corporation of India
1966 Seed act
1966-67 Green Revolution & HYV Programme
1968 Seed Rules
1968 Insecticide Act
1970 National Commission on Agriculture
1970 Small Farmers Development Agency & Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labours
1971 Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP)

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1971 Agro Service Centre Scheme

1973 Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE)
1974 T & V system (TN was 11th state to implement this system during 1980)
1974 Command Area Development Programme
1974 First KVK at Pondicherry under TNAU (1977 - other KVKs)
1975 Regional Rural Bank (Oct 2 - Gandhi Jeyanthi)
1975 Operational Research Project
1978 Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)
1979 TRYSEM
1979 Lab to Land Programme (ICAR Golden Jubilee Year)
1982 NABARD
1984 Cooperative Societies (1904 Coop Banks 1904)
1985 Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (1999 National Agricultural Insurance Scheme)
1986 NWDPRA, Integrated Watershed Development Programme
1986 Revised 20 Point Programme (Announced by Indra Gandhi)
1986 TANWA Project (aided by DANIDA)
1989 Jawahar Rojgar Yojana
1989 Service Area Approach (adopted by Commercial Banks)
1991 Economic Reforms, Liberalization, New Economic Policy, New Trade Policy
1991 Tamil Nadu Agricultural Development Project (TNADP)
1993 Prime Minister's Rojgar Yojana
1995 Globalization & WTO
1995 Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)
1998 National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP)
2000 New Agricultural Policy (National Policy on Agriculture)
2000 Technology Mission on Cotton
2001 Technology Mission on Coconut
2001 Protection of Plant variety & Farmers Right Act
2002 Multi State Cooperative Society Act
2002 National Seed Policy
2004 International year of Rice (Announced by FAO - slogan is rice is life)
2004 National Commission for Farmers

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AGRONOMY
AGRO METEOROLOGY
Weather : State of atmosphere at a given place (village, city, district) and at a given time (a day)
Climate : Weather condition over a region (area like zone, state, country - time like month, season, year)
Meteorology : Study of physical process in the atmosphere
Climatology : The factors that determine and control the climate
- Atmosphere extents upto a height of 1600 km from earth surface
- 99 % of total mass of atmosphere is within 40 km from the earth (Troposphere + Stratosphere)
- Composition of atmosphere (%) : 78.09 N, 20.95 O2, 0.93 argon, 0.03 CO2
- Atmosphere has 4 layer based on vertical temp difference (Troposphere - lower layer,
Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere - upper layer)
Troposphere : Height of 8 to 18 km from earth, thicker at equator, thinner at poles, 85 % of atmosphere
mass, temperature decrease with increase in altitude, all weather phenomena occurs
Tropopause is a thin layer separates Troposphere and Stratosphere
Stratosphere : Extending upto 50 km, 15 % of atmosphere mass, temperature increase with increase in
altitude, it is place of photo chemical reaction, ozone layer occur which filter UV rays, Stratosphere layer
has uniform temperature, Ozone layer is faintly blue colour, odour like weak chlorine
Stratopause separates Stratosphere from Mesosphere
Mesosphere : Extending upto 80 km, temperature decrease steeply with increase in altitude
Mesopause separates Mesosphere from Thermosphere
Thermosphere : Outer most layer of atmosphere, temperature increase with increase in altitude, the lower
layer of thermosphere is called Ionosphere (reflecting radio waves)
Stratus : a cloud type, occur in low height in the atmosphere
Trade wind : wind blows from Poles to Equator
Anti trade wind : wind blows from Equator to North and South poles
Weather elements
Solar Radiation : Electromagnetic waves, consists of flow of particles called photons or Quanta
Solar constant : 1.94 cal per cm sq per min (Energy falling in one minute on one sq cm area)
Albedo : Reflected solar radiation
Used for remote sensing.
The clouds and snow are effective reflectors
Water surface and sea area are poor reflectors
Albedometer is a type of Pyranometer to measure Reflectivity
Terrestrial Radiation : It is a thermal radiation emitted by earth, which heats the atmosphere
Earth absorbs solar radiation in short waves and emit in long waves
Solar radiation is measured in : lux (old unit), Einstein units (for Photosynthetic Active Radiation)

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Pyranometer : for measuring total incoming radiation

Pyrheliometer : for measuring direct solar radiation
In diffused radiation 65 % is the PAR compared to 45 % in direct radiation
PAR is measured by Quantum sensors
Red light is most favourable for growth
Solar radiation in the range of 0.40 to 0.70 µm is most effective in photosynthesis
Solarisation or Photo Oxidation : High light intensity is oxidize the cell contents
Cambell stokes sunshine recorder for sunny hours recording
Sun shine card : Long cure card ( bottom slot) : 13th April to 31st August
Short cure card (top slot) : 13th Oct to end of Feb
Straight card (middle slot) : 1st March to 12th April & 1st Sep to 12th Oct
Global solar radiation : Sum total of direct and diffused solar radiation
Net radiation : Global solar radiation – Reflected solar radiation
Water surface and sea are poor reflector (serves as good sink for solar energy)
Laps rate : Vertical temperature decrease in air is expressed as lapse rate (6.5o C per km)
Adiabatic laps rate : 10o C per km
Soil temperature transfer through Conduction
Diurnal variation may be as high as 16o C
Sciophytes : shade loving plants
Heterophytes : sun loving plants
Photoperiodism : Duration of light
Phototropism : Orientation of light. The leaves are oriented at right angle to receive max radiation
Suffocation : Ice or Snow forms a thick cover on the soil surface. So, entry of oxygen is prevented
and crop suffers for want of oxygen
Heaving : Lifting up of the plants along with soil due to very low air temperature (in temperate
region). The presence of ice crystals increases the volume of soil. This cause mechanical lifting
Sun scald : High temperature at day and low temperature at night
Stem griddle : High temperature scorches the stem at ground level (cotton)
Dry spell : More than 10 to 14 days for alfisols & more than 15 to 20 days for vertisols is critical for crops
Temperature
 Heat transferred by conduction (solid), convection (liquid, gas), radiation (atmosphere by
electromagnetic waves)
 Of total incoming radiation : 43 % absorbed by earth surface, 22 % by atmosphere, 35 % reflected
 Solar radiation heats up atmosphere indirectly, not directly. This is the reason why there is low
temperature in high altitude (RH is high)
 Diurnal variation : day and night temperature variation

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 Temperature decreases gradually from equator to pole wards due to slanting position of sun‟s ray
 Conversion formula : C = (F-32)5/9 F= C(9/5) + 32 K = C + 273
 Max Thermometer have mercury (Min Thermometer have alcohol)
 Soil thermometer have mercury
Atmospheric pressure
 Force per unit area (extending from earth surface to upper most boundary of atmosphere)
 Atmospheric pressure is low in areas of high temperature and high in areas of low temperature
 In lower layer of atmosphere (low altitude) pressure is more and with increase in elevation,
pressure decreases
 It is measured by Aneroid Barometer & Barograph
Wind : Wind wane indicate direction of wind (Anemometer is used to measure wind velocity)
Relative Humidity : The amount of water vapour present in the atmosphere
 Higher the temperature more is the amount of water vapour
 Absolute Humidity (g/ms) = weight of water vapour / volume of air
 Specific Humidity (w/w) = weight of water vapour / weight of air including water vapour
 RH (%) = Water vapour present in the air / Water vapour required for saturation
 RH influence ET (RH measure by Psychrometer)
 Hygrograph : Records humidity continuously
 Assmann‟s psychrometer : to measure RH in crop canapy
 Hair Hygrometer : to measure RH inside the rooms
Evaporation : Expressed as mm/day & measured by US Open Pan Evaporimeter
Precipitation : (Rain + Drizzle + Snow + Sleat + Hail)
 Rainfall (drop larger than 0.5mm)
 Drizzle (less than 0.5mm)
 Mist (rain water droplets completely evaporates before reaching the ground)
 Snow (in the form of ice crystals)
 Hail (hard rounded pellets of ice)
 Dew point : The temperature at which air must be cooled to become saturated
o Frost forms when the dew point of the air is below freezing
o Thus frost forms when water vapour changes directly from gas to solid stage without
entering the liquid state
 Rainfall is measured by Rain Gauge & Automatic Rain Gauge
Clouds : Cloud are formed due to condensation of water vapour
 Clouds may be classified into 4 categories. Basic forms of cloud are Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus
 Other forms are Alto and Nimbus (associated with rain)
 The climate for good crop should be Cold Dry
 Thunder storm and Hail : occur only in cumulo nimbus clouds

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 Cyclonic storm : very strong winds circulating in an anti clockwise direction in the Northern
Hemisphere and clock wise direction in Southern Hemisphere
 Doldrums : low pressure areas near the equator
 Polar calms : low pressure at polar regions
 Horse latitudes : the latitudinal belt between 30o of both south and north. From these horse
latitudes wind blow towards equator and poles
 India is situated in north east trade wind zone
AGRO CLIMATOLOGY
Dry ice : Solid CO2 has a temperature of 78o C
Depression : a region of low pressure
Hail : Precipitation in the form of ball of ice having 5 mm dia (produced in cumulo nimbus)
Insulation : Solar radiation received at the earth surface
Isobar : a line of equal pressure
Isohyet : a line of equal precipitation
Isotach : a line of equal wind speed
Isotherm : a line of equal temperature
Phenology : Study of climatic effect in plant
Psychrometer : Measure water vapour content of the atmosphere (RH)
Saturated air : RH is 100 % (max water vapour)
Temperature inversion : Air temperature increase with altitude
UV Radiation : Electromagnetic radiation at wave lengths shorter than visible radiation but longer than X rays
X rays : Electromagnetic radiation of very short wave length
Effect of weather on crops

- High light intensity increases the activity and amount of enzymes associated with photosynthesis
(PEP Carboxylase and RUBP Carboxylase - for CO2 intake). It promote chlorophyll and increase
the leaf thickness and no. of stomata in leaf
- DMP increases in proportion to the amount of intercepted radiation. But yield may not increase in
proportion to the intercepted radiation
- Thus, if Harvest Index is constant, yield is proportional to intercepted solar radiation
- If Harvest Index is variable, yield is not proportional to intercepted solar radiation (Groundnut)
- The response of plants to relative length of day and night is called Photoperiodism (it is related to
flowering, leaf production and tillering)
- Flowering in rice is induced in 30o C
- Photo sensitive varieties are season bound
- Photo insensitive varieties are period bound (with fixed duration)
- Source and Sink should be in proper proportion to obtain higher yield

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- Rate of photosynthesis is reduced due to reduction in temperature

- At optimum temperature the activities of Auxin, GA, Cytokinins are high (ABA - low)
- Vise versa - at extremely low & high temperature condition
- Lower temperature during panicle initiation stage to flowering results in formation of higher nos.
of grains per plant, due to prolongation of duration
- Base temperature : The lowest temperature at which there is no growth
- High temperature : It cause pollen abortion and ovule sterility
- Low temperature : cause reduction of cell division and cell elongation and it reduce photosynthesis
of C4 plants
- Low temperature cause sterility due to unripe pollen
- A rainy day is a day which the rainfall received is more than 2.5 mm
- High RH : It reduce ET and water uptake. It favours pest & disease
- Low RH : It cause photosynthetic reduction (high transpiration → water deficit in plant → closure
of stomata → blocking of CO2 entry → reduced photosynthesis)
- Moderate RH : for good pollination
- High RH reduce grain yield in maize, but increase grain yield of sorghum
- Normal wind : It helps pollination, increase ethylene production, decrease GA content
- Hot dry wind : favours excess ET and causing wilting & pollen sterility
- Dew accumulation on plant surface : It is due to water discharge from stomata in night time
- Crops will transpire water at the maximum rate when the soil water is at Field Capacity
- Higher the greenness of vegetation, more is the absorption in the red wave length of visible
radiation
- Favourable condition for plant disease : High Humidity + Warm temperature + Cloudy weather
Agro climatic zones
Based on Physiography and Climate : India 15 & Tamilnadu 7
Suggested by Planning Commission in 1989
NARP Agro climatic regions (zones) of India : 127
Total nos. of existing cropping pattern in India : 127
Agro Ecological Zones of India : 21
Agro climatic zones of India (15)
1. Eastern Himalayan Zone : Shifting cultivation practices
2. Western Himalayan Zone
3. Eastern Plateau and Hills Zone
4. Western Plateau and Hills Zone
5. Central Plateau and Hills Zone
6. Southern Plateau and Hills Zone
7. Lower Gangetic Plains

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8. MiddleGgangetic Plains
9. Upper Gangetic Plains
10. Trans Gangetic Plains
11. East Coast Plains & Hills : TN
12. West Coast Plains & Ghates Zone : TN
13. Gujarat Plains & Hills Zone
14. Western Zone
15. Island Zone
Agro climatic zones of Tamilnadu (7)

1. North Eastern Zone : Frequent occurrence of cyclones
2. North Western Zone : Part of adjoining Karnataka, transplanting ragi, mango grooves
3. Western Zone : Sugarcane flowering (Coimbatore)
4. Cauvery Delta Zone : Rice Bowl of TN
5. Southern Zone : Rain shadow areas of Western Ghates
6. High Rainfall Zone : 1460 mm received in 64 rainy days (Kanyakumari district)
7. Hilly Zone : Rainfall varies from 1000 mm at foot hills to 5000 mm at peak
Rainfall distribution in Tamilnadu

Annual rainfall : Tamilnadu, & Pondycherry 988 mm, India 1197 mm, World 1000 mm
Annual Rainfall of TN is 988 mm (47 % North East Monsoom + 32 SWM + 16 Summer + 5 Winter)
North East monsoon rains which are brought by the troughs of low pressure in south Bay of Bengal
SWM establishes around 1st of June in extreme south of India (Kerala) and in extreme east of India (Assam,
Meghalaya) and it drop 1st September in western parts of Rajasthan
On set of monsoon : June 1st at Kerala & Meghalaya
Withdrawal of monsoon : Sep 1st at West Rajasthan
No. of rainy days (rainfall of 2.5 mm per day is a rainy day) : State average is 50 days per year (India 130 days)
- The highest rainfall is 106.2 mm in Nilgiris
- The lowest rainfall is 45.8 mm in Ramnad
- Heaviest rainfall : Cuddalore 572 mm, Nagapattinam 403 mm
- World's wettest place : Cherrapunji (Meghalaya, India) - rainfall of 986 mm per day (max)
Annual Potential ET : minimum in Jammu & Kashmir (1239 mm) & max in AP (2052 mm)
Reference ET is computed by Penman's method or Pan Evaporation method
Lysimeter : to measure Pan co efficient (for ET determination)
Seasons
SWM : Rainy season or Monsoon period or Kharif season (June to Sep)
NEM : Post Rainy season or Post monsoon period or Rabi season (Oct to Dec)
Winter : Cold weather period (Janu to Feb)
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Summer : Hot weather period or Pre monsoon period (March to May)

Length of crop growing seasons
Low 90 to 110 days in western zone (Coimbatore)
Medium 85 to 120 days in southern zone
High 290 to 330 days in hilly zone
NCMRWF : National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (New Delhi)
 Medium range weather forecasting valid for 3 - 10 days
 Location specific weather forecasting valid for 4 days
Medium range weather forecasting : serve the purpose of the farmers (it provide enough time to change the
agricultural operation based on the forecast). Forecast covers, maxi temp, mini temp, wind direction, wind
speed, rainfall and cloud cover
AAS : Agricultural Advisory Service (based on medium range weather forecasting )
 Advices on rainfall for sowing, occurrence of dry spell in growing season, weather favourable to
pest and diseases, rain during harvesting
Five regional forecasting centres : Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, kolkatta, Nagpur
Rain making or Cloud seeding : 1. Static approach (dry ice or silver iodide) 2. Dynamic approach
TILLAGE
The physical manipulation of soil with tools and implements for better germination and growth of crops
- Tilth is a physical condition of the soil resulting from tillage
- Good tilth has higher % of larger aggregates (good for irrigated land)
- Higher % of smaller aggregates is good for dry lands
- Capillary and non capillary pores should be in equal proportion so that the sufficient amount of
water (in capillary pores) and air (in non capillary pores) are retained in soil
Influence of tillage on soil physical properties
- Pore space increase and bulk density reduced
- Soil structure developed, if tilled on optimum moisture
- Soil structure destroyed, if tilled on inappropriate moisture
Type of tillage
Preparatory cultivation : done before sowing
- Primary tillage : opening of compact soil
- Secondary tillage : finer operation done through Harrowing
- Lay out of seed bed
After cultivation : carried out in standing crops
Modern concept of tillage
Minimum Tillage : Reduction of tillage to the minimum necessary (primary tillage is necessary)

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o Row zone tillage : Secondary tillage is done in the row zone only
o Plough plant tillage : Secondary tillage is done for pulverization of row zone and sowing
are done at the same time
o Wheel track planting : Wheel of the tractor pulverize the row zone and used for sowing
Zero Tillage or No Tillage : Primary tillage is completely avoided and secondary tillage is restricted to
seed bed preparation in the row zone only (Till planting)
o Organic matter content increases due to less mineralization
o Higher dose of N has to be applied because mineralization of OM is slow
o Seedling establishment is 20 % less than conventional methods
Ploughing classification
Shallow ploughing 5 cm
Medium ploughing 15 to 20 cm
Deep ploughing 30 cm
Chisel Tech : Occurrence of hard pan at shallow depth is soil physical constraint
- Sub soil hard pan have high bulk density. It leads low infiltration, air movement, nutrient absorption
- Chisel plough is a heavy iron plough to break hard pan
WATER MANAGEMENT
Quality of irrigation water is judged with 3 parameters
1. Total salt conc. : EC of more than 1.5 mhos/cm is classified as saline
Sodium chloride as the prominent salt
Brackish water contains more of salt other than NaCl
Brackish water is contaminated with acid, bases, salt of organic matter
Classification of irrigation water based on total salt conc. (table)
Class EC ds/m Quality Soil suitable Crop
C1 Less than 1.5 Normal water All soils All crops
C2 1.5 - 3 Low salinity Light & medium All crops
C3 3-5 Medium salinity Light & medium semi tolerant
C4 5 - 10 Saline water Light & medium Tolerant
C5 More than 10 High salinity Not suited -
Na+
2. SAR : --------------------
√ Ca+ + Mg++ / 2
ESP = Exchangeable Na / CEC x 100
Grade EC (Salinity) SAR (Sodicity)

Low < 250 < 10
Medium 250 - 750 10 - 18
High 750 - 2250 18 - 26

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Very high 2250 - 5000 26 - 31
3. Bicarbonates and Boron content : more than 3 ppm is harmful to crop in light soil
Classification of irrigation water based on boron content (table)
Class Boron (ppm) Quality Soil suitable Crop
B1 Less than 3 Normal water All soils All crops
B2 3-4 Low boron clay & medium All crops
B3 4–5 Medium boron Heavy soil semi tolerant
B4 5 – 10 Born water Heavy soil Tolerant
B5 More than 10 High boron Not suited -
- Cations (+) : Ca, Mg, K, Na

- Anions (-) : Carbonates, Bicarbonates, Sulphates, Chlorides, Nitrates
- Water quality in arid and semi arid regions are poor due to high salt content
- Ground water quality is affected by soil character, water table, rain fall of region
- In poor quality water area : Grow salt tolerant crop (cotton, chillies, coconut, etc) and Planting the
seeds on the sides of ridges
In Saline soil : Seed placement is on the side of the ridge or at bottom of ridge but not at top. Use over aged
seedling for better establishment and adopt closer planting
Physiological Drought : Developed by salinity, alkalinity and water logging
Irrigation and Drainage management

Irrigation management
Some concepts related to irrigation management : Importance of water in plants
- Plant nutrients : water as a solvent
- Weathering process : water for soil formation
- Tillage operation : optimum moisture for tillage
- Structure formation : get good soil structures
- Physical, Chemical & Biological activities
- Photosynthesis : for oxygen requirement
- Plant turgidity management
- Germination and Growth : water protect plants from adverse condition
 Cell sap has lower water potential than pure water
 Turgor pressure is developed inside the cell against movement of water inside the cell
 Cell wall pressure : It is opposite of turgor pressure
 Osmotic pressure : The pressure needed to prevent the passage of pure water
Irrigation
The artificial application of water
It partially meets the crop ET requirement
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It back to Field Capacity of soil moisture

Irrigation methods : Depends on crop, method of cultivation, slop of land, quantity of water available,
equipments needed
Surface irrigation
Flooding : in low land rice
Check basin : for groundnut and cereals, 5 % of land is wasted for channels and bunds
Basin : for tree crops
Border strip : close growing crop in heavy soils
Furrow method : for sugarcane, cotton, maize, vegetables, U shaped furrow is better than V shape
Corrugation irrigation: application of water through shallow furrows (evaporation is low)
Corrugated border strip method of irrigation best for pulse
Surge irrigation : application of water under gravity flow
o It is a basin furrow method and new method to save water, land, labour
o It is the delivery of water intermittently by „on off’ fashion relatively over short span of time
o Infiltration is uniform
o Deep percolation is reduced
Cablegation : form of gated pipe system
Sub surface irrigation
Through underground perforated pipes or deep trenched
Water gradually wets root zone through capillary movement
Trenches cause deep percolation loss
Suitable in shallow water table area
Crop : Coconut, Vegetables
Sprinkler irrigation
Sprinkler heads are two types such as fixed and rotating type
Suitable for sandy soil and undulated lands
Frost damage can be reduced
Pressure of delivery > 2.5 bars, Distance throw > 10 m, Volume of delivery > 1000 li per hr
Drip system
Emitter or dripper are located at selected points
Suitable for arid regions
It reduce salinity
Limitation is restricted area of root growth
Bleaching powder is used for controlling algae and bacterial growth inside the pipes
Acid treatment (HCL & sulphuric acid) to remove Ca & Mg precipitations in the pipe lines
Ca & Mg content exceeds 50 ppm in irrigation water, we go for acid treatments

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Pot irrigation : Mud pots of 10 to 20 lit capacity are used (for fruit crops)
Typoon system : Slight modification of drip system for row planted crops (Ex.Sugar plantation in Maharastra)
Bubbler irrigation : System designed to reduce energy requirement of drip system (For tree crops)
 Pressurized irrigation systems : Sprinkler and Drip (Trickle)
 GOI first use plastics in agriculture through Drip irrigation system
 Rain guns : Modified form of sprinkler system
 Micro sprinkler : Water sprayed around the root zone only
 Poor quality water is not suitable for sprinkler and it can be used in drip system
 Water logging : It means the excess water on land surface and crop root zone
o Water logged area : water table within 2 m from the surface
o Potential area for water logging : 2 to 3 m
o Safe area : below 3 m
 Rice & Jute crops need standing water for their growth
Irrigation sources : India : Ist Tank, IInd Canal, IIIrd Wells
TN : Ist Wells (44%), IInd Canal (33%), IIIrd Tank (22%)
50 % of the total canal irrigation area covers : Tanjavor, Nagapattinam dt (TN)
Water resources
Green water : rainfall » soil » evapotranspiration » atmosphereosphere
Blue water : rainfall » soil » ground water » river » sea » evaporation » atmosphereosphere
Irrigation projects
Project Command area Project cost (Rs)
Major > 10000 ha > 50 million
Medium 2000 – 10000 ha 2.5 million
Minor 2000 ha < 2.5 million
Minor irrigation project (tank, canal, diversion work) is for the welfare of small farmers
AP : Godavary, Krishna, Nagarjuna
TN : Mettur, Bhavani, Aliyar, Periyar, Vaigai, Tamirabarani, Cauvery delta
Punjab : Bhakranangal, Sutlej, Beas
Gujarat : Kakrapar, Tapti, Narmada
Kerala : Mullai Periyar
Orissa : Hirakud, Mahanadhi
UP : Upper Ganga, Rama Ganga
WB : Damodar valley
 Major & Medium irrigation projects covers 58.5 m.ha of irrigated area
 Minor irrigation project covers 15 to 17.4 m ha of irrigated area

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Cauvery system : Start at Coorg - Dam at krishnarajasagar of Karnataka - Electricity at Sivasamudram of

Karnataka - Dam at Mettur in TN (1932) - Upper catchments get rain in south west monsoon and
catchments below Mettur by north east monsoon - Water is available for irrigation from June to February -
Direct irrigation from the river without any sluice is a unique features - The drainage of upper village
irrigating lower village
Lower Coleroon system (Kollitam) : Carrying flood water of Cauvery river is utilized for irrigation
Lower Bhavani project : Irrigation is mainly for dry crops
Water Potential
Soil water potential : The difference between energy state of soil water and pure free water
Total soil water potential = Gravitation potential (by gravitational force - positive) + Matric potential (due
to solid matric of the soil - negative) + Osmotic potential (from solutes present in the soil- negative)
Soil water potential concept or Soil water energy concept : The movement of water is from a zone
where the free energy of water is high (standing water table) to one where the energy is low (a dry soil)
India’s water budget

Total geographical area : 328 m. ha
Average annual rainfall : 1190 mm (1190 x 328 = 392 million ha meter)
Contribution from snowfall : 8 million ha m
Total : 400 m ha m
Evapotranspiration loss : 70 m ha m
Surface run off loss : 115 m ha m (percolation, seepage, evaporation, sea, reservoir)
Infilters into soil and soak : 215 m ha m
Total : 400 m ha m
- The rainfall below 2.5 mm (rainy day) is not considered for water budgeting. Because this rain
water evaporate immediately. So this rainfall is not contributed to ground water and surface water
- India‟s average rainy days 130 per year
- Ground water potential of TN : 26.39 cu.km per year or 36.872 Mm3
Water Use Efficiency : WUE = Y / ET (Yield, Evapotranspiration)

- WUE will be improved by : increase yield without increasing ET or decrease ET without
decreasing yield
- Dicots or C4 plants have slightly higher WUE than monocots or C3 plants
- Rice and Pulses have low WUE
- C4 plants have high WUE, Photosynthetic rate (maize, sorghum, sugarcane, cumbu, ragi)
- C3 plants have low WUE (pulses, oilseeds)
- CAM plants consume much less water ( pine apple, sisal)
Soil Moisture

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Soil Moisture Constant : The water contents of soil under certain standard condition
When all macro & micro pores are filled with water, the soil is saturated
Field Capacity or Normal moisture capacity : Just after all the gravitational water has drained away some
water retain against gravity force.
At this stage only micro pores (capillary pores) are filled with water.
It is an upper limit of available moisture.
Water held in soil with a force of 1/3 bar.
Wilting Co Efficient or Permanent Wilting Point : Below which soil is unable to supply water to plant
Plants loses its turgidity and wilt
It is a lower limit of available moisture
Water held in soil with 15 bars
Sunflower act as indicator plant
Hygroscopic Co Efficient : Max water absorbed by dry soil under std condition of humidity (50 %) and
temperature (25 oC)
Water not available to plant. But available for bacteria
Water held at 31 bars
 Gravitational water : Between saturation and field capacity
 Capillary water : Between field capacity and hygroscopic co efficient
 Available water : Between field capacity and permanent wilting point
 Unavailable water : Between permanent wilting point and hygroscopic co efficient
Saturation
▼ » Gravitational & Unavailable water
Field capacity
▼ » Available water
Capillary water { Permanent wilting point
▼ » Unavailable water
Hygroscopic co efficient
Classification of soil water

Physical classification
 Gravitational water : Excess of field capacity. Water occupies macro pores. It reduce aeration and
no use to plant
 Capillary water : Water retained on the soil particles by surface force (in micro pores). It is
available water to plants
 Hygroscopic water : Water held tightly on soil surface in vapour form (not available to plant)
Biological classification
 Available water : Between field capacity and wilting co efficient
 Unavailable water : Hygroscopic water + Part of capillary water below wilting point
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 Super fluous water : Gravitational water + Part of capillary water removed from larger interstices
(water beyond field capacity)
Soil moisture content : expressed in % (w/w)
Soil moisture potential or tension or suction : expressed in atmosphere or Bars
Measurement of soil moisture
1. Direct method
a. Gravimetric or Oven dry method (maintain hot air oven temperature at 110 o C)
2. Indirect method
a. Soil water content
I. Electrical resistant block or Gypsum block
II. Neutron probe moisture meter or Deep moisture gauge
III. Time Domin Reflectometer (TDR) - new method, based on high dielectric constant of water
b. Soil metric potential or Soil moisture potential
I. Tensiometer : based on tension or suction of water, measure only upto suction of 0.85 bars
 Gravitational method : (Ww-Wd) / Wd x 100
 Electrical conductivity method (EC) : EC changes with changes in moisture content. Here gypsum
blocks are used. The moisture content is obtained from calibration curve. Measurement in saline
soil will not be accurate
 Neutron probe moisture meter : Principle is kinetic energy of neutrons. The loss of kinetic energy
is proportional to moisture content of soil. It is a quick method and large volume of soil can be
used without disturbing the soil
 Tensiometer : The instrument is filled with water and inserted in desired depth and water moves to
surrounding soil which created vacuum in the instrument and the pressure is measured in vacuum
gauge. It is mainly used in sandy soil
 All indirect methods need initial calibration for soil moisture measurement. But these indirect
methods are most preferred for measurement
Water movement in soil
- Infiltration : down ward entry of water into soil surface
- Percolation : down ward movement of water through column of soil
- Seepage : horizontal movement of water through soil layer
Water absorption by plants

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Water requirement of crops

- Water Requirement = CU + Application losses + Water needed for special operation
- Consumptive Use = Evaporation + Transpiration + Metabolic needs
- ET = CU
- Application loss = percolation + seepage + runoff
- Special operation = land preparation + leaching
- WR = IR + ER + S
- IR = WR – (ER+S)
- Effective Rainfall : Part of rainfall available for consumptive use of crop or part of total rainfall
used for crop production.
- Generally 70 % of average rainfall in arid & 50 % in humid are taken as ER
- ER = Rainfall – Water surplus
- Effective rainfall is measured by Lysimeter or ET meter
- Lysimeter : for estimation of effective rainfall & irrigation requirement of crop
- Water requirement of crop is related to its ET
Water requirement of major crops
Crop WR (mm) Crop WR (mm)
Sugarcane 2000 Potato 600
Rice 1250 Sorghum 350 - 500
Maize 500 - 625 Cumbu, Ragi 350
Groundnut 550 - 600 Pulses 350
Cotton 550 - 600 Wheat 450
Net irrigation requirement : Amount of irrigation water just requires to bring the soil moisture to field
capacity
Gross irrigation requirement : NIR + application losses + other losses
Water application efficiency = water stored in root zone / water delivered at field head x 100
Water storage efficiency = water stored in root zone / water needed in root zone prior to irrigation x 100
Irrigation water measuring devices : 90o V Notch, Parshel Flume, H Flume, Orifices
Estimation of potential ET
1 Penman 63 method
2 Modified Penman method
3 Pan Evaporation method
4 Blaney and Criddle method
5 Radiation method or Thornthwaite method
Reference ET : Rate of ET from tall green grass cover surface

Crop Evapo transpiration (ET c) study conducted through

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Lysimeter
Field experimental plot
Soil moisture depletion study
Water balance method
Crop Co Efficient : It is the ratio between ET of crop (ET c) and Potential ET (ETo). It depends on soil
cover, soil moisture and crop height. The formula is Ke = ETc / ETo
CROPWAT : It is the computer model, to calculate crop ET and irrigation requirements
Scheduling of irrigation : Irrigation at proper time and quantity for obtaining optimum yield, max water
use efficiency and minimum damage to soil
Maize : irrigation at 25 % depletion of available soil moisture
Cotton : irrigation at 50 % depletion of available soil moisture
 IW/CPE Approach : Known amount of irrigation water(IW) is applied when cumulative pan
evaporation reaches a predetermined level. Generally irrigation is scheduled at 0.75 to 0.80 ratio
with 5 cm of irrigation water
 Soil cum sand miniplot tech : Miniplot (1m3) which have 5 % additional sand than surrounding
plots. Wilting symptoms appears in miniplot before surrounding lots
 High seed rate plot : 4 times higher than normal seed rate
 Tensiometer or Irrometer : This device do not give any information on amount of water to be
irrigated
 Remote sensing : Where a single crop grown in a larger area
 Plant indicator or Plant indices : Plant character like wilting, dropping, curling, rolling, change in
foliage color
 Critical stages or Moisture sensitive period approach : The growth stages at which moisture stress
leads to irrevocable yield loss
o Wheat CRI
o Maize Silking, Tasseling
o Sugarcane Formative stage
o Potato Tuber initiation to maturity
Crop Critical stages or Sensitive stages
Cereals
Rice Early tillering, panicle initiation and flowering
Sorghum Flowering and grain formation
Maize Tasselling, Silking and grain filling
Cumbu Heading and flowering
Ragi Primordial initiation and flowering
Wheat Crown root initiation, tillering and booting
Pulses

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Red gram Flowering and pod development

Black gram Flowering and pod development
Green gram Flowering and pod development
Cowpea Flowering and pod development
Gram Preflowering
Legumes
Beans Flowering and pod setting
Peas Flowering and pod formation
Oil seeds
Groundnut Flowering, peg initiation & penetration and pod development
Sesame Flowering to maturity
Sunflower Two weeks before and after flowering
Soybean Preflowering, Pod development
Castor Full growing period
Cash crop
Cotton Pre flowering, flowering and boll formation
Sugarcane Sprouting and maximum vegetative stage
Tobacco Immediately after transplanting
Vegetables
Onion Bulb formation to maturity
Tomato Flowering and fruit setting
Chillies Flowering
Cabbage Head formation to maturity
Others
Coconut Nursery stage and root enlargement
Potato Tuber initiation and tuber development
Banana Throughout the growth
Citrus Flowering, fruit setting and enlargement
Mango Flowering
Coffee Flowering and fruit development
Crop Critical stage Physiological stage

Early tillering, Panicle initiation,
Rice Early tillering, Flowering
Flowering, Milky stage, Dough stage
Drainage systems
1. Surface
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2. Sub Surface
a. Horizontal (Engineering structures are to be used)
b. Vertical (Pumping through tube wells)
Bio drainage : Growing certain plants. These plants transpire luxuriantly. (Ex. Eucalyptus, Acacia)
Water logging
Normal soil has 50 % mineral matter + 25 % water + 25 % air
If, this 25 % of air space (Macro & micro pores) will filled with water, this condition is called water logging
Effect
 Fall of oxygen in soil profile
 It affect respiration of microbes (No decomposition & No nitrogen fixation)
 It affect root development
 It encourage methane production
 It affect soil structure
WEED MANAGEMENT
 Yield loss due to weeds : Rice 41.6 %, Carrot 72 %, Onion 68 %, Potato 20 %
 Weeds are mostly C4 plants (absorb more CO2 and compete with cultivated crops)
 Nut grass (Korai pul - Cyperus rotundus) & Bermuda grass (arugampul - Cynodon dactylon) rank
first and second in world‟s worst weeds respectively
 Propagation parts : Stolen in Cynodon dactylon (Grass) & Tubers in Cyperus rodantus (Sedges)
Weed names
Carpet weed Trianthema portulacastrum
Johnson grass Sorghum halepense
Barnyard grass Echinochloa crusgalli
Water fern Salvinia auriculata
Pig weed Chenopodium album
Nut grass (Korai pul) Cyperus rotundus
Bermuda grass (Arugampul) Cynodon dactylon
Field bind weed Convolvulus arvensis
Noxious or Congress or Carrot weed Parthenium hystroporus
Winter weed : Chenopodium album
Summer weed : Cyperus rotundus
Introduced weeds : Parthenium, Lantana (Parthenium - spread asthma)
Eichornia is an exotic weed (It's a water purifier)
Weed classification
Wet land weeds
Echinochloa colona, E.crusgalli (Kudiraivali pul)

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Panicum repens (Inji pul)

Cyperus iria, C.difformis (Korai)
Ammannia baccifera (Neermael neruppu)
Eclipta alba (Karisalanganni)
Garden land weeds
Trianthema portulacastrum (Saranai)
Amaranthus viridis (Kuppai keerai)
Achyranthes aspera (Naiuruvi)
Euphorbia hirta (Amman paccharisi)
Phyllanthus niruri (Keela nelli)
Chloris barbata (Mayilkondai)
Cynodan dactylon (Arugampul)
Cyperus rotundus (Korai)
Dry land weeds
Abutilon indicum (Tuthi)
Tribulus terrestris (Nerinji)
Aristolachia bracteata (Aduthinna palai)
Acalypha indica (Kuppaimeni)
Cynodan dactylon (Arugampul)
Cyperus rotundus (Korai)
Exotic weeds
Acanthespermum hispidum (Multhulasi)
Alternanthera echinata (Mulponnanganni)
Argemone mexicana (Brahmandandu)
Convolvulus arvensis (Bhumi charka poondu)
Croton sparsiflorus (nai milagai)
Eichhornia crassipes (Akayathamarai or water hyacinth)
Gomphrena celosioides (Neer vaadamalli)
Martynia annua (Pulinagam)
Solanum elaeagnifolium (White horse neetle)
Solanum nigrum (Night shade or manathakkali)
Sanchus arvensis (Corn sow thistle)
Tribulus terrestris (Nerinji)
Tridax procumbens (Vettu kathalai)
Poisonus weeds
Abrus precatorius (Kundumani)
Ambrosia sp. (Rag weed)

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Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle)

Datura fastuosa (Umathai)
Lochnera pusilla (Milagai poondu)
Parthenium hysterophorus (Congress weed or carrot weed)
Forage weeds
Boerhavia diffusa (Mukkarattai)
Chloris barbata (Mayil kondai pul)
Cynodon dactylon (Arugampul)
Dactloctenium aegyptium (Kelvaragu pul)
Digera arvensis (Thoyya keerai)
Portulaca oleraceae (paruppu keerai)
Trianthema portulacastrum (Saranai)
Medicinal weeds
Acalypha indica (Kuppai meni)
Centella asiatica (Vallarai keerai)
Eclipta alba (Karisalanganni)
Lippia nodiflora (Poduthalai)
Tridax procumbens (Vettu kathalai)
Parasitic weeds
Striga lutea (Palli poondu)
Striga densiflora
Orabanche cernua (Pogayilai keerai)
Loranthus longiflorus (Pulluruvi)
Cuscuta chinensis (Dodder)
Viscum orientale
Pond weeds or Aquatic weeds
Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth or agayathamarai)
Hydrilla verticillata
Aponogeton natans (Kotti kizhangu)
Lemna paucicostata (Veppam paasi)
Marsilia quadrifoliata (Arai keerai or water fern)
Salvinia auriculata
Typha angustata
Hilly weeds
Lantana camera (Aripuchedi)
Oxalis corniculata
Eupatorium glandulosum

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Cyperus rotundus is a sub aerial food storage stem

Weed Phalaris minor produce 10000 to 30000 seeds per season
There is no weed law in India except Karnataka
Noxious weed : A weedspecified by law as being especially undesirable, troublesome and difficult to control.
Allelopathy effect
Leaf and inflorescence of Parthenium weed affects germination and seedling growth of sorghum
Tubers of Cyperus esculantus interferes the growth of groundnut and maize
Root exudates of maize inhibit the growth of Chenopodium album and Amaranthus sp.
The combined effect of Allelopathy and Competition is termed as Interference
Weed as an alternate host for pest and diseases

Echinochloa colonum & Panicum repense for rice stem borer
Cenchrus ciliaris for cumbu ergot
Benefits of weed
Parthenium leaf extract for control of Spodoptera litura
Parthenium roots have herbicidal properties on Cyperus rotundus
Eclipta alba (Karisalankanni) cure asthma
Phyllanthus niruri for curing jaundice
Agremone mexicana for saline soil reclamation
Critical period of weed competition
Rice low land 35 days Rice upland 60 days
Ragi 15 days Maize, Sorghum 30 days
Cumbu, Cotton 35 days Groundnut, Soya bean 45 days
Sugarcane 90 days
Parasitic weeds
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Striga or Witch weed (Partial root parasite)

On Sorghum, Maize, Sugarcane
Cotton and Groundnut are act as trap crops (Strigol - natural extract from cotton)
Spray 2,4 D (Post Emergence Herbicide)
Orabanche or Broom rape weed (Total root parasite)
On Tobacco
Trap crops are Sunflower, Cotton, Soya, Ragi
Spray 2,4 D
Loranthus or Bird vine weed (Partial stem parasite)
On the trees like Citrus, Mango, Teak, Casuarinas
Control : entire Haustorial system is removed
Cuscutta or Dadder weed (Total srem parasite)
On Lucerne, Cowpea, Blackgram, Green gram, Chillies
Control : Rotation with grass family or spary Paraquate, Pendimethalin
Weed control measures

Physical method : Involving the use of physical energy through implements either manually or
bullock drawn or power operated
Cultural method : Cropping practices can change the conditions in such a way as to enable the
crop plants to compete with weeds successfully
o Blind cultivation : Cultivation before the planted crop emerges
Chemical method : Use of herbicides. The first herbicide is Bordeaux mixture in Grapes
o Defoliant : Any substance for which the primry use is to cause the leaves or foloage to
drop from a plant
o Desiccant : Any substance used to accelerate the drying of plant tissue
Biological control method
Weed eradication : The elimination of all live plant parts and seeds of a weed froma site.
Herbicide classification
Herbicide
1. Foliar
a. Contact
i. Selective
ii. Non selective
b. Translocated
i. Selective
ii. Non selective
2. Soil applied & Soil sterilants

34
Herbicide groups
Dinitroanilines : Fluchloralin, Pendimethalin
Triazines : Atrazine
Chloroacetamide : Butachlor, Alachlor
Organophosphorous : Glyphosat, Anilofos
Herbicide symbols (on container label)
Red Extremely toxic LD50 0.5 Poison
Yellow Highly toxic LD50 500 Skull & cross bone poison
Blue Moderately toxic LD50 500 - 5000 Danger
Green Slightly toxic LD50 more than 5000 Caution
Selective or Systemic or Translocated herbicides : Butachlor, Alachlor, Pendimethalin, Fluchloralin,
Atrazine, Simazine, 2,4 D
- Atrazine @ 1 kg is selective & @ 10 kg is non selective
Non selective or Non systemic or Contact herbicides : Paraquat, Diquat
Granular Herbicide : The herbicide is mixed with or impregnated with inert carrier (clay, sand,
vermiculite) in such a way that the final product consist of granular particles. In this herbicide active weed
killing principle is gradually released, so efficiency is more.
Active Ingredient (a.i) : It is the part of a chemical formulation that is directly responsible for the
herbicidal effect
Acid Equivalent (a.e) : a part of formulation, that can be theoretically attributed to acid
Active Ingredient (a.i) = Acid Equivalent (a.e)
- The herbicide activity is calculated on acid equivalent basis
Herbicide application
Pre planting : Fluchloralin
Pre emergence : Butachlor, Fluchloralin, Pendimethalin, Atrazine
Post emergence : Glyphosat, 2,4 D, Paraquat, Atrazine
Surface application : Ureas (Amides)
Soil incorporation : Carbomates
Band application : Atrazine
Aquatic weedicide : Endothall
Herbicide absorption by plant roots
1. Passive entrance : Apoplast movement including xylem
2. Active absorption : requires energy , via to symplast system
Foliar applied herbicides are absorbed into symplast including phloem system
Soil active herbicides acts top 3 cm of soil
Translocation : The movement of herbicides inside the plant system (either Apoplast or Symplast)
Translocated herbicides : Glyphosat, 2,4 D

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Herbicides are translocated through xylem when absorbed by roots and through phloem when absorbed by phloem
Contact herbicides kill the weeds by acute toxicity
Systemic herbicides kill the weeds by chromic toxicity
Pre planting and Pre emergence : these herbicides are soil acting
Post emergence : they are foliar acting
Narrow leaved weeds controlled by Stamp F 34 (Propanil)
Broad leaves weeds controlled by 2,4 D
For pulse crop : Lasso (Alachlor) & Basalin (Fluchloralin)
For Potato : TOK E 25
Simazine for algal control in fish pond
Mode of action of herbicides
Inhibition of photosynthesis : in Hill reaction the herbicides deactivates water splitting (hydrolysis)
enzymes, interfere electron carriers, inhibit CO2 fixation and export of photosynthates (starch)
Inhibition of protein synthesis : Herbicides like Butachlor, Alachlor belonging to Amide group inhibit
protein synthesis resulting in improper root and shoot development
Inhibition of lipid production : Thiocarbomates, Dalapon
Inhibition of germination : Alachlor inhibits GA production
Inhibition of vitamin synthesis : Dalapon
Abnormal tissue development : Phenoxy group (2,4 D)
Factors deciding effectiveness of herbicides
Surfactants : increase efficiency
Carrier : chronic toxic oil for slow death of weeds & acute toxic oil for rapid death of weeds
Sprayer and Nozzle : for good result use knapsack sprayer with fan type and hallow cone type nozzles
Soil type : heavy organic soil absorb more material and retain longer & light + mineral soil absorb less
material and retain shorter
Climate : hot climate is more efficient
Factors influencing dosage of herbicides
- Atrazine @ 0.5 kg per ha for sorghum in light soil or 1 kg for heavy soil or 2 kg for sugarcane
- In light soil leaching loss is there so apply low dose
- In heavy soil no leaching loss is there so high dose is preferred
- For band application, less dosage is enough
- In tropics even low dose will give high efficiency because of high temperature
- In temperate regions, high dose also give low efficiency (low temperature)
Herbicide residue
To reduce residual effect
Apply activated charcoal in soil
Apply high dose of N, Zn, S

36
Band application is preferred

Herbicides trade names (Chemical name - Trade name)
Diuron - Karmex Oxyflurfen - Goal
Nitrofen - Tok E 25 Paraquat - Gramaxone
Fluchloralin - Basalin Glyphosate - Roundup, Glycel, Weedoff
2,4 D - Weedon, Fernoxone Propanil - Stamp F 34, Rogue
Alchlor - Lasso Butachlor - Machete, Delchlor
Anilofos - Aniloguard Simazine - Hexazine, Tafazine
Atrazine – Atrataf, atrazine Isoproturon - Kan
Benthiocarb or thiobencarb – Saturn Pendimethalin - Stomp
Amide form : Butachlore, Alachlore
Spray equipments
Commonly used sprayer for herbicide application : Knapsack sprayer (spray volume 250 - 500 li per ha)
Commonly used nozzle for herbicide application : Flat Fan Nozzle
Bio control of weeds
Promising bio control agents of weeds in India
Weed name Bio control agent Organism
Zygogramma bicolorata Mexican beetle
Parhenium hysterophorus Cassia sericea Suppressing plant
Diacrisia oblique
Neochetina eichhorniae Weevil
Eichhornia crassipes Orthogalumna terebrantis Mite
Cercospora sp Pathogen (Fungi)
Aquatic weeds Tilapia mossambica Fish
Chromolaena odorata Parauchaetus pseudoinsulata Hairy caterpillar
Salvinia molesta Cyrtobagous salvinae Weevil
Dactylopius tomentosus Cochineal insect
Opuntia (Prickly pear weed) Dactylopius ceylonicus Mealy bug
Cactoblastis cactorum Scale insect
Lantana camera Orthezia insignis Fly
Solanum elaegnifolium Ditylenchos phyllobius Nematode
Ageratina adenophora Procecidochares utilis Fly
Bactra minima Caterpillar
Cyperus rotundus
Bactra vermosana Caterpillar
Morrenta odorata Phytophthora palmivora Pathogen (Fungi)
Weed Control Efficiency or Weed Control Index

37
Wc -- Wt
WCI = ------------------- X 100
Wc
Where Wc Weight of weed per unit area in untreated plot (control plot)
Wt Weight of weed per unit area in treated plot

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39

40

41

42

43
FARMING SYSTEM
Types of farming
- According to proportion of land, labour, capital investment : Intensive & Extensive farming
- According to value of produce : Specialized farming, Diversified farming & Mixed farming
- According to nature of produce : Crop farming & Livestock farming
- According to supply of irrigation : Dry farming & Irrigated farming
To increase production : by bring more land under cultivation (Extensive cultivation) or apply more labour
and capital to the same plot of land (Intensive cultivation)
Specialized farming : 50 % or more income from single source (crop, dairy, etc)
Farm management
- It is a science which deals with proper combination and operation of production factors including
land, labour and capital and the choice of crop and livestock enterprises (micro economics)
- Study of both science and arts
- Study the problems of a farmers with the unit of a single farm & it is a decision making science
What to produce : Product to Product relationship
How to produce : Factor to Factor relationship
How much to produce : Factor to Product relationship
True Allellopathy : The toxic substance may be releases from plant
Functional Allelopathy : The substance released by plant and it is converted into active substances by
some microbes.
Annidation : Complementary use of resources
Annidation in space : leaf canopy of component crops may occupy different vertical layers
(multistoried cropping in coconut, planting shade trees in cocoa and tea)
Annidation in time : peak demand of two crops for light, nutrients are likely to occur at different
periods, thus reducing competition
Type of competition
Mutual inhibition rare
Mutual cooperation some cases
Compensation most common (Dominant sp Vs Dominated sp)
Difference in duration between the component crops in intercropping system should be min of 30 days
If less than 30 days, staggered planting is done to increase the difference in duration
Dominant crop is sown 10-15 days after the dominated crop
CII (Cropping Intensity Index) : Gross cropped area / Net area x 100
Cropping index or Cropping intensity : Nos. of crops grown per annum on a given area X 100
Crop Intensity : Nos. of crops / No. of years x 100
ICRISAT is recommending broad bed furrow for black soil of semi arid regions
Higher dose of Atrazine applied to sorghum crop affect germination of succeeding pulses crop
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Types of enterprises
Combining enterprises : To get the max profit with min expenditure by combining enterprises (crop
enterprise + LS enterprise + poultry enterprise)
Independent enterprise : There is no effect on the other enterprises
Competitive enterprise : Enterprise which compete each other for the resources. An increase in the output
of one, result in a decrease in the output of other
Supplementary enterprise : Do not compete for resources but help in increase of income of the farmer (a
small poultry enterprise is supplementary, but it becomes competitive if it is expand to large)
Complementary enterprise : Enterprise which help each other in production
Co operative farming system

Type of coop farming Right of ownership Cultivator
Better (Individual) Individual Individual
Joint Individual Joint
Collective Collective Collective
Tenant Collective Individual
Advantages of coop farming

Proper utilization of resource
To increase the size of holding (machinery can be used)
Advance technology can be adopted
Marketing efficiency increased
Employment opportunity increase
Get credit easily
Economic security
Skill and efficiency of labour can be utilized effectively
Scope of coop farming : for arable waste lands where size of holding is very small
Capitalistic farming : The investment of land and capital is done by big businessman or capitalist
Corporate farming : Right of ownership is on the basis of shares taken by the member
Farm budgeting
Estimation of receipts, expenses and net income
Costs, returns and net profit of a farm
Types of farm budgeting (3 types)
1. Partial budgeting : To estimating the outcome or returns for a part of business (Eg. if we want to
estimate additional costs and return from growing 1 ha of hybrid rice in place of local rice variety)
2. Enterprise budgeting : To estimate cost and expected return from a particular enterprise (Eg. Crop
enterprise, Livestock enterprise)

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3. Complete or Total budgeting : To estimate costs and returns from the farm as a whole. It considers
complementary, supplementary and competitive relationship among the enterprises.
Farm credit (loan) = Total capital requirement – Farmers owned fund (margin money is 25 %)
Farm Efficiency : The ratio of the output to the inputs
Total input = Operational expenses + Fixed expenses
Cost principle or Cost concepts

Fixed cost / non recurring cost : Do not change with output (building, machinery, live stocks, depreciation,
interest on fixed capital, revenue)
Variable cost / recurring cost / operational cost / working cost : It varies with the level of output (seed,
labour, manure, chemicals, irrigation)
- Total fixed cost : Sum of all fixed cost
- Average fixed cost : TFC / output (if output increase AFC decrease)
- Total variable cost : Sum of all variable cost
- Average variable cost : TVC / Output
- Total cost : TFC + TVC
- Average total cost : TC / Output
- Marginal cost : Change in TC / Change in Output
Cost A1 : value of seed, fertilizer, labour, machinery, chemicals, irrigation charges, wages, depreciation
Cost A2 : A1 + rent paid for leased land
Cost B : A2 + rent value of owned land + interest on owned fixed capital (excluding land)
Cost C : B + value of family laborers
Law of comparative advantages
- Eg. Sugarcane cultivation near sugar mill, goat/sheep rearing in hilly areas
- Based on this principle, diversified or specialist farmings are selected
Law of Equimarginal Return :equi = equal, margine = additional income (equal additional income)
Law of Substitution : To find out least cost combination in crop production. The substitution ratio is
greater than the price ratio
IFS
Fishery : 4:3:2:1 ratio of surface feeder, bottom feeder, column feeder, grass feeder
Fingerlings stocking density - 750 nos. per ha of ponded water
- Surface feeder : Silver carp, Catla
- Column feeder : Rohu
- Bottom feeder ; Common carp, Mirgal
- Grass feeder : Grass carp
Agro Forestry : Agro forestry system also called as multiple land use system or alternate land use system

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CROPPING SYSTEMS
Kharif crop : July to Oct
Rabi crop : Oct to March
Zaid crop : March to June
 Cropping pattern : Yearly sequence and spatial arrangement of crops and fallow on a given area
(Proportion of the area under various crops at a time)
 Cropping scheme : It is plan related to the most profitable use of resources, land, labour, capital
and management
 Cropping system, LS system, poultry system etc., are the sub division of farming system
 Crop system is the sub division of cropping system
 Mono cropping also called as mono culture
 Mono cropping : one crop during one season or year
 Double crop : two crop per year
 Triple crop : three crop per year
 Multiple cropping : more than 2 crops per year
 Parallel multiple cropping : intercropping with zero competition
 Multiple cropping / Inter cropping / Mixed cropping / Relay cropping / Strip cropping : Crop
intensification is in time and space dimension
 Sequential cropping : Crop intensification is only in time dimension. No intercrop competition.
Succeeding crop planted after harvesting of first crop
 Relay cropping : . Succeeding crop planted before harvesting of preceding crop
 Companion crop : Short duration crop planted in between sugarcane (intercrop). It harvested
before elongation phase of sugarcane
 Component crop : Individual crop species that are a part of multiple cropping system
 Sole crop : Pure stand or Solid planting (opposite to intercropping)
 Simultaneous poly culture : It includes intercropping, mixed cropping, inter culture, inter planting,
relay planting
 Allelopathy : The any direct or indirect harmful effect that one plant has on another through the
production of chemical substances that escape into the environment
Synergetic cropping : Two crops yield is higher than sole crop yield
Energy crop : Sugarcane & Tapioca
Nurse crop or Green manure crop : Tephrosia, Crotalaria
Avenue crop or Road side crop : Gliricidia, Pigeon pea
Riparian crop : pepper wort, Water bind weed

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Crop competition
 Mutual inhibition : Actual yield of each species is less than expected. It occurs rarely. LER is < 1
 Mutual cooperation : Actual yield of each species is greater than expected. It occurs in some case.
LER is = 1
 Compensation : One sp yield is less (dominated sp) and other is more (dominant sp). Most
common. LER is > 1
Competition index : It should be less than one for advantage
Synergetic cropping : When two crops are grown together and their yields on area basis are higher than
their pure cropping
Five agricultural regions of India
1. Rice region
2. Wheat region
3. Millet - Sorghum region
4. Temperate Himalayan region
5. Plantation crop region (tea, coffee, spices, rubber)
Rainy season cropping pattern (Kharif) : 104 nos
 Rice based cropping pattern 30
 Maize based 12
 Sorghum based 17 high in Maharastra followed by MP
 Cumbu based 20
 Groundnut based 09
 Cotton based 16
Winter season cropping pattern (Rabi) : 39 nos
 Wheat based 19
 Chick pea based 07
 Sorghum based 13
Nos. of cereal based cropping pattern in India - 128
Heavy black cotton soil area : Maharastra and adjacent MP
Crop rotation
- One cycle may take one or more farming years to complete
- Farming year is 12 months for irrigated areas and it is limited to the period of adequate soil water
availability for crop growth in rainfed areas
- Rotational Intensity (RI) = Nos. of crops grown in a rotation / Duration of rotation X 100
Rural economics : Study of economic problems of the rural sector
Agricultural economics : Study of cultivators (agricultural) economic problems

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DRY LAND AGRICULTURE

Constituent Dry farming Dry land farming Rainfed farming
Rainfall per yr Less than 750 mm Less than 750 - 800 mm More than 800 mm
Growing season Less than 200 days Less than 200 days More than 200 days
Growing region Arid Arid, semi arid Humid
Cropping system Single crop or IC Single crop or IC IC or Multiple crop
Constrains Wind erosion Wind + Water erosion Water erosion
Dry spell Most common Occur Rare
- In India dry land agriculture contributes : 62 % of cultivable land, 42 % of total food grains, more
than 50 % of rice, 75 % of pulse and oil seeds
- In dry land, extensive cultivation is practiced
- Cropping intensity is 100 % (only one crop is harvested)
Effect of moisture stress on plants

 Loss of turgor pressure
 Photosynthesis is reduced due to stomata closing (CO2 absorption reduced)
 Mild stress increase respiration
 Severe stress decrease respiration
 Proline accumulation occurs in plant system
 Activities of growth promoting hormones decreased (Auxin, GA)
 Activity of growth regulating hormones (ABA - Abscissic acid) increased (ABA is a water deficit
sensor and controls stomata on water stress condition)
 Ethylene hormone produced, it causes leaf and fruit drop
 Stress is in before flowering, it increase the crop duration
 Stress is in after flowering, it decrease the crop duration (immediately sets seed)
Drought : Drought occurs when annual average rainfall is less than 75 % of the normal (severe drought -
less than 50 % of normal)
Atmospheric drought : caused by excessive ET
Soil drought : caused by poor moisture content of the soil
Physiological drought : caused by higher conc. of soil solution (like salinity)
Permanent drought : Agriculture is possible only by irrigation during the entire crop season. These areas
are extremely arid
Seasonal drought : Well defined rainy and dry season are there. Area of arid and semi arid regions
Contingent drought : due to irregularity of rainfall

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Invisible drought : that can occur even when there is frequent rainfall in area. But rains do not supply
enough water for plant growth. Usually in humid regions
MAI : Moisture Adequacy Index
MAI Condition
Less than 25 % Severe drought
25 to 50 % Moderate drought
50 % and more Crop growing season
75 % and more Humid period with good moisture status
Moisture Deficit Index (MDI) = P – PET / PET

MDI : Sub humid 0 to - 33.3
Semi arid - 33.3 to - 66.6
Arid more than - 66.6
Drought resistance
Drought resistance is the capacity of the plants to endure drought condition without suffering. It is achieved
through
1. Escaping from drought (are Ephemerals) : Short life / no mechanism for over coming moisture stress
2. Avoiding stress : The ability of the plant to maintain a favorable water balance and turgidity
o Achieved by conserving water by restricting transpiration
 Stomatal mechanism
 Reduction in leaf area
 Rolling and curling of foliage
 Parahelionastic movement - plant growth is parallel to sun rays as in legumes
 Dropping of leaf, thick cuticle, waxy surface, spines
 Lipid deposits on leaves (Soyabean, Sorghum)
 Water storage in plants (Agave, Pine apple)
o Accelerating water uptake by plants
 Effective root system (high root shoot ratio)
 Increased diameter of xylem vessels
3. Tolerating stress : 50 % of the plant cells are die & tolerant is achieved by mitigating stress
o Mitigating stress : by development of adaptation (plants develop morphological
adaptation such as thick cell wall, sunken stomata, waxy lipid coating on leaves)
o Plants are able to keep the stomata partially open
Drought tolerant varieties :
Paddy : MDU 1, MDU 5, PKM 1, TKM 1
Sorghum : K tall, K 4 to10, APK 1
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Plastic strain : Killing of above ground parts and keeping underground parts like tubers, bulbs are alive
and dormant
Anti transpirants
- Stomatal closing type : Phenyl mercuric acetate
- Film forming type : Mobileaf
- Reflectant type : 5% Kaolinite
- Growth retardants : Cycocel
Wind breaks : They are any structures (plants, wall) to reduce wind speed
Shelter belt : They are rows of trees planted across the direction of wind
Seed hardening : Seed treatment for drought tolerance (Calcium chloride, KCl, ZnSO4)
Plants that can resist high temp are Thermoduric
ICRISAT : focusing 5 major dryland crops. They are Sorghum, Peral millet, Pigeon pea, Chick pea and
Groundnut

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SOIL SCIENCE
 Pedology : Study of origin of soil, its classification and its description
 Edaphology : Study of soil in relation to growth, nutrition and yield of crop (soil, moisture, plant
relationship) or Study of soil from the stand point of higher plants
 Pediology : Study of soil color
 Soil texture : Size of soil particles
 Soil structure : Arrangement of soil particles
 Soil type : Texture of surface soil
 Soil phase : Surface soil involved for soil management and crop production
 Soil pedon : The vertical and lateral extent of soil
 Soil profile : The vertical extent of soil only
 Deep soil studied upto 150 cm, others studied upto parent material
 Soil Taxonomy : order » sub order » great group » sub group » family » series
 Soil morphology : Study the physical structure of soil
Soil profile & horizons
AO Undecomposed OM
AOO Decomposed OM
A1 Dark colour, high OM
A2 Light colour, leaching of clay
A3
Transition layer between A & B
B1
B2 Accumulation of clay
B3 Transition layer between B & C
C1 Partially weathered parent material
C2 Un weathered parent material
D Bed rock
O horizon Organic horizon, not a mineral horizon (Organic matter content is more than 30 %)
AO & AOO Organic horizon
A Surface soil (Elluvial horizon)
B Accumulation or Illuvial horizon
AB Solum (The upper and most weathered part of soil profile)
E Elluvial (between A and B, loss of silicate clay, Fe, Al & leaving sand, silt particles)
C Parent material
ABC Regolith (Surface soil + Sub soil)
BCD Sub soil
D Bed rock
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Salic horizon A horizon of salt accumulation in sub surface

Calcic horizon Sub surface soil having CaCO3 accumulation
Gypsic horizon A horizon with CaSO4 accumulation
Umbric epipedon : A surface horizon having high OM
Lithological discontinuity : No continuity found between B and C horizon
Soil Eluviation : Leaching or removing of material from upper to lower layer
Soil Illuviation : An accumulation layer, leached material deposited here
Matured soil : Soil having ABC horizons, well developed B horizon (Ex. Black soil, Red soil)
Well developed soil has horizon A, B & C
Young soil : May not have B horizon (only A and C horizon)
Murrum : Party weathered, compact parent material
Truncated soil : In some hilly areas, A horizon eroded by heavy rains, it leaving B and C only
Sedentary soils : Soil formed by weathering is not removed from the actual site of its formation
Fluffy paddy soil : Soil having low bulk density of top soil (poor anchorage to paddy seedlings)
Hard pan soil : It occurs in red soil due to movement of clay and iron hydroxides and settling at shallow
depth, it preventing the root proliferation
Heavy textured clay : Soil having large amount of clay, resulting in poor permeability and nutrient
fixation. It reclaimed by adding river sand
Delta : Soil deposited by river
Draft : Soil deposited by ice or water
Soil components : Mineral matter 45 % + OM 5 + air 25 + water 25 or
Solid phase 50 % (MM + OM) + pore phase 50 % (air + water)
 Normal soil having 1/3rd air (macro pores) + 2/3rd water (micro, capillary pore space). In this
condition plant growth will be optimum
 Primary minerals : coarse fraction, gravel, sand, quartz, feldspar (it is original mineral component
of an igneous rock)
 Secondary minerals or Crystalline or Alumino Silicates : clay fraction (fine soil colloids),
Aluminium oxide
 Silt : intermediate soil between sand and clay
 Amorphous minerals : Allophone
 Easily weatherable mineral is Olivine (very stable mineral is Silica)
 Organic soil : Soil having more than 20 % OM
Best group of soil for crop growth is moderately fine textured soil (Ex. Loams, Clay loam, Silt loam). They
have balanced proportion of sand and clay.

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Rocks
Igneous or Primary rocks
Acid igneous rock : having high proportion of quarts (60-75 %) Ex. Granite (plutonic rock)
Base igneous rock : quarts content is less than 50 % Ex. Basalt (volcanic rock)
Plutonic rocks formed by the solidification of lava
Igneous rocks produced through cooling of melted minerals (Granite, Basalt)
Silica content of an igneous rock is 60 - 70 %
Sedimentary or Stratified rocks : lime stone, sand stone, shales
Alluvial, glacial, aeolin are unconsolidated sedimentary rocks
Fossils found in Sedimentary rocks
Metamorphic rocks : Change of texture and mineral composition of igneous and sedimentary rocks by
intense heat and high pressure
Ex. Granite » Gneiss, Sand stone » Quartzite, Lime stone » Marble, Shale » Slate
Soil colloids : 1. Inorganic
a. Silicate clays (temperate region)
b. Hydrous oxide clay (tropical sub tropical) - Al, Fe oxides
2. Organic (Humus) : lingo protein, Al & Fe hydroxides, negative charge like clay,
it attract bases to it
Montmorillonite: 2 : 1 expanding type (2 silica : 1 Al), Semi arid region, developed from basic rock, rich in Ca, Mg
Illite : 2 : 1 non expanding type, Arid zone, developed from granite (acid rock), rich in K
Kaolinite : 1 : 1 non expanding type, Humid tropics, developed from sedimentary rocks
Vermiculite : 2 : 1 limited expanding type, Mg rich clay mineral
Ethylene glycol (EG) adsorption is recommended to determine total, internal & external surface area of
clay minerals
Montmorillonite clay rich in Ca, Mg
Illite have rich in K
Comparison
Properties Montmorillonite Illite Kaolinite
Shape Flakes Flakes Hexagonal
Specific surface
Internal surface
External surface High Medium Low
Swelling, shrinkage, cohesion, plasticity
CEC
Soil type Black soil Alluvial Red or Laterite

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Soil formation process : 2 phases

1. Weathering : Break down of bed rocks (the process of physical, chemical breakdown of particles)
Physical weathering : known as mechanical weathering or disintegration
Chemical weathering : known as decomposition
2. Pedogenic process : addition of OM, process like Elluviation and Illuviation
Weathering agents
Hydration : addition of water molecule
Hydrolysis : break down of water molecule (H + OH)
Oxidation : addition of oxygen
Reduction : removal of oxygen
Factors of soil formation :
S = F (c,o,r,p,t) where climate, organism, relief or topography, parent material, time or age
Active factors : c,o
Passive factors : r,p,t & Vegetation
Parent material :
Alluvium : soil is transported and deposited by water (river)
Colluvium : by the action of gravity
Glacial drift : by glacial ice
Loess or Aeolin : by wind
Time & Age
Initial stage : unweathered parent material
Juvenile stage : weathering started
Virile stage : weathering progresses
Senile stage : weathering final
Laterization (lateritic soil formation) : The process of desilication - removal of silica & accumulation of
sesqui oxides (Al, Fe oxides)
Soil classification
Climatic classification : by Vilenski
Genetic classification : by Dokuchaev
Soils of India
Largest soil group in India : I) Alluvial II) Black soil
Red soil
 Red color by Fe oxides
 Developed from granite, shales
 Belongs to Entisol, Ultisol, Alfisol
 Acid nature (pH 7.0 to 7.5)

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 Located in sub humid climate (occurs all states)

 TN having largest area (2/3rd cultivated area)
 Poor organic matter, humus, N, P, base, CEC & moisture
 Rich in kaolinite clay
Black soil
 Developed from basalt rock under semi arid condition
 It known as Regur or Black cotton soil or Kankar nodules (dark color)
 Contains montmorillanite clay minerals
 pH 7.5 to 8.5
 Low organic matter, N, P (deficient in Nitrogen)
 Rich K, lime and high base
 Calcarious nature (Ca, Mg)
 High clay, CEC, base saturation
 It occurs in Maharastra, Western MP
 It belongs to Vertisol (deep soil), Inceptisol (medium soil) & Entisol (shallow soil)
Laterite & Lateritic soil
 It occurs in high rainfall area (summits of hills)
 TN - at lower elevations in coastal district of Tanjavur
 Highly weathered soil
 Low CEC
 Very poor in Ca, Mg, N, P, K, base (acid in nature)
 Poor nutrient status
 pH 5 to 6
 High humus and oxides of Fe, Al
 It is Kaolinite type
 Belongs to Ultisol & Alfisols
Alluvial soil
 Largest & most important group in India
 Alluvial soil covers max area in India
 Contributing maximum share to agricultural wealth
 Occurs in river belt areas
 Grey in color
 Low N, P, humus
 Rich in lime
 pH 7 to 8
 Belongs to Entisols and Inceptisols
Desert soil

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 Sandy in nature
 Rainfall range of 500 mm
 Desert soil is found in arid and semi arid regions
Saline & Alkaline soil
 Indo gangetic plain (Rajasthan)
Tarai soil
 Foot of Himalayas, UP, JK, WB, Bihar
 Rich in organic matter & deficient in Zinc
Soil orders of India

Histosol : Organic soil (Soil group having high organic matter)
Vertisol : Black cotton soil
Spodosol : Black soil
Mollisol : Calcium dominates
Aridsol : Desert soil (Soil group having low organic matter)
Entisol : Desert of Rajasthan and recent alluvium
Allisol : Red and laterite soil
Alfisol : Soil group having high productivity
Inceptisol : Soil of humid region (Indo gangetic plain)
Spodic : Amorphous, organic matter, Al with or without Fe
Oxic : Oxides of Al, Fe
Duripan : Hardpan, by silica
Calcic : Accumulation of CaCO3
Gypsic : Accumulation of CaSO4
Salic : Soluble salts present
Soils of Tamilnadu : due to tropical climate, the various horizons in the soil profile do not show marked
variation
Red soil
 Occupied 2/3 of the cultivated area
 It develop from granites
 Max area of red soil is in Tamilnadu
 Shallow depth of 1 m
 Poor in organic matter and nutrient
 Response well to manure and irrigation (Hungry and thirsty soil)
 Early soil : it permits early sowing
 Crop : Rice, Banana, Sugarcane, Vegetables, Groundnut, Pulse
Black soil
 Known as Black cotton soil, CaCO3 nodules or kankars are formed
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 Occupies 1/3 of area

 Developed from basalt
 Montmorillonite clay minerals (clay nature)
 WHC is high
 Shallow to deep depth of 1-3 m
 Gypsum is deposited in lower layer
 Rich in plant nutrients and base exchange capacity
 Low organic matter content
 Late soil : sowing can taken after monsoon sets
 Crops : Cotton, Millets, Pulse, Chillies, Tobacco
Alluvial soil
 Formed by deposition of silt by river
 It is known as Transported soil
 Well developed soil
 Very high depth of 2000-5000 m
 Profile shows layers of sand silt fine clay
 Soil erosion is minimum
 Suited for intensive and extensive agriculture
 Crop : Rice, Sugarcane, Banana
Laterite soil
 Formed in summits of hills (rainfall of 250 to 350 cm)
 Red in color
 Developed from granite
 It is a immature soil
 Sesquioxide is a predominant clay mineral
 Leaching of bases and silica to a large extent
 Low base exchange capacity
 pH 6-6.5
 Poor in all nutrients
 P is low, it combined with Fe, Al (not available to crops)
 Crops : Forest tress, Banana, Tapioca, Ginger, Pepper, Coconut, Tea, Coffee
Coastal sandy soil
 Occurs along the sea coast (East coastal region from Chennai to Kanyakumari)
 Crop : Cashew, Casuarinas, Rice nursery
Sodic soil
 Found in wet land areas of impeded drainage
 Na clay found

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 Crop : Rice (TRY 1 - Karaikal Peruvalathan)

Soil order of Tamilnadu
Entisol : Red loam
Vertisol : Black soil (all over state except Nilgiris & Kanyakumari)
Alfisol : Sandy coastal alluvium
Inceptisol : Lateritic soil (except Tanjavur & Nagapattinam)
Ultisol : Red sandy (part of Nilgiris, Salem, Dharmapuri)
Found in high elevation with high rainfall
Like lateritic soil, low base status, acidic nature
High organic matter content
Form of soil water

1. Gravitational water or max retention capacity : saturated state, macro & micro pores filled with
water
2. Field capacity : water in macro pores drained out (soil has relatively stable moisture condition)
3. Permanent wilting percentage or wilting co efficient : some water may be lost by ET from micro
pores
4. Hygroscopic co efficient : water in the form of vapour held very tightly around soil colloids
Soil water classification

1. Gravitational water : held at - 0.1 to - 0.3 bar, remains in soil for short time, limited use of plants
2. Capillary water : held at - 0.1 to - 31 bar, mostly available for plant growth, water held within - 15
is easily available to plants (Field Capacity)
3. Hygroscopic water : held at lower than - 31 bars, all plants fail to absorb
 Major source of water used by plant is Gravitational water
 Water availability to plants to a max extent : Between field capacity and wilting point
 The upper plastic limit is also known as Liquid limit
 Saturated soil : Soil pores (macro & micro) are completely filled with water
 Saturated flow of water is max in sandy soil followed by loamy soil
 When pores are partially filled with air and partially with water is called unsaturated flow (maxi in
clay followed by loamy soil)
Soil color
Munsall color chart : Chart used for reading soil color in field
Soil color designation system : Munsall system
Hue : refers to homogeneity of the soil (variable of soil color)
Sequence of soil colour is : Hue value chroma
Sequence of soil structure is : Class grade type
Catena : soil sequence
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Soil colour developed by

Parent rock - Lithochromic
Soil forming process - Pedochromic
Black color due to OM
Brown due to OM + Fe oxide
Red due to unhydrated ferric oxides
White due to silica and lime
Soil structure : described in terms of
1. Type : shape and arrangement
2. Class : size
3. Grade : degree of aggregation
Type : there are 4 types
1. Platy : horizontal arrangement of soil particles
2. Prism like : vertical arrangement of particles - Ex. Prismatic, Columnar
3. Block like : particles arranged around a point (round) - Ex. Angular, Sub angular
4. Spheroidal : particles arranged around a point (cured or irregular) - Ex. Granular, Crumb
(favourable for plant growth)
Class : 5 size are 1. Very Fine 2. Fine 3. Medium 4. Coarse and 5. Very Coarse
Grade : 4 grades are 1. Week 2. Moderate 3. Strong 4. Very strong
Factors affecting soil structure
 Ploughing and other tillage operations
 Legume and green manure improve soil structure
 Organic matter stimulates the formation and stabilizes
 Cations : Na, K in clay complex disperse soil particles (so, structure will be affected). Ca, Mg, Al
are favorable for soil aggregation
Soil physical properties

Particle density is known as true density (g per cm2)
PD of soils : clay > silt > fine sand > coarse sand
Bulk Density : weight per unit volume of dry soil (particle + pore space). It is lower than PD
Bulk density : weight of soil sample / volume of same soil sample (gm/cc)
BD of soil : clay < silt < fine sand < coarse sand
For mineral soil : PD is 2.5 - 2.7, BD is 1.4 - 1.8
For normal soil BD is 1.33 g/cc
Pore space : clay 58 % (micro pores), silt loam 50 %, loam 47 %, sandy 30 % (macro pores)
Ideal condition = equal amount of macro and micro pores should be there
Pore space (%) = PD – BD / PD X 100
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Soil consistence (depends on soil moisture content)

Cohesion - only occur in water molecules
Adhesion - between soil and water
 Black soils are highly plastic and highly cohesive, it makes tillage operation difficult (it is heavy soil)
 Regurs : Black soil of India
 In colloid, H ion is adsorbed more strongly than Ca +
 Hard pan developed in red soils area due to the movement of clay and iron hydroxides and settling at
shallow depth
 Sandy soil contain more or less 60 % of sand particles
 Clay soil contain over 50 % of clay particles
 Clay when dissolved in water forms Collaidal suspension
 Clay soil has max WHC because it has very fine particles and hence very small air space
 Soil with less than 2 % clay is unsuitable for plant growth
 Calcareous soil contain over 20 % of Calcium carbonate
 Calcareous soil exhibits Zn deficiency symptoms in plants
 Most abundant element in earth crust is Oxygen (in atmosphere N is abuntant)
 Soil crumbs size favorable for crop growth is 1 to 5 mm
 Down ward movement of water in soil is controlled by soil texture
 Depth of cultivated soil is 15 cm (ploughing of this layer is called Furrow Slice)
 Specific heat of soil will be more at water logged soil
 More lighter soil texture : Loamy sand
 More heavy soil texture : Silty clay loam
 Peaty soil is acidic in nature (having carbonic acid)
Soil Edaphic factors
 Soil temperature
 Soil texture
 Soil structure
Mineral composition of soil
Clay : It is act as a seat of Pedo Chemical reaction and hold the nutrition and than release for plant
growth. It is a sheet of Hydrated Alumina (Octahedral) and Silica (Tetrahedral) linked by oxygen atoms
CEC : Organic colloids > Vermiculite > Montmorillonite > Illite > Kaolinite
CEC is high in basic soil (Base saturation - Ca, Mg, K, Na saturation)
Anion Exchange Capacity : It is high in acid soils (Base unsaturation - H, Al is more)
Cation in soil : K, Ca, Mg, Na
Anion in soil : Chloride, Sulphate, Carbonate, Bicarbonates
Humus : 50 % carbon + 35 % oxygen + 5 % N + 5 % H + 5 % ash (P,K,S & others)

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Fulvic acid, Humic acid, Humin

Soil microbes
In neutral soil, bacteria live more. But, in acid soil fungi lives more
Actinomycetes : sensitive to acid soil, soil born potato scab transmitted by Actinomycetes. So, application
of Sulphur will lower soil pH and control this disease.
Actinomycetes provide nutrients to the plants by decomposing soil organic matter
Psychrophyllic Survive at soil temp of 10 to 15o C
Mesosphyllic Survive at soil temp of 25 to 30o C
Thermophyllic Survive at soil temp of > 30o C
Soil organisms which decompose organic matter and produce Ammonia + Organic acid
Diatoms are soil algae
Soil survey
It involves soil characterization, soil classification, correlation, mapping and interpretation.
Preparation of base map is done through LANDSAT (satellite) & GIS (software)
Types of soil survey
 Reconnaissance soil survey
o It is a preliminary survey to the detailed survey
o It gives broad idea about major soil groups
o It examined 3 to 6 km interval
o It is for planning & agricultural development at district and state level
o Scale of mapping - 1:50000 (1 cm =0.5 km)
o For national level planning, the scale of mapping is 1 : 2,50000 (1 cm = 2.5 km)
o Unit of mapping is soil series or soil families
o National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur (it completed survey at 1
: 2,50000 scale for all the states of country)
 Detailed soil survey
o Soils are examined in detail and close intervals (examined at 0.25 to 0.5 km)
o Scale of mapping : Cadastral map 1:8000 (1 cm = 80 m) or 1:4000 scale (1 cm = 40 m)
o Arial photographs 1 : 20000 (1 cm = 0.2 km)
o For much detailed survey 1 : 12000 (1 cm = 0.12 km)
o Unit of mapping is within the soil series
o Used for watershed development (soil erosion control, fixing irrigation schedule)
o Detailed survey is adopted for intensive cultivation
 Detailed reconnaissance soil survey
o Combination of above both
o Regions of better use potentialities are surveyed in detail

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Soil mapping units

 Soil series : Naming a soil series is the first step in soil classification and mapping. The group of
soil having similar horizons.
 Soil type : It is a sub division of soil series. Classification is based on the texture of the surface soil
 Soil phase : It is a sub division of soil type. Classification is in respect of soil slope, degree of
erosion, stoniness, salinity.
Problem soils
Acid soil : Base unsaturated soil (base saturated soils are neutral soil), laterite soil, foot hill soil
and peat soil.
Reserve or Potential acidity : H+ ions present in soil colloidal complex
In normal soil H+ ions are replaces by Ca++ (Lime – CaCO3), Mg++ ions
Formation of acid soil
 Leaching by rainfall
 Acid producing microbes
 Parent rocks (granite)
 Removal of base by crops
 Application of acid forming fertilizers and chemicals (ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate -
nitric acid)
 Acid rain
Characters of acid soil
 Low pH
 Low CEC
 High base unsaturation
 Exchangeable H+ and Al ions present
 Kaolinite and illite clay minerals present
 Microbial imbalance (N fixation affected)
 Mn, Al, Fe toxicity (Al toxicity is major limiting factor for plant growth in acid soils)
 When soil pH is less (acidic) Fe - P complex will form (pH is high : Ca-P complex form)
 In acid soil availability of Fe is high
Effect of acidity on plants
 Direct effect : Permeability of root membrane affected
 Indirect effect : P fixation in soil, Mn, Al, Fe toxicity, all micronutrients are in available form
except Mo (cauliflower), biological N fixation is affected
Reclamation of acid soil
 Lime application : H+ (acid soil) + CaOH (lime) Ca (neutral soil) + H 2O
 Lime requirement is measured by buffer solution

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 High tolerant crop : rice, potato, oat, sweet potato

 Moderately tolerant crop : barley, wheat, maize, brinjal
 Slightly tolerant crop : tomato, carrot
Gypsum is not considered as liming material : CaSO4 Ca + SO4, SO4 + H2O H2 SO4
Acid sulphate soil : due to sulphuric acid, soil pH is less than 4.0, no crop growth
Legume, sugarcane, wheat, maize, groundnut respond well to lime
Neutralizing value or Calcium Carbonate Equivalent (CCE) of liming materials
Calcium oxide (CaO) 179
Calcium hydroxide (CaOH) 136
Calcite or lime stone (CaCO3) 100
Saline and Alkaline soil
Saline
 Excess sodium salt present
 Chlorite and Sulphate of Na, Ca, Mg is present
 Ca is beneficial for crops
 Na is affect the crop growth and development
 Appearance : White surface crust
 It is called as White alkali
 It is permeable to water and air
 Effect : Irrigation water does not move below the soil
Water with salt move up by capillary action
It affect in seedling stage
In crops, shrinkage of cell is occurs
Rate of evaporation increase with temperature and decrease with salt content in water
 Salt free zone necessary for crop cultivation
Shallow rooted crops Top 20-45 cm of soil
Deep rooted crops Upto 120 cm of top soil
Orchards Upto 240 cm of top soil
 Sub surface drainage may be needed in higher water table areas
 Tolerant crops : Cotton, maize, Chillies, Tapioca
 Semi tolerant crops : Rice, Wheat
Reclamation of Saline soil
 Flooding and leaching down of the soluble salts
 Leaching requirement = Depth of drainage / Depth of irrigation X 100
 Scrapping of surface soil
 Proper drainage
 Salt free irrigation water

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 Kept optimum moisture

 Planting in furrow
 Use acidic fertilizer & organic manure (increase WHC)
 Ploughing and leveling (infiltration, percolation, leaching increase)
 Retardation of water evaporation
 Growing suitable crops
High salt tolerant crops : Sugarcane, Cotton, Chillies
Moderately tolerant crops : Rice, Wheat, Sorghum, Cumbu, Maize
Low tolerant crops : Pulse
 High salt tolerant crop is Lucern
Saline - Alkali
 Soil contain Na clay as well as excess salt
 It developed as a combined process of Salinization (soluble salt are not leached down) and
Alkalinisation (sodium clay is formed)
 Salinization : excess of sodium salt present
 Alkalinisation : soluble salt are removed by leaching due to heavy rainfall and Na clay & sodium
carbonate is formed
 Total area affected by soil salinity and alkalinity in India is 7 m ha (Max in UP)
Formation of saline - alkaline soil
 Arid and semi arid climate : low rainfall and high evaporation
 Humid and sub humid region : drainage is defective and water table is high
 Poor drainage and high water table (capillary action)
 Sea water intrusion
 Use of salt water for irrigation
 Parent rock
 Application of base fertilizers
Effects
 Absorption of water and nutrients is affected due to increase in osmotic pressure of soil solution
 Soil structure is lost
Alkaline
 Exchangeable sodium present (NaCO3 is dominant)
 Salt absent
 It is called as black alkali (due to organic matter)
 TSS (sodium) less than 0.1 %
 It is in deflocculated condition
 Permeability of water and air is poor
 Aged seedlings established better than young seedlings

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 Fertility is very high in alkaline soil

 ZnSO4 is more productive in Alkaline soil
Reclamation of alkaline soil
 Gypsum application
Na clay (Alkaline) + CaSO4 (Gypsum) Ca clay (Normal soil) + Na SO4 (Leachable)
Gypsum requirement is estimated by School Nover method
GR = ESP initial – ESP final X CEC / 100 gm of soil
 Grow tolerant crops
Tolerant crops : Grass, Rice, Date palm
Semi tolerant crops : Wheat, Barley, Oat, Sugarcane, Cotton
Sensitive crops : Pulses
Degraded alkali soil
Na clay + H2O H clay + NaOH + CO2 NaCO3 + H2O
Hydrolysis Acid soil Alkali soil
NaCO3 dissolves humus and acquires black color
The process of break down of H clay under alkaline condition is known as Solodization and the soil formed
is called Solod or Degraded alkali soil
 Surface soil is in acidic nature & lower layer is alkaline (black color)
 ESP > 15 %, EC < 4
 Low infiltration and permeability
Natural classification of problem soils
Character Saline Saline alkali Alkali (sodic) Degraded alkali
H+ in upper +
Excess soluble Absence of soluble Na clay + soluble
Content alkaline in lower
salts salts salt
layer
Exchangeable Ca Na
Chlorides,
NaCO3 in lower
Salt Sulphids of Na, ca, NaCO3
layer
Mg
TSS > 0.1 > 0.1 < 0.1 < 0.1
Both (depending
Phy. condition Flocculated Deflocculated Compact
on Na)
Organic matter < Normal soil Very less High Low
Soil sampling & Testing : for fertility and productivity evaluation

Soil sample size for lab analysis : 500 gm
Seed sample size for lab analysis : 25 gm
Soil samples are collected and contained in plastic bags
Soil units is based on : topography, colour, texture, fertility and management unit
Composite soil sample : After soil unit is determined, soil samples are collected and they are mixed well to
get composite sample.

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 Auger is used for taking soil samples

 8 to 10 cores may be taken
 Samples taken at random if previous crop grown broadcast (in zig zag way for row crops)
The composite samples are partitioned by
 Riffle technique : Alternate narrow slots are discarded
 Quartering : Opposite quarters are discarded
Soil testing
 EC testing for estimating Total Soluble Salt (TSS) and it show degree of salinity
 Presence of even 0.5 % of total soluble salt in soil is considered injurious to plant growth
 Organic carbon testing for measuring available Nitrogen
 The lower the soil test value for a particular nutrient, the higher is the response
 Total nos. soil testing labs in India : 544
EC value for plant growth
< 1.0 ds/m Normal for seed germination and plant growth
upto 2.0 ds/m Critical for seed germination
2 to 4 ds/m Critical for plant growth
> 4 ds/m Cause injury to crops
Methods of soil analysis

Organic carbon : Chromic acid oxidation method
Available P : Olsen method & Bray No1 solution method
P status in soil : Cunning Hamella plaque test
Available K : Flame photometer
Available S : Colorimetrically
Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn : Spectro photometer
Soil fertility management

 Soil classification done by US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)
 Soil fertility is assessed in lab
 Soil productivity is assessed in field
 The low N content in Indian soil is due to climate (high temp)
 In low land rice soil (flooded soil), nitrate is reduced and CH 4 are evolved. So nitrate fertilizers are
unsuitable for low land
 Gaseous O2 requirement of rice plant roots is met by Aerenchymatous tissue of the plant
 About 1/3rd of Indian soils are acidic (deficiency in Ca, Mg)
 Manures + Fertilizers increase food grain production by 50 to 60 %
 Peat soil required heavy application of P & K
Entropic : Soil having plant nutrients optimum for plant growth

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Luxury consumption : The amount of nutrient absorbed by plants in excess of their requirement for
optimum growth
Law of minimum (Von lie beg) : Soil contain optimum amount of all nutrient except one, crop growth
regulated by that single nutrient
Law of diminishing return (Mitschelleas equation) : A plant under optimum condition should produce
max yield, but if an essential nutrient is deficient, a corresponding decrease in yield take place. The
increase in deficient nutrient will proportionately increase the yield
Hidden hunger : Situation in which a crop need more nutrient but show no deficiency symptoms. Yield
reduction may go upto 50 % (in case of K)
Critical Nutrient Conc. (CNC) : It is a optimum rage of nutrient in soil. Below which deficiency
symptoms appear in plants and above which toxicity appear.
Active central leaf : The particular leaf in various crops to be physically most active (it can be selected for
tissue sampling). Ex. Rice-third leaf from top, Wheat-3&4th leaf from top, Maize-4&5th leaf from top
Yield with adequate nutrient – yield in control

Crop yield (%) = -------------------------------------------------------- X 100
Yield with adequate nutrient
Soil fertility rating chart

Nutrients Low Medium High
Org. carbon (for N) Below 0.5 % 0.5 - 0.75 % Above 0.75 %
Available N Below 280 kg/ha 280 - 560 kg/ha Above 560 kg/ha
Available P Below 10 kg/ha 10 - 25 kg/ha Above 25 kg/ha
Available K Below 110 kg/ha 110 - 280 kg/ha Above 280 kg/ha
Available Zn Below 0.5 ppm 0.5 - 1.0 ppm Above 1.0 ppm
Available Mg Below 1.0 ppm 1 - 3 ppm Above 3.0 ppm
Available Cu Below 0.5 ppm 0.5 - 1.0 ppm Above 1.0 ppm
OM contains about 58 % of organic carbon

Nitrogen % = Organic matter % + 0.05
Organic carbon content of soil
Less than 0.5 % Poor
0.5 to 0.75 % Medium
More than 0.75 % High
Manure and Fertilizers

 Nicholas proposed the term “functional nutrients” (16 + Na, Co, Vanadium, Silicon)
 Essential nutrients for plants : 16 + 1 (cobalt is essential for leguminous crop only)
 Criteria for the essentiality of the elements : Arnon and Short (1939)
 Macro or Major nutrients : CHO + NPK (Primary nutrients) + Ca, Mg, S (Secondary nutrients)
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 Micro nutrients : Zn, Fe, Cu, B, Mo, Mn, etc.,

 Major or macro nutrients are required by the plants in conc exceeding 1 ppm
 Minor or micro or trace elements are required by the plants in conc. less than 1 ppm
 Ultra micro nutrient : Mo, cobalt (called by Nicholas) conc. of less than 1ppbillion
 C obtained from air CO2 is used by plant for photosynthesis and cell formation
 H obtained from water, for cell and tissue formation
 O2 obtained from air and water, for respiration and cell & tissue formation
 Lysimeter : Percolation loss of nutrients can be identified
Nitrogen
 Yellowing of lower leaves - due to deficiency of oxygen or nitrogen
 If plants contain < 1 % N - deficiency of N will occur
Phosphorus
 Soil is a main source of P
 Plants absorb as Dihydrogen Orthophosphate (H2PO4-)
 It is essential constituent of DNA, RNA, ADP, ATP, NADP
 It encourage N fixation in legumes
 Older leaves develop deficiency symptoms (develop dark blue green leaves)
 If plant contain less than 0.1 to 0.4 % P, it cause deficiency
Potassium
 Plant absorb as K+ ions
 Plants can store large quantity without toxicity (Luxury consumption)
 It regulates stomata opening, reduce lodging, resist pest & disease, increase drought tolerant
 Older leaf develop deficiency symptoms (chlorosis) followed by necrotic spot
 If plant contain less than 1 % K, it develop deficiency symptom
Calcium (Ca)
 Calcium pectate is a main constituent of cell wall (Ca + Pectin = calcium pectate)
 It is immobile in plants (deficiency symptoms occur in young leaves)
Magnesium (Mg)
 For chlorophyll development (Magnesium Porphyrin)
 Mobile in plant system (Deficiency : Intervinal chlorosis in older leaves)
Manganese (Mn) : For water splitting enzyme development during photosynthesis (Hill reaction)
Iron (Fe) : Immobile in plant (Intervinal chlorosis in young leaves & white necrotic area)
Mo : It is mainly for N fixation (essential for nitrogenous and nitrate reductase)
Cations : Positively charged ions
Anions : Negatively charged ions

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Plant take the NPK in the form of : NO3, H1PO4-, K+ (nitrate, phosphoric acid, potassium ion)
Zn in the form of Zn++
S in the form of SO4-
Nutrient deficiency symptoms
Nutrient Index
 Less than 1.6 Deficient soil
 1.6 to 2.3 Average fertility of soil
 More than 2.3 Adequate fertility of soil
Nutrient Index is used to prepare the Soil fertility map
Crop Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms Remarks
Tomato Ca Blossom end rot
Development of gum pockets
Die back or Exanthema
Citrus Copper between bark and wood is known
or Reclamation disease
as Exanthema
White tip or Observed during reclamation of
Cereals
Reclamation disease peat soil
Cereals Male sterility
Maize & Sorghum Zn White bud It is not a bud, it's a white patch
First reported in IR 8
Rice Zn Khaira disease
In older leaves
Mottle leaf or Little leaf
Citrus Zn
or Frenching
Cauliflower (Brassica) Molybdenum Whip tail
Sugar beet Boron Brown heart or Heart rot
Cauliflower Boron Hallow stem
Apple,
External and Internal
Pomegranate Boron
cork
Citrus
Tomato
Boron Cracking on the fruits
Pomegranate
S deficiency : New leaves turn yellow
P deficiency : Older leaves become yellowish
Cu deficiency : Multiple bud formation
Indicator plants for nutrient deficiency
Indicator plants Elements
Cauliflower, Cabbage N, Ca, Fe
Sunflower Boron

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Potato K, Mg
Sugarbeet Na, Mn
Rape seed P
Plant roots uptake nutrients from soil in ionic form
Crops in India remove annually about : high K, medium N and low P
Meat meal contains 10 % N
Bone meal contains rich in P (20 %) & Ca, it suitable for acid soil and long duration crops
Nutrient movement in soil

1. Root interception : Roots come into contact with nutrient ions from clay humus colloids directly.
2. Mass flow : Nutrients move physically with flow of soil water towards plant roots due to
transpiration.
a. Mobile nutrients : N, Ca, Mg, S, Cl (move large distance)
b. Immobile nutrients : P, K, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mo, B, Mn (move small distance)
3. Diffusion : Nutrients move from higher conc. to lower conc. without movement of water. This
mechanism is mainly for immobile nutrients.
Element mobile in soil : N
Element non mobile in soil : K, Ca, Mg
Nutrient uptake by plants
1. Active absorption : through metabolic energy
2. Passive absorption : without involvement of metabolic energy. Uptake by conc. gradient (nutrient
move higher conc. to lower conc.)
Plant cells are negatively charged. So, cations (positively charged) will accumulate more
Mobility of nutrients in plant system

 Highly mobile : NPK Deficiency symptoms in older leaves
 Moderately mobile : Zn In old and young leaves
 Less mobile : Fe, S, Cu, Mo In young leaves
 Immobile : Ca, Boron In terminal buds
Organic matter
Organic residues : are undecomposed organic matter
Organic residues
Organic Inorganic
(Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn,P, S etc)
Nitrogenous Non nitrogenous
Insoluble water soluble carbohydrate ether soluble miscellaneous

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(protein) (nitrate, ammoniacal) (cellulose (fats, oil (lignin, tannin

Starch, sugar) wax, resin) organic acid)
Decomposition of organic matter

Decomposition is an enzymatic process
2 CHO + O2 ► 2 CO2 + H2O (the decomposition is only partial)
Decomposition of soluble substance
Ammonification : Nitrogenous compound into Ammonia
Protein ► Polypeptides ► Amino acid ► Ammonia (enzymatic action by microbes)
Nitrification : conversion of Ammonia to Nitrites (NO2) & nitrates (NO3)
Ammonia ►Nitrite (by Nitrosomonas) ► Nitrate (by Nitobacter)
Production of nitrate is more rapid than ammonia. So soil contain nitrate form of N at any time
Rate of nitrification is low in cooler climate than warmer
Denitrification : high in water logged rice field and high soil pH
Soil nitrate ► Nitrogen gas (by Pseudomonas & Bacillus bacteria)
Decomposition of insoluble substance
Break down of cellulose
Cellulase Cellobiase
Cellulose ► Cellobiose ► Glucose ► Organic acid ► CO 2 + H2O
Oxidation Oxidation
Break down of starch

Starch ► Maltose (Di saccaride) ► Glucose (Mono saccaride)
Hydrolysis
Break down of fat

Fat ► Glyserol + Fatty acid (by lipase)
Aminization : Conversion of protein to amino acid
Ammonification : Ammonium is formed from organic compound

Nitrification : Biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate
Mineralization : Organic form of nitrogen is changed into inorganic form
Immobilization : Inorganic form of nitrogen is changed into organic form
Alkalinisation : Formation of sodic or alkaline soils
Salinisation : Formation of saline soils
When P in soil is less than 0.2 %, then immobilization will take place
When P is more than 0.2 %, mineralization will take place
Factors affecting decomposition

 Soil temperature

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 During decomposition, beginning temperature is 40 oC, then reaches 70 oC, finally mesophile
bacteria acts
 Soil moisture content
 Soil pH (Soil reaction)
 Nutrient availability in soil
 Soil texture
 Type of vegetation
 Toxic chemicals present in soil
 In wider C:N ratio there is no or low decomposition
 Gypsum and SSP are added to decomposing material to check N loss
 During decomposition, both C and N losses as CO2 and nitrates by leaching and plant absorption
Composting : It is a partially aerobic and partially anaerobic
Composting methods : Indore and Bangalore methods
Urban compost is better than rural compost
FYM
Nutrient content status : Poultry manure > Sheep dung > Cattle manure
Reinforced FYM : Manures blended with P & K fertilizers
FYM is balanced plant food
Organic matter contains about 58 % of organic carbon
Humus
 Amorphous, dark brown, colloidal substance
 Highly decomposed organic matter
 Act as store house of exchangeable and available cations
 Carbon content is 58 %
 C:N ratio of 10:1
 Humus have 45 % lignin + 4 % cellulose
 Paleo Humus : Buried organic substance found in buried soil (Paleosols)
Organic matter
 Carbon content is 45-50 %
 C:N ratio is 40:1
 C:N ratio : Straw 100:1, Legume 25:1, Aerable soil 5:1 - 15:1, Oil cakes 3:1
 Priming action : The loss of native soil's organic matter through application of fresh organic
residues in soil. The microbes produce enzymes, which attack native organic matter
 FYM : mixture of dung, urine, farm litter (bedding material), waste feed, fodder
 Night soil contains highest NPK (5, 3, 2 %) then other organics
 The solid residues of sewage after fermentation is called activated sludge
Biogas slurry

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 Dung : Water ratio 1:1

 Fermentation take place under anaerobic condition
 Involve Methanobacterium for fermentation
 It produce mixture of gas (biogas) such as methane 60 + CO 2 30 + H2 5 + N2 5
Green manure crops

Merits
 Green manure crops supply N to soil and plants
 Green manure crops act as Catch crop, Shade crop, Cover crop and forage crop
 Green manure crop may be grown as pure crop or an intercrop with main crop
Demerits
 In dry land proper decomposition is not possible
 It is more costly compared to chemical fertilizers
 Act as alternate host for pest and disease
 During decomposition, it produces some toxic gas and substance harmful to crops
When Green manure is incorporated into soil, ammonia is produced, low land rice crop take this
ammoniacal form of nitrogen
Green manure ploughed into dry land, it produces nitrates
Manila agathi : Sesbania rostrata
Seed rate - 15 to 20 kg/ha
Fix 170 kg N/ha in 45 days
It has Stem and Root nodules
Variety developed by selection from Senegal)
Daincha : Sesbania aculeate
Fix 150 kg/ha N
Flood tolerant
Well in alkaline soil & water logged condition
Indigo or Auvri : Indigofera tinctoria
Wild indigo or Kolingi : Tephrosia purpurea (drought resistant, for wet land and sandy soil)
Sun hemp : Crotolaria juncea (Widely cultivated green manure crop in India)
Concentrated organic manures

1. Oil cakes
a) Edible
b) Non edible
2. Material of animal origin
Bio fertilizers
 It fixes atmospheric N (20 to 200 kg per ha)

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 It solubilize soil P (30 to 50 kg per ha)

 It stimulate plant growth through synthesis of growth promoting substance (Auxin, Vitamin)
 It is a source of renewable energy (bio energy)
 Cost effective compared to chemical fertilizers
 It can be easily produced and applied
 It increase crop yield by 10 to 50 %
 If inorganic form of N is more in the soil than the N fixation in the soil will be less
Rhizobium - Legume Root - bacteria symbiosis (Pulses)
Symbiotic
Anabaena - Azollae Water fern (Rice)
Associative
Azospirillum Rice, Ragi, Sugarcane, Maize
N symbiotic
Azotobacter (free living)
Heterotroph
Non symbiotic For Rice, Vegetables, Commercial crops
Autotroph BGA - for rice only
Fungi Aspergillus, Pencillium
P solubilizers
Bacteria Bacillus, Pseudomonas
P P mobilizer or Ectomycorrhiza -- For all crops
absorber (root fungi
Endomycorrhiza VAM
symbiosis)
 N biofertilizer : Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Rhizobium

 P biofertilizer : Phophobacterium
 Plant growth promoting biofertilizer : BGA
 Symbiotic : Rhizobium with legume, Azolla (water fern), Mycorrhiza
 Associative symbiotic : Azospirillum
 Non symbiotic
o Free living BGA (Nostac, Anabaena)
o Aerobic bacteria (Bacillus, Azotobacter)
o Anaerobic bacteria (Clostridium, Rhodospirillum)
o Phosphate solubilizing organisms (Phosphobacteria)
Rhizobium
 Associated with legume roots (Pulse, Oil seeds, Tree legumes)
 Isolated by Beijerinck
 Cross inoculation concept given by Fred Baldwin
 Soil should have optimum P, Ca, Mo for optimum N fixation
 Min of 108 viable cells per gram of carrier material (culture) should present for N fixation
 It fixes 25 kg N per ha

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 Nitrogin : The bio fertilizer preparation with Rhizobium culture

Cultures
Rhizobium leguminosarum Pea
R. phaseoli Bean
R. japonicum Soyabean (slow growing bacteria than other species)
R. trifoli Clover
R. meliloti Alfalfa (fix maxi of 300 kg N per ha per year)
Azolla
 Reddish colour due to accumulation of Anthocyanin pigment
 Bilobed leaves and long suspended roots are present
 Fleshy upper leaves have cavities which are aerial, chlorophyllous and contain BGA Anabaena
azollae
 Common cultures in India : Azolla pinnata, A. mexicana & A. nilotica
Adaptation
 Temperature of 20 to 28 C
 Soil should have optimum P
 Standing water of 7.5 cm for 15 days is essential
 Suitable for paddy field
 Fixes 40 to 80 kg N per ha
 Azolla used as green manure (it produce 15 ton GM)
Constrains
 Susceptible to parasites and temperature variation
 Pre flooding is necessary
 P requirement is higher than rice crop
Mycorrhiza
 It is called as fungal roots (Casuarina)
 Ecto mycorrhiza : Hypha are inter cellular (host - Basidiomycetes)
 Ento mycorrhiza : Hypha are intra cellular (host - Orchids, Vanilla, Casuarina)
 Disintegration of hypha within the cell is called Tolypophage or Ptyophage
 Mycorrhiza absorb nutrient from soil and Thiamine + CHO from plants
 It absorbs NPK from soil and supply to plants
 It produces IAA, metabolites and supply it to plant roots
 VAM (Vasicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) : they increase surface area of plant roots (VAM is not
cultures in pure culture)
 Endotropic mycorrhiza fungi penetrate epidermis and cortex cells of plants roots
Azospirillum
 Azospirillum lipoferum & A. brasilense for Cereals and Grasses
 It fixes 20 to 40 kg N
 It live in close proximity
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 Yield increased by 15 to 30 %
BGA (Blue Green Algae)
 It is known as Cyanobacteria (contains chlorophyll)
 It is unicellular, colonial and filamentous type organism
 They are photosynthetic (so need bright sun light)
 It fixes N by Heterocyst
 Suitable for paddy field (effective only in submerged rice)
 It needs temperature of 30 to 35 C, high soil P & low soil N for adaptation
 It synthesis IAA, Vitamins
 It supply oxygen to the plant
 It can reclaim alkali soil
 Apply 10 kg per ha of dried algal flakes
 BGA supplements 25 kg N per
Azotobacter
 Azotobacter chrococum & A. paspali
 It demands high organic matter for N fixation
 It produce IAA, GA, vitamin, nicotinic acid
 It fixes 20 - 40 kg N per ha
 Azotobactor fix N in free soil
 Suitable for paddy, millets, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, sunflower
Phosphate solubilizing organisms
 Fungi (Aspergillus, Pencillium)
 Bacteria (Phosphobacteria, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces)
 It solubilize the insoluble P into soluble form by secreting organic acid like formic, acetic, lactic,
fumaric and succinic acids
 These acids lower the soil pH and bring dissolution of P
 They solubilize 20 to 30 % soil P
 It increase yield by 10 to 20 %
 Suitable for all crops
 It fix no Nitrogen
Inorganic Fertilizers
Inorganic nature except Urea & Calcium cyanamide (Amide form). These two are organic N fertilizers
Grouped into N, P, K fertilizers
 Complete fertilizer : contain NPK
 Incomplete fertilizer : lacks any one of three (NPK)
 Straight fertilizer : only one primary or major nutrient present

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 Complex fertilizer : contain more than one primary nutrient (produced by chemical reaction) Ex.
Suphala complex 15 15 15
 Compound fertilizers : DAP = Ammonia + Phosphoric acid (chemically mixed)
 Mixed fertilizer : Physical mixture (manually or mechanically) of straight fertilizer. It contains 2
or 3 primary nutrients. The major problem is segregation of different components during mixing.
To overcome this problem, you should granulating the products.
 Low analysis fertilizer : It contains less than 25 % of primary nutrient (Sodium nitrate)
 High analysis fertilizer : It contains more than 25 % of primary nutrient (Urea)
Sulphur coated urea contain 36 % N
MOP (60 % K) suitable for neutral soil, KNO3 (44 % K) for Alkaline soil
Nitrogenous fertilizers
 Nitrate form : Sodium nitrate, Calcium nitrate
 Ammoniacal form : Ammonium sulphate (20.6 %), Ammonium chloride (25), Anhydrous
ammonia (82)
 Nitrate and Ammoniacal form : Ammonium nitrate, CAN (25 : 25)
 Amide form : Urea (46), Calcium cyanamide (21)
o Sodium nitrate : It is a base fertilizer, suited for acid soil, not suited for low land rice, where leaching
and denitrification is more
o Ammonium sulphate : Quick acting fertilizer (so more suitable than nitrate at planting time). It contain
S, it rectify S deficiency, prefer crops like rice, onion, garlic, crucifers
o Ammonia + Sulphuric acid (acid nature). So it is applied to alkaline soil (except Tea
cultivated in acid soil). Tea is acid loving crop. Ammonium sulphate increases yield and
quality of tea
o Ammonium chloride : Ammonia + HCl (more acidic fertilizer), it contain Cl (harmful to potato,
tobacco, tomato, sugarcane). Because of chloride content crop injury occurs and Chlorine prevents
conversion and translocation of starch from leaves to other plant parts
o Ammonium nitrate : Ammonia + nitric acid (acidic in reaction)
o Ammonium Sulphate Nitrate : Ammonium sulphate + Ammonium nitrate (acid nature)
o CAN : Calcium nitrate + Ammonium nitrate (neutral fertilizer), applied for both acid and alkaline
soils, it contains 50 : 50 Ammoniacal : Nitrate form (Prescribed std : moisture content < 1 %, calcium
nitrate content < 0.5 % by weight)
 Ammonia in water is known as Aqua ammonia
 The nitrate form is readily available to plants
 Ammoniacal form is resist leaching, so it is utilized by plant at later stage
Amide form : They are carbon compounds and called as organic fertilizers, non protein in character, it
easily changed into Ammoniacal N then to nitrate N

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 Urea (NH2-CO-NH2) : Ammonia + CO2 (chemically reacted organic compound). It is acidic

fertilizer and good for neutral soil
 Urea super granules (large sized)
 During granulation of urea at high temperature of 140 C, Biuret is formed (toxic to plants), its
conc. should not exceed 1.5 % (Biuret NH2-CO-NH-CO-NH2)
 When urea is applied as foliar spray, the biuret conc. should not exceed 0.25 %
 Urea applied to soil › ammonium carbomate (through hydrolysis process by the enzyme urease
secreted by soil microbes) › ammonia (by microbial oxidation) › nitrite (by nitrosomonas bacteria)
› nitrate (by notrobacter) › plant uptake
 Hydrolysis process depends on conc. of urease, soil temperature, soil moisture, soil pH
 Urea loss more in acid than alkali soil and than neutral soil
 In acid soil loss due to Van Slykes reaction
 In alkali soil, volatilization losses occur as ammonia (it can be reduced by irrigation immediately
after urea application)
 Calcium cyanamide or Nitolim : In moist soil it converted into ammonia
Nitrification Inhibitors : N is usually lost from applied ammonia and amide fertilizers after their
conversion to nitrate form.
Nitrosomonas Nitrobacter
▲ ▲
Amide form » ammonia form » nitrite form » nitrate form » denitrification » loss
▼
Nitrification
▼
Inhibit or reduce this process by nitrification inhibitors
Ex. N serve, Thiourea, AM, didin, Nitropyrin
The nitrification inhibitors are used to reduce N loss. It blocks the conversion of ammonia to nitrate. Here,
it inhibiting Nitrosomonas activity only, not interfere with Nitrobacter.
Phosphatic fertilizers
Natural : Rock phosphate, Bone meal
Processed or Treated : SSP
Industrial by product : Basic slag
Synthetic or Chemical : Ammonium phosphate, Nitro phosphates
Based on solubility
Water soluble : SSP, DAP, Monocalcium phosphate
Citrate soluble : Basic slag, Dicalcium phosphate
Insoluble : Rock phosphate (Tricalcium phosphate), Bone meal
P content (%)
SSP 16
DAP 46
Mono ammonium phosphate 48

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Rock Phosphate 20 to 40
Bone meal 20
Water soluble P
 Good for neutral and alkali soil
 In acid soil, it converted into insoluble Al & Fe phosphates, so leaching loss not occur
 P availability is best in the pH of 6.0 to 6.5
 P is not mobile in the soil, so it should be applied in the root zone
SSP
 Rock phosphate + Sulphuric acid
 2 grades are there : Grade I (16 % P), Grade II (14 % P)
 Monocalcium phosphate & Gypsum (calcium sulphate) is the main constituent of SSP
 Reversion : P in Tricalcium phosphate is fixed in the soil
 Cheapest fertilizer is SSP
Triple super phosphate
 Rock phosphate + Phosphoric acid
 It has high P content
 It is not produced in India
 It is best for short duration crops
DAP
 Rock phosphate + Sulphuric acid + Ammonium sulphate or
 Ammonia + Phosphoric acid
 DAP is slightly alkaline in reaction
Citrate soluble P
 Good for acid and lateritic soil
 In acid soil it is converted into water soluble P
 Basic slag or Thomas slag - by product of steel industry
Insoluble P
Good for strongly acid and organic soil
Rock Phosphate
 Natural mineral deposit as Apatite (common rock material)
 It contains 80 % of calcium phosphate
 It‟s deposit in Mussoorie in UP, Trichy in TN
 Legumes respond more RP than non-legume
 Good for perennial crops
 It should applied in large quantity (@ 500 - 1000 kg/ha once in 5 yrs, but should not apply in
small quantity in every year)
Bone meal
 Raw bone meal decompose slowly due to presence of fat
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 Steamed bone meal : fat is removed

 Suitable for acid soil and long duration crops
Nitrophosphate & Amonium phosphate 20 N : 20 P
Ammonium nitro phosphate 23 N : 23 P (CAN 26 % N)
Bio Super = RP + Elemental sulphur + Thiobacillus thio oxidants (Sulphur oxidizing bacteria)
The bacteria convert sulphur to sulphuric acid, it react with RP and release P in soil
Potassic fertilizers
MOP
 Potassium chloride (60 %)
 It is a neutral fertilizer
 Soluble in water
 Ionizes into K+ + Cl-
 K+ is adsorbed by soil colloids (so no leaching loss)
 Cl- affects conversion of starch into sugars from leaf to other parts of plants
 So, MOP is not suitable for sugarcane, tobacco, potato, tomato (apply SOP)
 Saltpeter : KNO3
SOP
 Potassium sulphate (48 %)
 Neutral fertilizer
 Ionize into K+ + SO42-
Secondary nutrient fertilizers : Ca, Mg, S
Gypsum : CaSO4, it contains 29.2 % Ca + 18.6 % S (Agrl grade gypsum has 70 % purity)
Epsom : MgSO4
Elemental sulphur : 100 % S
Micronutrient application
 Gingelly, Castor apply @ 5 kg/ha of MnSO4
 Tomato apply @ 10 kg Borax + 50 kg ZnSO4
 Cotton : 5 % MgSO4 + 1 % Urea + 0.1 % ZnSO4 for reddening control
Fertilizer use efficiency
Depends on
 Source of nutrient
 Dosage
 Time of application
 Method of application
 Edaphic (Soil), Climatic and management factors
In coarse soil, NPK fertilizers should be applied frequently (split application)
In organic soil, nutrient use efficiency is higher

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N use efficiency
 Less than 30 % in low land rice, 50 to 60 % in irrigated dry season crops
 N is loss by leaching, volatilization, denitrification, surface runoff, soil erosion and
immobilization by microbes
 For low land, ammonium or amide form is best (DAP for basal, Urea for basal & top dressing)
 For saline & alkaline soil, ammonium sulphate should be applied
 N is applied during last puddling in reduced zone for rice crop
 N application : 1st top dressing (25%) at active tillering, 2 nd top dressing (25%) at panicle initiation
stage
 Top dressing should not be done when leaf surface is wet
 In case of aged seedling of rice : ¾ N is applied at planting & remaining at 25 DAP
Urea use efficiency : It is increased through
 Neem coated urea (100 + 20 kg)
 Sulphur coated (for prolonged flooded condition)
 Coal tar coated urea
 Urea super granules
 Gypsum coated urea
 Rock phosphate coated urea
 Mixed with moist soil @ 1 part urea : 5 part soil
 Mud ball urea preparation
N sources
 FYM (0.5, 0.25, 0.5 % NPK)
 Organic manures
 Azolla (multiplies with P application @ 5 kg/ha)
 BGA (Produces Vitamin B12, Auxins, Ascorbic acid for rice growth)
 Chemical fertilizers
P use efficiency
 P is fixed by soil, so only 15 % is used by first crop and residual P is used by 2 nd crop
 Fixation of P : When P is applied in acid soil (pH below 5.5), it fixed as Al & Fe phosphates, it is
unavailable to crops
 Reversion or Retension of P : When P is applied to alkaline soil, insoluble Tricalcium phosphate
is formed, here calcium is removed, and solubility is increased.
 Max P availability is in the pH of 6.0 to 6.5
 In calcarious soil, P availability is less due to presence of calcium carbonate
 P diffusion is faster in warmer soil than colder soil. So, crop sown in winter suffer from P
deficiency
 For acid soil, apply citrate soluble P

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 For strong acid soil, apply Rock Phosphate

 For alkaline soil, apply Ammonium phosphate
 Legumes effectively utilize insoluble P
 Phosphobacterium (Bacillus) increase P availability in the Rhizosphere (Root zone)
K use efficiency is 80 to 90 %
Band placement of water soluble P & K is very effective
INM
 Integration of nutrient sources and methods of application
 Ecological, Social and Economic possibilities
 INM is based on 4 Es : Easy, Effective, Economic, Environmentally safe
Fertilizer control order
 FCO 1957, and revised in 1985
 Fertilizer has been declared as Essential commodity
 Certificate of manufacturing : for manufacturing of any fertilizer or fertilizer mixture
 Certificate of registration : for manufacturing, handling agency, importer, dealer, retailer
 Dealer : The certificate of registration is valid for 3 years and review it
 These both certificates are issued by “State Govt.”
 Certificate of manufacturing issued by “State level agriculture officer”
 Certificate of registration issued by “District level agriculture officer”
 CFQCTI (Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institute) at Faridabad (Haryana). And 3
regional labs are there, one at Chennai
 Tolerance limit : the limit of acceptable variations in analytical results of fertilizer
o For straight fertilizer : 0.1 to 0.3 units
o For complex fertilizer : 0.5 to 0.7 units
 Central Govt. has fixed the MRP for some straight nitrogenous fertilizers (Urea). It is exclusive for
CST, Sales Tax, Local tax
 MRP for all other fertilizers (Complex and Mixture) has fixed by the manufactures. It should be
inclusive of all taxes. The prices are uniform through out the country.
 Controller of Fertilizer : Joint Secretary (Fertilizer) in the Dept. of Agriculture and Cooperation
in the Union Ministry of Agriculture (Directors of Agriculture of respective states)
Model questions
Ammonium sulphate + Sodium nitrate are should not be mixed
Maxi amount of fertilizer is used for : Sugarcane, Potato
Dry and course grained soils generally occur in high lands
Marling : Application of clay to the sandy soils
Early soil : Light soil of temperate regions
Xerophytes : Plants grow on extremely dry soil
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Mist irrigated state : Assam

Temporary hard water contain Ca & Mg carbonates
Permanent hard water contain soluble chlorides
CEC : high in montmorillanite (black soil) & low in kaolinite (red soil)
CEC is highest in Vermicullite followed by Montmorillinite (min in Kaolinite)
Anion exchange capacity is max in Kaolinite clay minerals
ESP = Exchangeable Na / CEC X 100
C:N ratio of normal soil is 10:1
Rhizosphere : Volume of soil under the influence of root zone
Mass flow of gases into the soil occurs due to the difference of Pressure gradient
Diffusion : Molecular transfer of gases in the soil due to conc.
Moderately sloped land : slope is 3 to 5 %
Synergism : by increasing one element, the availability of other element also increase (Antagonism :
opposite reaction)
Chelate : A complex formed by organic compound bound with central metal ion
Calcium minerals are Calcite, Dolomite, Hornblends
Mg minerals are Hornblends, Chlorite (Hornblend & Dolomite have Ca + Mg)
Lithosphere (Earth surface crust) : 0.75 % sand + 0.25 % lime stone
Graphite is the softest mineral
Tomato is medium salt tolerant crop
Podo soils are located in marshy lands
Central Soil and Water Conservation research and Training Institute : Dehra Dun
Land have upto 6 % slop bunding (Contour, Graded) is recommended, beyond 6 % bench terracing is
suggested
The first step in water erosion is splash resulting from impact of rain drops (than sheet erosion)
Organic matter = Organic carbon + 1.72
Minerals for crop yield, stated by Liebeg
Eutrophication : Water bodies enriched with nutrients by waste water .
Algae & plants grow well
Oxygen in the water will be depleted
Fish and other microbes in the water will died
Agri data
Uncultivable and barren land constitutes 10 % of reporting area
Pastures and grazing land is 4.2 % of reporting area
Pulse crop 13.7 % of reporting area (Cereals 60.7 %, Rice 22.3 %)
Arable area = Gross cropped area – area sown
For single factor experiment : RBD & Latin square design
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For more than one factor : Split plot design

Pre monsoon contributes about 10 % of total rainfall in India (SWM contributes 80 %)
Productivity Rating Index = Actual yield per ha / Standard yield per ha X 100
Soil erosion : 6000 million ton per year in India

85
ENTOMOLOGY
Crop pest : Insect, disease, nematodes, weeds, rodents
Crop losses by pest & diseases : 18 %
Pest surveillance and forecasting
Pest surveillance : monitoring of pest species with certain specific objectives
Short term forecast : cover a particular season or one or more successive seasons (within a crop)
Long term forecast : covers long time in a larger area
Forecasting of pest infestation is related to ETL and are made through
Population study
Pest‟s life history
Field studies of the effect of climate on pest
The surveillance information is released twice a month
Forecasting information is released once a month
Assessment of insect population
Usually the population of the most injurious stage of the pest counted in
- Larva stage for lepidoteran pest
- Nymphs stage for bugs
- Adults stgae for beetles
Nature of sampling
- Net sweepings for adult beetles, bugs, grass hoppers
- Sudden trapping for sorghum ear head bug
- Light trap for paddy stem borer
- Sticky trap for for aphids
- Bait trap (poison) for fruit flies
- Fixed volume of earth for root grubs
- Crop samples for paddy stem borer, boll worms in cotton
- Amount of damage for leaf hoppers
The size of sample may be small for densely populated pests and it should be large for sparsely populated
pests
TYPE OF PESTS
 Minor pest : loss is less than 10 %
 Major pest : loss is more than 10 %
 Regular pest : Occurs most frequently on a particular crop
 Occasional pest : Occur infrequently
 Seasonal pest : Particular part of the year or season
 Persistant pest : Occurs on a crop almost throughout the year (scales, mealy bugs, thrips)
 Sporadic pest : Occur in few isolated localities

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 Epidemic pest : Severe form in a region at a particular season

 Endemic pest : Infestation is a regular features in a particular area (rice stem borer in Thanjur)
 Poly phagous pests are : white grub, termites, hairy caterpillar, nematodes, rodents
Types of insect mouth parts
Hypognathous Orthoptera
Prognathous Coleptera
Opisthognathous Hemiptera
Effect of weather on pests

Pest Favorable condition
Leaf thrips, spodoptera, mealy bugs Dry season
Rice GLH Kuruvai season
Rice gall midge Heavy rain fb dry spell
Rice BPH Cloudy weather with drizzle
Heavy rain is unfavorable
Sugarcane internode borer Low temp + high RH
Sugarcane pyrilla Mild winter fb mild summer
Cotton BHC Summer
ETL (Economic Threshold Level) : At this level control measures should be initiated
Economic Injury level : Damage level at which, expenditure on control measures is just balanced by the
value of increase yield resulting from the control of the pest
EIL is always higher than ETL
ETL FOR MAJOR CROP PESTS
Rice
- Stem borer 10 % dead heart
- Yellow stem borer 5 % dead heart
- BPH 5 to 10 insects/hill at planting to pre tillering, 25 to 30 at flowering
- Leaf folder 2 freshly damaged leaves / hill
- GLH 10 insects / hill
Cotton
- Boll worm 10 % incidence
- White fly 10 adult or 20 nymphs per leaf
- Jassids 3 nos per leaf
Sugarcane
- Top shoot borer 15 to 22 % infection
Sorghum
- Shoot fly & stem borer 10 % dead heart

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- Ear head bug 10 nos per ear head

Pulse
- Heliothis armigera 2 lavra per sq. mt
Groundnut
- Leaf minor 10 % damaged leaf
- Spodoptera 2 larva per plant
- Hairy caterpillar 20 to 25 % defoliation
Major pest of cashew - tea mosquito bug, root and stem borer
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

IPM aim : Keeping pest population below injurious levels (rice, cotton)
IPM : To keep the pest population below ETL instead of eradication (FAO 1967 defined IPM)
- Early sowing & sychronised sowing reduce shoot fly incidence in sorghum
- High seed rate reduce sorghum shootfly
- Trap cropping : castor in chillies for spodoptera
- Mixed cropping : cumbu in groundnut reduces leaf minor population
- Tillage operation : pupates in soil killed (helicoverpa, spodoptera, hairy caterpillar)
- Clipping off tips of paddy seedlings before transplanting to eliminate egg masses of stem borer
- Flooding paddy nurseries to eliminate the attack of army worm – spodoptera mauritia
- Trash mulching and earthing up two months after planting to minimize shoot borer attack of sugarcane
- Gamma radiation can be used to get sterile males which can be introduced into the pest population
- Light traps for trapping Lepidopteran adults
- Yellow sticky trap for trapping white flies
- Fish meal trap for trapping sorghum shoot fly
- Bagging : to prevent laying eggs on the fruit (Ex. Anar butterfly in pomegranate)
- Sun hemp reduce the population of root knot nematode as the larva is penetrate the roots
Cultural practices for pest control
High seed rate for sorghum shootfly
SSP application for root weevil
Flooding for rice army warm
Clipping for rice stem borer
Cotton : use of light trap or sex pheromone traps for mass trapping of Boll worms population.
Grow 2 rows of maize or cowpea for every 10 rows of cotton to conserve bio control agents
Bio control
Biorationals : They are plant products (ex. Neem, margosa)
Commercial neem based major insecticides : Field marshal, Jeevan, Nimbecidine, Phytowin, Shaktiman
Biocide or Biopesticides

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Bacillus thurungiensis, Trichoderma viridi

NPV, Beauveria sp., Verticillium sp.
Bio agent
Bio control agents
Trichogramma sp.
Chrysoperia sp.
Bracon
Chryptolaemus
Coccinellid beetles or Lady bird beetle » on aphid, scale, mealy bug, mites
Vadalia beetle » on cotton cushion scale (Rodalia sp)
1. Parasites (Parasitoids)
Egg parasites
- Trichogramma (polyphagous egg parasite) » for Lepidopteron pests
- Trichogramma chilonis » cotton boll warm, stem borer of rice, maize, sorghum, pulse,
vegetables, shoot borers of sugarcane
- T. brasilliensi » cotton boll warm, rice stem borer
- T. japonicum » rice stem borer, rice leaf folder
- T. achaeae » castor semi lopper, rice stem borer
- Rice : release of Trichogramma japonicum @ 50000 eggs / ha / week for 6 weeks starting from 30
DAP for Lepidopterous pests
- Trichogramma dosage
o @ 50,000 per ha on sugarcane
o @ 75,000 per ha on maize
o @ 50,000-1,00,000 per ha on rice
o @ 1,50,000 per ha on cotton
o @ 5 per m2
Larval parasites
- Chelonus blackburni » cotton boll warm
Obligate parasites : It grow and multiply only on living organisms
Facultative parasites : An organism that is usually saprophytic (food from decayed matter) but which
certain conditions may become parasitic
Hyper parasites : A parasite whose host is also a parasite
2. Bio Pesticides or Entomo pathogens : Disease causing organisms on insect pest
Bacteria
- Bacillus thurungiensis (Bt) » cotton boll warm, rice stem borer, fruit borer of tomato, brinjal, bhendi
- Pseudomonas » root rot disease

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- Bt : It has been isolated from Heliothes armigera from Mysore (1955) and locally produced by
Solid State Fermentation Technology. It's commercial powder or liquid form applied @ 0.3 - 0.5
kg per ha.
Fungus
- Trichoderma viridi » on root rot, wilt diseases
- Verticillium » on scale, aphids, root rot, wilt disease
- Beauveria bassiana » borers of sugarcane & cotton, rice hispa
- Metarhizium anisopliae » rice stem borer, pyrilla, spodoptera
- Fusarium solani » cotton boll warm
- Muscardine » on root rot, wilt diseases
- Cephalosporium
- Entomophthora
- Protozoa (Nosema)
Virus
- Granulose Virus Chilo » sugarcane top borer
- GV Achaea janata » castor semi looper (Aa NPV also used for bio control)
- Ha NPV » Heliothis armigera
- Sl NPV » Spodoptera litura
- Baculovirus oryctus » Rhinoceros beetle of coconut
o Bt gene incorporation in : cotton, rice, maize, tobacco, tomato, potato
o Apple wooly aphids are controlled by Aphelinus mali (parasite)
o Bacillus thuringiensis (bacteria) controls most of the Lepidopteran pest
o NPV for spodoptera litura, helicoverpa armigera (heliothis armigera)
o Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus and Granuloses virus (parasites)
o Metarrhizium anisopliae (fungi) for sugarcane pyrilla
o Entomophthora for butterflies and leaf hoppers
o Beauveria bassiana for castor semi looper
o Cephalosporium, Aspergillus also used for bio control
National Centre for IPM - New Delhi
Project Directorate of Bio control - Bangalore
Biological control : Introduction of predator, parasites, pathogen to reduce pest population
Antocidal control : Introduction of mutants of the pest species itself or some closely related species which
will mate with the pest and produce sterile progeny
Genetic control : Use of resistant varieties
Gamma rays (from cobalt) produce complete sterility in pests
Chemosterilants : Chemicals are affecting reproduction of pests
Anti metabolites for pest control : It interfere with vitamin B (folic acid)

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Sex pheromones : The male insects respond to the odorous chemicals released by the female
Synthetic pheromone : Male cotton pink boll worm are attracted by synthetic pheromone Gossyplure
Aggregation pheromones : Pheromone released by one sex only, but respond both sexes of species
Physical repellants : Ex. surface texture of plants, presence of waxy or spiny surface of plant, water/tar/oil
band around tree trunks, providing yellow lamps
3. Plant Disease Antagonists
Bacteria : Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces
Fungus : Trichoderma (to control soil born disease by seed treatment)
Aspergillus (for leaf disease through foliar application)
4. Weed Antagonists
Parthenium weed is biologically controlled by
Zygogramma bicolorata (Mexican beetle - insect)
Puccinia (rust - fungi)
Trichoderma virens (root rot - fungi)
Fusarium (wilt - fungi)
Sclerotium sp (fungi)
In India, 166 natural enemies have been utilized against pest and weeds
PEST OF STORED GRAINS
Primary pests : (weevils, beetles are under Coleoptera / moths are under Lepidoptera)
- Rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae Curculionidae Coleoptera
o Rice, sorghum, wheat, barley, maize
o Attack before harvest and in storage
o Grubs produces irregular holes on grains
- Angoumois grain moth Sitotroga cerealella Gelechiidae Lepidoptera
o Rice, sorghum, wheat, barley, maize
o Attack before harvest and in storage
o Exit holes on he affected cereal grains
- Khapra beetle Trogoderma granatum Dermestidae Coleoptera
o Seed coat chewed up in an irregular manner in groundnut
- Pulse beetle Callosobruchus chinensis Bruchidae Coleoptera
- Lesser grain borer
- Cigarette beetle
- Drug store beetle
- Tamarind beetle
- Sweet potato weevil
Secondary pests : It occur after processing of produce
- Red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum Tenebrionidae Coleoptera

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o Beetle construct tunnels through flour

o They release gaseous quinines to the medium (acid odour)
- Rice moth Corcyra cephalonica Galleriidae Lepidoptera
o Dense webbing on peeled rice, maize, groundnut, cotton seed
Management
- Empty godown and over the bags are sprayed with Malathion
- Draw samples at fortnightly intervals for investigation
Nos of insects Infestation stage
Nil Free
Upto 2 Mild
More than 2 Severe
- Aluminium Phosphide used for fumigation (in storage)
- For cover fumigation : 3 tablets of Aluminium phosphide (3 gm each) per tonne of grain
- For shed fumigation : 21 tablets each of 28 cu. metres
- Period of fumigation : 5 days
- Prophylactic measure :
o for seed purpose mix 1 kg of malathion for every 100 kg of seed and store
o for grain purpose mix 1 kg of activated kaolin for every 100 kg of grains and store
Inorganic salts are toxic to insects by ingestion
DDT is persists in body fat
Food crop remain unfit for consumption for six weeks after application of Endosulfan
PLANT PROTECTION CHEMICALS

Pesticides : Insecticide + Acaricide (mite) + Rodenticide (rat) + Nematicide + Weedicide + Herbicide
 Organo phosphates : chlorpyriphos, malathion, methyl parathion, phosphomidon, quinalphos,
monocrotophos, dimethoate, phorate
 Carbomates : carbaryl, carbofuran
 Pyrethroids : pyrethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, fanvalerate
 Miscellaneous : Bromodiolone, Warfarin (anti coagulants – blood clouding)
- Acute poison : Zinc phosphide
- Acute coagulants : Bromodialone
- Zinc phosphide used as Poison bait (2 %) - for rat control
PESTICIDE RESIDUES
India's pesticide consumption is 2 % of total worlds consumption & 3rd single largest consumer in the world
Pesticides consumption
 World : 26 % consumed for fruits & vegetables followed by cereals (15 %)
 India : 45 % consumed for cotton followed by rice (22 %)
- Average consumption of pesticide : World 0.50 kg per ha / India 0.29 kg per ha
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- Pesticide usage for agriculture

 In developed countries : Herbicide > Insecticide > Fungicide
 In developing countries : Insecticide > Fungicide > Herbicide
- No. of pesticides registered for agriculture and public health use : 181
Residue : If pesticide deposits remain on surface after 1 day after application
Pre harvest interval or Safe waiting period : The minimum permissible number of days between last
pesticide application on crop and its harvesting.
Pesticides persistence : Days required to reduce pesticide residue to half of its initial deposits. It is
specified in Residual Half Life (RL 50)
Granular formulation (persist longer) > emulsion > wettable powder
Longer persistence in heavy clay, acid soils and in higher organic matter
Pesticides accumulate in the fat tissue of the animals
Saponification : It is a process, in which fat, oil present in pesticides are cleaned up
Insecticide aerosols : The toxicant is suspended as minute particles in air as a fog or mist
Pesticide residue analysis is done by Chromatography
Residue quantification techniques
Gas Liquid Chromatography
Flame Photometer
Mass Spectrometer
High Performance Liquid Chromatography
ELISA test (Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay)
Multi Residue Method : sample has to be analysed for more than one pesticides
- Organo phosphorous compounds quickly break down
- Systemic poisons are degraded quickly
- Chlorinated hydrocarbons and Organo chlorine are responsible for pollution. They are generally
inorganic compounds containing arsenic, mercury, lead, selenium, zinc fluorine. This are highly
persistent
- Pesticides are degraded or broken down by
 Sunlight (Photolysis)
 Water (Hydrolysis)
 Microbial degradation (Bacteria, Fungi)
 Oxygen (Oxidation)
- Banned pesticides : Organo chlorine compound such as DDT, HCH, Aldrin
Pesticides restricted for use in India (7 nos)
 Aluminium phosphide
 DDT
 Lindane
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 Methyl bromide
 Methyl parathion
 Mercuric chloride
 Sodium cyanide
Pesticides banned for manufacture, import and use
1. Carbofuran (50 % SP)
2. Malic Hydracids
3. Phosphamidon (85 % SL)
4. Aldrin
5. Calcium cyanide
6. Nitrofen
7. Paraquate
Residues in soil
 Granular formulation persist longer than emulsions
 Emulsion persist longer than Wettable powder
 Heavy clay soil retain pesticides longer than light sandy soil
 Acid soil retain pesticides longer than alkaline soils
 High OM leads to longer persistence
 High soil moisture and temp leads to less persistence
 More microbes in soil break down chemical residues quickly
PLANT PROTECTION EQUIPMENTS

 High volume : 450 -1000 li/ha, coverage 0.5 to 0.8 ha per day
 Low volume : 12 to 125 li per ha, cover 3 ha per day
 Ultra Low volume sprayer : Undiluted (chemical) quantity of less than 5 litres per ha and usually
at 0.5 to 2.0 li per ha for filed crops. The very small droplets cover larger area (8 ha/day)
 Knapsack sprayer : Tank capacity 10 to 30 li / coverage 0.5 to 0.75 ha per day of 8 hrs
 Rocker sprayer : For tall field crops and trees upto 5 m height / coverage 0.5 to 1.0 ha
 Foot sprayer or Pedal pump : For orchards and plantations / coverage 1.0 to 1.5 ha
 Hollow cone nozzles are most commonly used in crop pest & disease control
 Pneumatic hand sprayer : for gardens
 Aircraft application of pesticides : Covers 200 to 800 ha per day
 In hand compression sprayer - pneumatic pumps are used
 Syringe, bucket pump, foot or pedal pump sprayers operate on - Hydraulic pressure
Nozzle types
- Jet or solid stream nozzle : It has simple exit hole
- Flat fan nozzle : spray pattern is in the form of flat sheet
- Cone nozzle : spray pattern is in the form of cone

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Ariel spraying
It can cover 750 ha per day
Practices in hills and marshy lands
The maxi limit of wind velocity for dusting is 5 kmph and for spraying is 16 kmph
Spraying is best over dusting
Introduced pest
Wolly aphids on apple at Nilgiris (specific parasite is Aphelinus mali fromPunjab)
Diamond back moth on cruciferous vegetables, San jose scale on hilly fruit trees,
Cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi) noticed in lawns of Nilgiris – predator is Coccinellid
Golden nematode of potato, Giant African snail
Recently introduced pest in India
Subabul psyllid, Serpentine leaf minor, Coconut mite
 Epilachna beetles : major on brinjal
 Madras Agricultural Pest and Disease Act 1919 (first state to enact in this country)
 Coconut Rhinoceros beetle control : Incorporation of entomopathogen i.e fungus Metarhizium
anisopliae in manure pits to check perpetuation of the pest
 Synthetic pyrithroids like Cypermethrin, Fenvalerate, Deltamethrin cause resurgence of white flies
Major pest species in crop plants
 Gram pod borer Helicoverpa armigera
 Pulse spotted pod borer Maruca testularis
 Flower webber Eublemma hemirrhoda
 Army worm or cut worm Spodoptera mauritia
 Sorghum shoot fly (dead heart symptoms) Atherigona soccata
 Groundnut red hairy caterpillar Amsacta moorei, A. albistriga
 Castor semi lopper Achaea janata
 Cotton
o Spotted boll worm Earias insulana
o Spiny BW Earias vittella
o Pink BW Pectinophora gossypiella
o American BW Heliotheis armigera
o Cotton jassid Amrasca bigatulla
 Sugarcane
o Shoot borer Chilo sp
o Stem or inter node borer Chilo sp
o Top borer Scirpophaga sp
o Leaf hopper Pyrilla perpusilla
 Tomato fruit borer Heliothes armigera
 Bhendi shoot and fruit borer Earias vittella, E. insulana

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 Potato tuber moth Pthorimaea operculella (pest of field and storage)

 Citrus leaf minor Phyllochistic citrella
 Citrus butterfly Papilio demoleus
 Diamond back moth Plutella maculipennis
 Banana rhizome weevil Cosmopolites sordidus
 Banana Pseudostem borer Odoiporus longiscollis
 Mango flower webber Eublemma sp
 Mango hopper : Shedding of flower buds and flowers
o Shoot borer : Peculiar terminal bunchy appearance
 Apple
o wooly aphid Eriosoma lanigerum
o San jose scale
o Cottony cushion scale Icerya purchasi
 Three species of locust
o Desert locust
o Bambay locust
o Migratory locust
- Rat poison : white phosphorous (AlPO2)
- Rat : Crop enemy equipped with a kind of natural radar
- Aerosol : Solid or liquid particles of chemiclas dispersed in gas
- Imago : The adult stage of an insect
- Maggot : A vermiform larva
- Nymph : A young, no metamorphosis mites
- Agaricide or Miticide : to control mites
- Phytotoxic : Poisonous to plants
- In vitro : in culture, out side host (test tube)
- In vivo : in the host
- Minor pest : loss ranging from 5 to 10 %
- Major pest : loss more than 10 %
- Prophylactic measure : Pest control measures before the actual occurrence of the pest
- Legislative or regulatory method : To prevent the introduction of pests from other countries or from
one area to another known as plant quarantine laws
- Import of plants into India is allowed by the permission of “Plant Protection Advisor, GOI”
- Biocide : A general poison or toxicant
- Deflocculating agent : Material added to spray suspension to delay sedimentation
- Methyl bromide : Insecticidal fumigant (soil fumigation) for treatment at mills, warehouses (and for
nematode control)

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- Viviparae : Adult female do not lay eggs (aphids)

- First discovered insecticide is DDT (first fungicide is Bordeaux Mixture)
- BHC is act as Repellent
- First nematode discovered was Meloidogyne sp (Ento parasite)
- Spermatheca (sperm storage structure) is found in female body of Nematodes and Queen bees
- Dusting & spraying should not done if the wind velocity exceed 5 & 16 kph respectively
- Nicotine solution is a contact insecticide
- Termites begin attack at the roots
VECTORS
Most of the viruses are transmitted by Hemipteran insects (because it has most suitable mouth parts)
Hemiptera : Aphids, leaf hopper, plant hopper, white fly, mealy bug
Other vectors are thrips (Thysanoptera ) and some mandibulates like grass hopper (Orthoptera) and beetles
- Biting and chewing mouth parts : beetles, caterpillars
- Piercing and sucking mouth parts : white fly, aphids, leaf hoppers
Crop Disease Casual organism Vector

RTV Virus GLH or Green Jassid (Nephotettix virescense)
BPH (Nilaparvada lugans)
Rice Grassy stunt Mycoplasma
BPH produce Hopper burn
Yellow dwarf Mycoplasma Green Leaf Hopper
Banana Bunchy top Virus Aphids (Pentalonia nigronervosa)
yellow vein White fly (Bemisia tabaci)
Bhendi Virus
mosaic
Blackgram
White fly (Bemisia tabaci)
Greengram YMV Virus
Red gram
Lab lab
Black gram
Leaf curl virus Virus Thrips
Green gram
Cowpea YMV Virus Aphids (Aphis gossypi)
Red gram Sterility mosaic Virus Eriophid mite (Aceria cajani)
Ring mosaic or
Bud blight or Ring mosaic virus Thrips
Groundnut
Bud Necrosis
Rosette Virus Aphid
Phyllody
Sesame Mycoplasma Leaf hopper (Jassid)
(Little leaf)
Brinjal Little leaf Mycoplasma Plant hopper (Jassid)

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Tobacco leaf curl

Chillies leaf curl
virus
Grassy shoot Mycoplasma Aphids (Aphis maidis)
Sugarcane
Mosaic Virus Aphid
Cardamom Katte disease Virus Aphids (Pentalonia nigronervosa)
Leaf curl disease Virus White fly
Spotted wilt Virus Thrips
Tomato Mosaic Virus Seed born
Black ring spot Virus Nematodes
Big bud Mycoplasma Leaf hopper
Rubbery wood Mycoplasma
Leathery leaf or
Leaf curl or
Citrus
Yellow corky vein or Virus
Mosaic or
Bud union
Papaya leaf curl Nicotiana virus 10
Ber Witches broom Mycoplasma Grafting
Coconut Kerala wilt Mycoplasma Soil born
Widely spaced planting will be vigorous with better food source for insects. So, widely spaced plants
have high vector population and it transmit virus easily
In closer spacing, virus disease are reduced
Barrier cropping : Sorghum around the groundnut field, which prevents movement of thrips

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NEMATOLOGY
3
ETL : 1 nematode per cm soil
Crop yield loss due to nematode : 14.6 %
2nd juvenile stage is very infective stage on crops
Nematode is act as a parasite
1. Ectoparasite
2. Semi Endoparasite
3. Endoparasite
Ectoparasite
Stunt nematode on roots Tylenchorhynchus sp
Semi Endoparasite
Citrus nematode Tylenchulus semipenetrants
Reniform nematode Rotylenchulus reniformis
Endoparasite
Root lesion nematode Pratylenchus sp
Burrowing nematode Radopholus similes (in plantation crops:Banana, coconut, pepper, etc.,)
Rice root nematode Hirschmanniella oryzae
Sedentary Endoparasite
Root knot nematode Meloidogyne sp
Cyst nematode Heterotera sp, Globodera sp
Potato cyst or Golden nematode Globodera rostochieninsis
Crops antagonistic to root knot nematode : African Marigold, sesame, Mustard, Asparagus
Nematodes affecting above ground level of the crops
White tip disease of rice (Bud & leaf nematode) Aphlenchoides sp
Ufra disease of rice (attack stem, leaves, inflorescence) Ditylenchus angustus
Nematodes act as vector, transmits virus
NEPO Nematode Transmitted Polyhedral Virus
NETU Nematode Transmitted Tubular Virus (now changed as TOBRA - Tobacco Rattle)
Nematode management
Biological control
Bacteria : Pseudomonas
Fungi : Trichoderma, Verticillium, Aspergillus, VAM
Chemical control
Systemic granular nematicide
1. Soil application : Carbofuron, Phorate, Carbon disulphide
2. Root tip for seedling : Triazophos, Dimethoate
Fumigant : Chloropicrin

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PLANT PATHOLOGY
Father of modern plant pathology : Anton de Bary
Disease : A condition involving abnormal changes in behaviour of the plants
Plant disease is the interaction of host, pathogen and weather
Primary inoculum found in the seed (virus disease of potato, loose smut of wheat, ergot of bajra)
Disease Surveillance
Qualitative survey : To detect the pathogen
Quantitative survey : To count numbers or intensity of the pathogen
Methodology
- Fixed plot survey
- Rowing survey (walking across the field, starting from south west corner to north east corner)
 Forecasting is an applied Epidemiology
 Short term forecasting : During the crop season or just before the crop season
 Long term forecasting : Prediction of the disease is done many year in advance (Ex. for soil born
disease in monoculture system)
 Computerized system of disease forecasting : Blitecast - It is a computer system of late blight of potato
disease forecasting
 Crop health surveillance : To assess periodic or regular activities of the pest & pathogen. It is for
decision making for proper timing of spray
Surveillance report
Dept. of agriculture & dept of horticulture sent weekly pest and disease surveillance report to the university
 White report : Pest & Disease surveillance details in a particular block or division or district for a week
 Yellow card : Half the level of ETL
 Red card : Exceeded the ETL
Epidemiology : Study of out break and spread of disease in a population
Sporadic : Pathogen affects only a few plants in the field
Epidemic : Pathogen affect a large population in the field and cover large area
Endemic : The incidence is localized
Steps of disease spread
Initial inoculum › spore germination › primary infection › sporulation on the host › secondary spread / inoculum
Pathogen entry into plant system: Lenticels of potato are site of infection for bacterial soft rots
- Formaldehyde is used to disinfect storage boxes and packing house
- Gamma rays penetrate fruits and vegetables and destroy pathogens
- Low temperature delay ripening of fruits (it directly inhibits growth of the pathogens)
Etiolation : Excessive elongation of cells
Hypertrophy : Abnormal cell enlargement (curling)
Hyperplasia : Excessive cell division (galls,tumours, tumefaction, proliferation, fasciation)

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Epinasty : Downward growth of petioles

Hypernasty : Upward growth of petioles
Disease assessment & Grading
% of leaf affected Grade
0 0
1 1
10 3
25 5
50 7
> 50 9
Effect of weather on disease

Macro climate : General weather condition over the field
Micro climate : Weather condition on limited environmental unit
Crop climate : Weather prevailed on crop canopy
 Low temperature favours late blight of potato (Phytophthora infestans) in temperate region
 High temperature favours bacterial wilt and brown rot of potato in tropics and sub tropics
 Warm temperature (30 to 35o C) favours rots in many crops (charcoal rot of potato)
 In high temperature, the disease spread is also very rapid
 Root knot nematodes, powdery mildew is high in high temperature
 Rain drops disperse fungal spores and bacterial cells, nematodes
 Wet area favours later blight of potato, rusts of cereals, downey mildew of grapes
 Dry soil favours potato scab (Streptomyces scabies) & rice blast
 Sandy soil favours Fusarium wilt of banana, cotton, peas than loamy clay soils
 A humid period is necessary for sporulation and dry period is desirable for dissemination and wet
period is necessary for germination and penetration
 Fungi prefer acidic soils
 Potato scab is common in alkaline soil (because potato is cultivated in acid soil)
 Cotton wilt (Fusarium oxysporum) is common in acidic soil (because cotton is tolerant to alkaline soil)
 Club root of cabbage is common in acidic soil
 Trichoderma viride and Penicillium spp grow rapidly in acidic soil
 Viral disease are more conspicuous during winter than in summer
 Banana followed by rice control Banama wilt of banana caused by Fusarium oxysporium
 Early planting escape RTV of rice & Closer spacing reduce RTV
 Early sowing reduce sugary disease of cumbu and sorghum shoot fly
 Wider spacing of groundnut reduces bud necrosis
 Over crowding of seedling of tobacco and water logging increase damping off disease

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 Ergot in cumbu is severe in wet region

 Red rot of sugarcane & downey mildew of cumbu occurs in water logged condition
 Blast is sever in winter months (like samba season)
 High soil temperature favours dry root rot in summer months (sorghum, pulses)
Alternate or collateral host for major disease
For rice blast Panicum repens, Digitaria margin (weeds)
For little leaf of brinjal Datura sp
DISEASES OF MAJOR CROPS

 Most prevalent disease in India : Citrus canker caused by bacteria
 Latent infection : Host is infected but does not show any symptoms
 Rosette : Short and bunchy habit of plant growth caused by virus
 Wilt : Loss of rigidity and drooping of plant parts generally caused by insufficient water in the
plants (caused by Fusarium sp)
o Vascular wilt : It disturb translocation of water and starch
o Xylem wilt : Blocking of xylem bundles (caused by Verticillium sp - fungi)
o Phloem wilt : Caused by virus & mycoplasma
 Seedling blight : It is a secondary syndrome associated with foot and root rot diseases
 Downey mildew : Attack under surface of leaves
 Powdry mildew : Attack on entire leaf surface and other organs covered by white powdry coating
 Aflotaxin : Organic compounds produced by the fungus, are toxic and carcinogenic to mammals
 Phyllody : In sesame, caused by virus (transmitted by leaf hopper) controlled by Neem oil 1 %
 Foot rot, root rot and collar rot of grapes are caused by Rhizoctonia sp.
 Stem rot and collar rot & damping off are caused by Phythium aphanidermatum
 Damping off disease occurs on seedlings
 TMV was first reported by Mayer
Rice
Blast : Pyricularia oryzae
Blast was first reported in India from Thanjavur district (Tamilnadu)
Susceptible variety : Kanchi, Karikalan, IR 50
Favourable conditions
The night temperature of 20o C with day temperature of 30o C
14 hours of light with 10 hrs of darkness
RH of 90 and above encourage the disease
Brown leaf spot : Helminthosporium oryzae
Bengal famine (1943) incidence was caused by brown leaf spot
Resistant variety CO 20

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Foot rot : Fusarium moniliforme

Abnormal elongation of affected seedlings
Adventitious roots are above soil level.
Because aerial adventitious roots arise from nodes above ground level
False smut : Ustilaginoidea virens
Few grains in ear head are double the size of normal grain.
First report from Tirunelveli district if Tamilnadu
Grain discoloration : Helminthosporium sp, Curvularia sp
Bacterial leaf blight : Xanthomonas campestris
Rice Tungro Virus : Stunted growth of plants
Rice yellow dwarf : Caused by mycoplasma transmitted by GLH
Wheat
Loose smut : Ustilago nuda
Leaf rust : Puccinia recondite
Sorghum
Striga (Phanerogamic parasite)
When it is below the soil, it fully depends on the plant
Once it emerges out, its dependence is partial.
Absorption of nutrients by Haustorium
Cumbu
Sugary disease or Ergot : Claviceps fusiformis
Favourable condition of Sorghum & Cumbu sugary or ergot disease
High rainfall, high RH, flowering in Sep-Oct
Maize, Sesame, Potato
Charcoal rot : Macrophomina phaseolina
Groundnut
Early leaf spot or Tikka : Cercospora personata or C. arachidicola
Dark spot surrounded by yellow halo
Ring mosaic or Bud blight or Bud necrosis : Ring mosaic virus transmitted by thrips
Rosette : Virus disease transmitted by aphids (small leaves forming a rossettee)
Sesame
Phyllody or Little leaf : Caused by mycoplasma transmitted by leaf hopper (Jassid)
The floral parts are altered into green leaf like structures
Plant exhibit cluster of leaves at the axil and also at the terminal portion
The green flowers are called phylloid flowers
Sunflower

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Head rot : Rhizopus sp

Root rot or charcoal rot : Rhizoctonia bataticola
White rust : Albogo tragopogonis
Red gram
Wilt : Fusarium oxysporium
Blackgram & green gram
Powdery mildew : Erysipha polygoni
Leaf curl disease : The virus transmitted by thrips
Sugarcane
Red rot : Collectrotrichum falcatum
Control measures : Soak the setts 0.1 % bavistine before planting
Grassy shoot : Caused by mycoplasma transmitted by aphis Aphis maidis
Symptoms : Large nos. of thin tillers
Gummosis : Xanthomonas campestries
Mosaic : Caused by virus transmitted by aphid
Cotton
Wilt : Fusarium oxysporum
Root rot : Rhizoctonia bataticola
Black arm or angular leaf spot or bacterial leaf spot : Xanthomonas campestris
Coconut
Bud rot : Phytophthora palmivora
Stem bleeding : Ceratocystis paradaxa
Thanjavur wilt / basal stem rot / bole rot : Ganoderma lucidum
Kerala wilt : Caused by mycoplasma
Tobacco
Damping off : Pythium aphanidermatum (common in nursery, soil born fungus)
Black shank : Phytophthora parasitica
Frog eye spot : Cercospora nicotianae
Rubber & Betelvine
Powdery mildew : Oidium heveae
Banana
Anthracnose : Colletotrichum or Gloeosporium
Sigatoka leaf spot :
Panama wilt : Fusarium oxysporium
Resistand variety : Poovan
Susceptible variety : Rasthali, Sirumalai. Monthan
Raise paddy crop to control the disease

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Neervazhai : Observed in Nendran and Poovan varieties

Mango
Powdery mildew : Oidium mangiferae
Perfect stage : Erysiphae polygoni
Anthracnose or Die back : Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (on leaf, stem, fruit)
Exhibiting SHOT HOLE symptom on leaves
Young branches present die back symptoms
Red rust : Cephaleuros virescens (It is a algal parasite)
Sooty mould : Capnodium mangiferae
Malformation : Fusarium moniliforme
Grapevine
Powdery mildew : Uncinula necator (fungus is oidium type)
Downey mildew : Plasmopara viticola
Citrus
Gummosis or leaf fall or foot rot or collar rot : Phytophthora palmivora
Profuse gumming on the surface of attached bark
Leaves exhibit water soaked lesions
Both young and matured fruits are affected
Sooty mould : Capnodium citri
Infection is associated with attach of scales and aphids
Citrus canker : Xanthomonas campestris (Caused by bacteria)
Spots are swell and raised above the surface on leaves and fruits
Anthracnose or wither tip or die back : Colletotrichum gloeosporides
Mostly occurs on July to Jan
Rubbery wood : Caused by Mycoplasma
Leathery leaf or leaf curl or yellow corky vein or mosaic or bud union : Virus disease
Papaya
Leaf curl : Nicotiana virus 10
Jack
Pink disease : Botryobasidium salmoni colar
Ber
Witches broom : Caused by mycoplasma transmitted by grafting
Tomato
Damping off : Pythium aphanedermatum
Wilt : Fusarium oxysporum
Chillies
Damping off : Pythium aphanedermatum

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Cardamom
Katt disease : Caused by cardamom mosaic virus
Rose
Powdery mildew : Sphaerotheca pannosa
Cruciferous
Club root of cabbage :Plasmodiophora brassicae
Fungus is soil borne
Severe in poorly drained soils and acid soils
Potato
Early blight : Aternaria solani
Late blight : Phytophthora infestans
Resistant variety : Kufri naveen, Kufri jeevan, Kufri alenkar
Ginger
Rhizome rot or soft rot : Caused by Pythium spp
Turmeric
Rhizome rot or root rot : Pythium aphanidermatum
Pepper
Foot rot : Phytophthora palmivora
Tea
Blister blight : Exobasidium vexans
Coffee
Leaf rust : Hemileia vastarix
Arecanut
Mahali disease : Phytophthora arecae
DISEASE OF STORAGE GRAINS

Market pathology : It deals problems encountered during picking, packing, transportation and storage of
produce
 Aflatoxin is produced by Aspergillus fungi (if moisture content is more than 13 %) in groundnut
and rice. It is highly toxic to mammals
 Grain discoloration in sorghum : Fuarium moniliforme ( grains become mouldy and discolored
grains shriveled)
 Green mould rot (Citrus) : caused by Pencillium sp
 Blue mould rot (Apple) : caused by Pencillium sp
 Black mould rot (Apple) : caused by Aspergillus niger
 Crown rot (Banana) : caused by Colletrotrichum sp, Fusarium sp, Verticillium sp
 Mango Anthracnose caused by Gloeosporium mangiferae
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Non pathogenic disease

When apples and potatoes are stored in poor ventilated rooms, the level of CO2 is high and O2 is low,
when they are cut open central portion appears black known as Black heart. This is caused by lack of
oxygen.
Angiospermic (flowering plants) parasites

Parasites establish relationship with their host through Haustoria to derive nutrition from vascular system
of host plants
But parasites has chlorophyll
1. Striga (Partial root parasite): It attacks roots of sorghum, maize, sugarcane
Control measures : Flood irrigation, 2,4 D application & raising trap crop like Sudan grass
2. Orabanche (Total root parasite) : It attacks roots of Solanaceous & Cruciferous plants
Ex. Roots of tobacco, brinjal, tomato, cauliflower
Control measures : Raising of trap crop (Chillies)
Alkaloids present in this trap crops are reduce the germination of parasitic weeds
3. Loranthus (Partial stem parasite) : It attacks fruit, avenue and forest trees
Control measures : Injection of CuSO4 and 2,4 D
4. Cuscuta (Total stem parasite) : It attacks all crop plants except cereals
DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Prophylactic measures : Prevention of disease before occurrence
Curative measures : Control measures after infestation
 Rice blast is controlled by eradication of Panicum ripens (is a alternate host for the pathogen)
 Variety IR 50, TKM 9 are susceptible to rice blast
 Damping off : Severe in tobacco and chillies. Good drainage & raised nursery bed control the
disease. Disease caused by Pythium sp
 Sugary disease of sorghum and cumbu is severe during winter (control : adjust sowing time that
flowering should not coincide with winter period)
 Apply more potash to minimize the disease incidence
 Mycoplasma is controlled by Vitavax
Crop resistance to disease may be
Disease escape : Early maturity of the crops
Disease endurance : Ability of the plant to withstand without showing heavy symptoms
Hypersensitive : Plant may be resistant to the disease if it shows hypersensitive reaction
to infection by the pathogens
Hereditary : Provided by the genes
Horizontal resistant : It is incomplete and permanent

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Cumbu variety Co 6 is resistant to green ear
Bio control agents

 Fungus (Trichoderma viride) : effective for Pythium spp, Phytopthora sp, Rhizoctonia solani
 Bacteria (Bacillus subtitis, Pseudomonas fluroscens) : applied through seed treatment and foliar spray
 Virus : Bacteriophages (bacteria is killed by virus) are used to control disease
Bio control is very effective for soil born disease. Agents control disease through
Direct parasitism or predation on the pathogen
Rapidly depleting nutrient and thereby causing starvation and death of pathogen
Integrate disease management
FUNGICIDES
Fungistat : The chemical inhibits the growth of a fungus, without killing it
Fungistasis : It is the phenomenon of growth inhibition
Protectants : The chemicals to be applied prior to the fungal infection
It is a seed treating chemicals
The majority of modern fungicides are used as protectants
Seed dressing chemical : Thiram, Captan @ 4 g per kg of seed or Carbendazim @ 2 g
They interfere with DNA synthesis of fungal cell
Systemic fungicides : The chemicals are entering into the entire plant system
Ex. Bavistin, Carboxin (Vitavax), Oxycarboxin (Plant vax)
Non systemic fungicides : Mancozeb (Dithane m 45)
LD 50 VALUE : The dosage of fungicide that kills 50 % of the spore population
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ED 50 VALUE : The dosage of fungicide that inactivates or inhibits 50 % of spore population
Bordeaux mixture
Oldest fungicide
Discovered by Millardet 1882 (Botany professor, University of Bordeaux, France)
Found out in downey mildew of grapevine
Constituents : Lime 1 kg + Copper sulphate 1 kg + Water 100 lit (CuSo 4 + CaCo3 + water)
Add copper sulphate solution into lime solution and not vice versa
Lime acts as neutralizing agent
Use prepared mixture immediately
If you want to keep it for another 24 hrs add jaggery 1 g per lit of water
BM is phytotoxic to HYV of rice, maize and apple
Burgundy mixture : CuSo4 + Na2Co3 + Water (used for Cu sensitive crops)
Bordeaux paste : As fungicide used for controlling stem bleeding of coconut
Elemental sulphur
Used for controlling Powdery mildew, Downey mildew, Rust, Tikka disease, Potato scab
Sulphur fungicide is phytotoxic to cucurbits
Dithane S 31 : Used for controlling cereal rust
Karathane : Used for controlling Powdery mildew and Downey mildew
Chemical name Trade name
Copper oxy chloride Fytolan, Blue copper
Carboxin Vitavax
Oxycarboxin Plantvax
Antibiotics
The are produced by microbes in small quantity
This antibiotics inhibits the growth of other microbes
Most of the antibiotics are developed from Actinomycetes (Streptomyces spp) and some from fungi
Anti fungal antibiotic : Aureofungin
Ex. Citrus gummosis cuased by fungi Phytophthora sp. It if controlled by Aureofungin
Anti bacterial antibiotic : Streptomycin sulphate
Marketed as Agrimycin 100 (Streptomycin 15 % + Terramycin 75 %)
Anti mycoplasma antibiotic : Tetracyclines
Produced from Streptomyces sp
PLANT QUARANTINE
The consignment (plant materials, seeds) imported should be accompanied by a Phytosanitory Certificate (PC)
The following plant materials are restricted for import
 Cotton seed for boll weevil

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 Sugarcane sett for sugar weevil

 Coffee seed for berry borer
The following communities should be accompanied by PC when exported
 Pepper, Cardamom, Tamarind
Madras Agricultural Pests and Diseases Act : The act was enacted in 1919 by the Madras Govt.
It was the first state to enact such act in this country
In India, 16 quarantine stations are operating (8 sea port + 6 air port + 2 land frontier) through out the country
In Tamilnadu : Chennai and Tiruchirappally
Exclusive quarantine : There is a complete restriction of movement of the plant material of a particular
crop from a specified region
Ex. Banana seed material import is completely restricted from Srilanka
India does not import rubber seed or plant from South America and West Indies
Regulatory quarantine : The plant material are allowed after inspection and certification (Phytosanitory certificate)
In India,
Potato seed tubers are not allowed for sale from Nilgiri‟s to prevent the Golden nematode spread (H.
rostochinensis)
Domestic quarantine is operated for 2 insects : Fluted scale and Sanjose scale
Domestic quarantine for 3 diseases : Wart disease of Potato, Bunchy top of Banana & Mosaic virus of Banana
Introduced diseases of India
Casual organism (Introduced) Country from which introduced
Disease
Bunchy top of banana --- Srilanka
Coffee leaf rust Hemeilia vastatrix Ceylon
Potato Late blight Phytophthora infestans Europe
Grapes Downey mildew Plasmopora viticola Europe
Maize Downey mildew Peronoselero spora Java
Potato Golden nematode --- Europe
Potato Wart disease --- Netherlands
Paddy Blast Pyricularia oryza South East Asia
Rubber Powdery mildew Oidium haveae Malaysia
Embargo : Some of the plant materials have been totally banned for import into India (through plant quarantine)

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PLANT BREEDING
Centre of origin : It is proposed by Vavilo

8 main centres are grouped into 11 centres of origin
India is a main centre of origin for - Rice, Pulse, Cotton, Sugarcane, Neem, Mango, Papaya,
Brinjal, Banana, Pepper, Turmeric, Coconut
Sugarcane USSR Groundnut Brazil
Sunflower Sweden Potato South America
Plant introduction
 Primary introduction : Introduction of plant material without any alteration in original genotype
 Secondary introduction : It may be hybridized with local variety to transfer one or few
 Demerits of introduction
o Late blight of potato from Europe
o Coffee rust & bunchy top of banana from Sri Lanka
o Flag smut of wheat from Australia
o Potato tuber moth, woolly aphids of apple, fluted scale of citrus also introduced from
foreign countries
Plant breeding methods

 Pure lines or self pollinated crops
 Inbreds or open pollinated crops
 Most common method of crop improvement is Selection
 In pure line selection, new varieties are a pure line
 Pure line theory was proposed by W.L. Jhonson
 Crop developed by pure line selection is a population of plants with same genotype
 Mass selection : Plants are selected on the basis of Phenotypes
 In mass selection, variety is mixture of pure line
 Test cross : Cross made to assess the combining ability
 Population cross : Two open pollinated varieties are crossed
 Segregating generation : The progeny of F1 (obtained by selfing or intermating of F1 plants and
subsequent generations)
 The cross pollinated populations are known as Random mating population or Mendelian population
 Inbreeding depression occur in cross pollinated crops (due to continuous selfing)
 Self pollinated species do not show inbreeding depression
 Genetic diversity among individual plants is required for an inbreeding programme
 Genetic male sterility (GMS): It governed by single recessive gene “ms” (except safflower -
govern dominant gene)
o Hybrid seed production in red gram, maize, sorghum, cumbu, cotton, onion

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 Cytoplasmic male sterility CMS) : Hybrid seed production in ornamentals

 Cytoplasmic Genetic male sterility (CGMS) : Hybrid seed production in rice, wheat, maize,
sorghum, cumbu, sunflower
 Male sterility is also induced through chemicals called Gametocides
o Colchicines for sorghum, MH for onion, Ethrel for Rice & wheat
 Single cross : Cross between two inbred line
 Double cross : Cross between two single cross
 Three way cross : Cross between inbred line and single cross
 Back cross : Cross between inbred line and an open pollinated
 Test cross : Cross between F1 and recessive parent
 The parent which participate many times in test cross is called recurrent parent (recipient - female)
 Sib mating : Brother x Sister mating
 Half sib mating : Brother x Step sister mating
 Random mating : Each female gamete is equally likely to unit with any male gamete
 Genetic assortative mating : Mating between individuals that are more closely related by ancestry
 Genetic disassortative mating : Individuals are less closely related by ancestry
 Phenotypic assortative mating : Mating between individuals that are phenotypically more similar
 Phenotypic disassortative mating : Mating between phenotypically dissimilar individuals
 Hand emasculation (removal of stamens) is done in cotton, jute, bhendi, brinjal, tomato, potato (all
are Epipetalous)
 The result of hybridization is Reshuffling of gene (to increase in heterogeneity and heterozygosity)
 Distance hybridization programme : Ex. Interspecific and Intergeneric hybridization
 Mutation breeding
o Mutation is generally Recessive
o Induced mutation done by gamma rays (source is 60Co)
o The dose of mutagenic agent used in mutation breeding is LD 50
o Jagannath and Prabhavati rice variety are gamma ray induced semi dwarf variety
o Cotton variety MCU 10 is developed from variety MCU 4 through induced mutation
 Dioecy : It is a breeding method in which all plants are not genetically equal (opp. Monoecism)
 Breeding method is not used for producing new variety of self pollinated crop : Recurrent
selection
Role of plant breeding

 To improve quality of produce
o Lysine content in cereals
o Methionine & Tryptophan content in pulses
o Lecithin content for improve the keeping quality
 Aim of wheat breeding : Variety should be resistant to rust, and for higher yield
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 Aim of breeding programme of self pollinated crops : To produce Pure line

 Potato improvement through Clonal selection
 Essential of meiosis : Keeping the chromosome number constant from one generation to the other
Achievements in plant breeding
 Dwarfing gene Norin 10 is isolated from Wheat (N.E. Borlaug)
 Dwarfing gene Dee geo woo gen is isolated from japonica rice variety (Taiwan)
 Nobilization of sugarcane : CA. Barber & TS. Venkatraman, SBI, Coimbatore
o Varieties includes - Saccharum barberi x S. officinarum
o Noble cane : S. officinarum
o Indian cane : S. barberi
o Kans : S. spontaneum
 Striga resistant sorghum variety : SAR 1 developed by ICRISAT
 The achievement in groundnut : Evolution of variety TMV 10 with oil content of 55 %
Hybrid production in TN
1994 : First short duration hybrid rice CORH 1 (MGR) was released in India
Hybrid rice production : Father of hybrid rice - Yuan Long Ping (China)
A Cytoplasmic genetic male sterile line
B Maintainer line (Male fertile line)
R Restorer line (Male fertile line)
Nursery : Seed @ 1kg per cent, DAP @ 2 kg per cent, Gypsum 4 kg per cent
Female : Male ratio 8:2 or 10:2
To induce synchronized flowering in female and male lines
Spray 2 % urea to delay flowering
Spray 2 % DAP to hasten flowering
Stagnation of water will hasten flowering in male lines
Drainage will delay flowering in male lines
Spray GA3 when panicle has not emerged fully out of the flag leaf in female lines
Varieties
 Multiline varieties : Mixture of several pure lines of similar
 Hybrid variety : The progeny of F1 (Heterosis)
o Heterosis : Superiority of an F1 hybrid over both its parent
o Hybrid variety were first commercially exploited in Maize (1961)
o In hybrids seeds are to be changed every year (demerit)
o The female parent in all the cumbu hybrid of India is common - Tift 23 A from
USA
 Synthetic varieties : Produced by crossing in all combinations

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o Farmers can use the seeds to raise next crop

 Composite variety : Synonym for synthetic, not entirely accurate (produced by mixing the seeds of
several phenotypical outstanding lines and encouraging open pollination to produce crosses in all
combinations among mixed lines)
o Synthetics and Composites are maintained through open or cross pollination only
 Luxuriance : Increased vigour and size of interspecific hybrids with increased fertility (generally
sterile or poorly fertile)
Technical terms
 Genetic erosion : Reduction in variability
 Genetic load : The sum total of the unfavorable genes
o Functional unit of gene : Cistron
 Genome : A complete set of chromosome in species (A haploid set of chromosome)
 Gene pond : Herbarium
 Chimera : An individual with one genotype in some of its parts and another genotype in the other
 Vertical resistance : Pathotype specific
 Horizontal resistance : Pathotype non specific
 Apospory : Seed formation outside of embryo sac
 Apogamy : Seed development without egg cell
 Apomixis : Development of seed without sexual process (Reproduction from unfertilized egg or
somatic cells)
 Allopolyploidy : All the chromosome sets are derived from the different species
 Autosome : Chromosomes are same in male and female species
 Acclimatization : Adaptation of plants under the changed climatic condition
 Ascent of sap : The upward movement of water from roots to top of the plants
 Biotype : A population in which all individuals have an identical genotype
 Cytogenetics : Deals with chromosomes and their implications in genetics
 Cytology : Study of structure and function of cell
 Crossing over : A process where genes are exchanged between non sister chromatides of a
homologous pair and reunite with one another (an interchange of segments between chromatids of
homologous chromosomes)
 Linkage : Genes together in the same chromosome
 Lethal gene : A gene which causes the death of all those individual
 Monosomic : An individual having one chromosome less than the normal (2n-1)
 Muton : A unit of DNA capable of undergoing mutation
 Mutagen : An agent capable of including mutation (eg. Environmental agent)
 Self sterility : The pollen of a flower has no fertilizing effect on the stigma of the same flower
 Mitosis : Equational cell division (Occurs in other than gametes)
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 Meiosis : Reductional cell division (Occurs in gametes)

 Epistasis : Expression of a non allelic gene by another gene
o Genes exerts a dominant effect over an other genes
o Suppressed gene is known as Hypostatic gene
 Recessive lethal genes are Heterozygous form
 Microsporogenesis : Formation of male gametes
 Macrosporogenesis : Formation of female gametes
 Arrow : Sugarcane flower
 Fluff : Sugarcane seed
 Detasselling : Removal of immature male inflorescence in maize
 Photoionisation : Light exposure of plant in 24 hrs will control the growth and development
 Transversion : Formation of new genes
 Epiphytes : Plants that grow on other plants but do not absorb food from them
 Halophytes : Plants of mangrove (swampy lands)
 Symbiosis : The associated plants help to each other (legume + rhizobium)
 Sporogenesis : Development and formation of seed
 Alleles : Alternate forms of gene
 Segregation : Progeny of a hybrid (F1) plant
 Pleiotrophy : A single gene affected more than one character
 Conjugation : Fusion of gametes
Flower types
 Flowers are specialized Leaf
 In flower : Androecium + Gynoecium are permanent whorles & Calyx + Corolla are accessory whorles
 Monoecious plant : Male and female flowers are in same plant but in separate flowers (Maize,
Coconut)
 Dioecious plant : Male and female flowers are in different plants (Papaya)
 Unisexual flower : Flower having only stamen or pistil
 Bisexual or Perfect or Hermaphrodite flower : Male and female parts are in same flower of one
plant
 Axial flower : Flower at the junction between leaf and stem
 Incomplete flower : Lack of any one of the floral part - pedal, sepal, anther, stigma (Maize)
 Imperfect flower : Androecium or Gynoecium is absent (Maize, Papaya)
 Homogamy : The anther and stigma of bisexual flower mature at the same time (opp.
Heterogamy)
 Cleistogamy : A natural restriction for out crossing in plants (Pollination is take place in un
opened flowers)
o Protandry : Male part mature first (Maize)

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o Protogynae : Female part mature first

o Monoecious as well as Protandry : Maize plant
 Dichogamy : Anther and stigma of a flower mature at different times
 Compositae (sunflower) family has Head or Capitulum flowers
 Malvaceae family has the flower character called Epicalyx
Pollination
 Self pollinated crops are homozygous in nature
o Rice, Legumes, Solanaceous vegetables, Sesame
o Pulses are normally self pollinated crops (except cowpea, Soya)
 Cross pollinated crops are heterozygous in nature
o Maize, Sunflower, Sugarcane, Fruit trees, Cumbu
 Asexually propagated plants are heterozygous (true to true)
 Often cross pollination : (cross pollination 5 to 30 %)
 Cotton, Sorghum, Red gram, Tobacco
Model questions
NBPGR : New Delhi
4 sub stations located at Simla, Kanyakumari, Akola, Jodhpur & recently at Shillong
Father of genetics : Gregor John Mendel
He crossed tall and dwarf plants of peas
In F1 all are tall
Selfing of F1 plants
In F2 ¾ tall and ¼ dwarf plants are obtained
Max variability is found in F2 generation
Law of inheritance : Mendel
The book “origin of species” written by Charles Darwin
Isolation of gene was done by Khurana (He got nobel prize)
The theory of genes in the chromosomes was introduced by Morgan
Mutation theory was discovered by De Vries
The unit of heredity is Gene
Chemical material composed of genes is DNA
Nobel prize for DNA model (Double helix model) : Watson and Crick
Nucleotide (a unit of DNA) : Organic base + Phosphate (Phosphoric acid) + Sugar
Organic base are Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, Cytocine (DNA) & Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, Uracil (RNA)
Bread wheat : Triticum aestivum
Man made cereal is Triticale (wheat)
Protein synthesis : It take place at Ribosomes of cell (with help of RNA)
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In higher plants seed formation is the result of Double fertilization

Flower colours, disease resistance in plants are Qualitative character (Yield is Quantitative)
With every selfing, heterozygosity is reduced by 50 %
Brassica alba (white mustard) is not cultivated in India (B. juncea mustard, B. campestris rape seed)
Isolation distance for controlling wheat loose smut in seed production : 150 metres
One sperm nuclei and one egg cell makes Zygote
One sperm nuclei and two polar nuclei makes Endosperm
In plants : Haploid phase is Gametophyte & Diploid phase is Zygote
Haploid have single set of chromosome (Gametes)
Cultivated species of potato is a Polyploidy
Common wheat is Hexaploid
Cross for creating disease resistance : Single cross
Most ideal animal for genetic study : Drosophilla
DNA replication in "Semi conservative manner"
Genetic message is carried in the form of "3 letter code"
Power house of cell : Mitochondria
Respiratory roots are called as Pneumatophores (for respiration)
Prop or still roots are found in Banyan tree
When leaf is kidney shaped it is known as Reniform
In Ficus, the inflorescence is called "Hypanthodium"
Glabrous leaf : Leaf surface is smooth with no hairs or out growth
Genes are made up of DNA
Clone is generally Heterozygous
A hybrid is always Heterozygous
Potato + Tomato = Pomato (Achieved through Protoplasmic fusion)
Molecular scissors : It is a restriction enzyme. It cut DNA at specific area (DNA Ligase - Paste enzyme)

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PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
Physiological disorders in crop plants are grouped into

1. Nutritional imbalance
2. Hormonal imbalance
3. Environmental factors
Plant nutrients and their importance

 N is basic nutrient for chlorophyll, amino acid, protein, alkaloids and protoplasm
 K : Improve resistance to pest and disease & lodging and regulates stomatal movement and for
synthesis of amino acid & protein, Photosynthesis activities and movement of food from the
leaves to root
 Ca & Mo : Accelerates N fixation
 Mg : A constituent of chlorophyll
 S : Increase oil content in oil seed crops
 Zn : Precursor of IAA (coconut) & citrus die back
 Application of too much fertilizer kill the plants through dehydration
Role of plant nutrients
N for protein and nucleic acid synthesis
K for stomata opening & closing, translocation of food
Ca for cell division and main constituent of cell wall
Mg for chlorophyll and RUBP production
Fe for electron transport during photosynthesis and respiration
Cl for photolysis (Split of H2O molecule) at light reaction (Hill reaction) of photosynthesis
Mn for Kreb cycle

 Mo deficiency : Cauliflower whip tail disease
 Boron deficiency : Delay in growth and delay in roots
 Copper deficiency : White plague disease in plant
Plant growth regulators or Phyto Hormones

 IAA promotes formation of female flowers
 GA promotes male flowers
 GA overcomes genetic and physiological dwarfness in plants
 Degreening : Green citrus and banana fruits are exposed to ethylene it is called as tricle method or
degreening
 To induce rooting in cuttings IBA is mostly and effectively used

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 GA is used for rapid cell division and elongation (applied to the growing tips and bring vigorous
growth of nursery plants)
 Pre harvest spray of MH at 2000 ppm 15 days before harvest of potato tuber and onion (it prolong
the dormancy in storage by inhibiting sprouting)
 GA 1 ppm & Thiourea 1 % are used to break dormancy in potato
 Methyl Bromide – used to quick up the sprouting of potato
 Rubber latex flow increased by application of NAA and 2,4 D
 Male sterility in Bhendi (for hybridization) is obtained by spraying of 0.4 % MH
 Application of NAA (Planofix) increase fruit setting in chillies
 Ethrel induce fruit ripening
 Seedless fruit production is achieved through application of NAA, 2,4 D and GA
 Application of GA 100 ppm produce seedless grapes
 Application of 2,4 D produce seedless banana fruit (variety Poovan)
Auxin
 It discovered by Went
 It reduce abscission (Dropping of leaves)
 It encourage Parthenocarpic fruits (Banana) - Seedless fruits
 It encourage Phototrophic growth
 It develop Apical Dominance
Gibbrelic Acid (GA)
 It encourage cell elongation (reduce dwarfiness)
 Bolting : Sudden elongation of stem followed by flowering (Cabbage)
 It encourage parthenocarphy fruit
 It break dormancy
 Common GA is GA3 & GA84
Foolish disease in Rice
 Caused by GA (Infected by the fungi Gibberella fujikuroi)
 Symptom : Some rice plants are tall
Cytokinin
 It stimulate Cytoplasmic cell division
 It stimulate lateral buds
 It delay senescence of leaves
 Coconut liquid endosperm (tender coconut) contain cytokinin. So it can be sprayed on rice plants
Ethylene
 It has volatile nature
 It stimulate ripening
 It breaks dormancy
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ABA (Abscisic acid)

 It is produced by matured leaves
 It act as growth inhibitor (Inhibit seed germination)
 It has geotrophic response
 It act as Stress hormone (Plants can manage stress)
To produce parthenocarphic fruits : use Auxin, GA
To break dormancy : use GA, Ethylene
Seed dormancy
 Soy bean seed has no dormancy, germinate immediately after harvesting
 Thio urea 0.3 % used for breaking dormancy in Lettuce
 KNO3 0.2 % used for breaking dormancy of Cereals
 GA 500-1000 ppm used for breaking dormancy in Rice
 Ethylene 0.3 - 3.0 % used for breaking dormancy for Potato
 Vernalisation : Seed subject to low temperature to break dormancy
Photosynthesis
Two types of photosynthesis are
1. Oxygen photosynthesis H2O is a electron donor Plants
2. Non oxygen photosynthesis Hydrogen sulphide is a electron donor Bacteria
 Photosynthesis is an Anabolic process
 Solar energy is converted into chemical energy (Stated by Von Mayer)
 Seed starch is Amylo pectin
 During photosynthesis RED & BLUE lights are used effectively
 Green light is least utilized during photosynthesis (high utilization is red light)
 Light reaction takes place in Granum of chlorophyll
 Dark reaction takes place in Stroma of chlorophyll
 In Hill reaction : Photolysis of H2O molecule take place
 In Dark reaction : Carbon fixation take place (Calvin cycle or C 3 Cycle)
 Hatch and Slack reaction is otherwise called as C4 Cycle
 RUBP
o Ribulose 1,5 Biphosphate (it contains 5 carbon atoms)
o It absorbs CO2 during photosynthesis.
o The absorption is enhanced by Mg (Chlorophyll)
Respiration
 It is a Catabolic process
 Mitochondria is a seat of respiration (Mitochondria is a power house of cell)
 ATP is a Energy Currency of cell

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 Glycolysis is other wise called as EMP Pathway (It occurs in Cytoplasm)

 Anaerobic respiration is called as Fermentation (Carbohydrate breakdown)
 Oxidative phosphorylation : Formation of ATP during electron transport chain
 Grab cycle & Electron transport are occurs in Mitochondria
Photophosphorilation : It is a process of synthesis of ATP in chloroplast using light energy
Cyclic Photosynthesis I
Non cyclic PS I & PS II
Transpiration
 It is a Necessary Evil
 Transpiration is take place from various parts
o Stomatal Leaf, Young stem
o Cuticular Outermost layer of stem, leaf
o Lenticular Bark, Fruits
 In Opuntia plant : leaves are reduced to spines called Phylloclade
 Stomata opening is controlled by Guard cell and K nutrients
Plant growth and development

 Epigeal type of germination : Soy bean
 Hypogeal type of germination : Maize
 Meristem tissue : Growing point of shoot, and root ends
 Abscission : Separation of leaf, flower, fruit from plants
 Trophic movement
Phototrophism - growth by light direction - Shoot growth (Sunflower) - Auxin is responsible
Geotrophism - growth by Gravitation force - Root growth - ABA is responsible
 Germination of seed without oxygen is called as Typha seed
 Active transport or Absorption : Take place with the help of metabolic energy in plant
 Passive transport : Take place with the help of external energy (out of the plant body)
 Down ward movement of food synthesized in leaves take place through phloem
 Long day plant required more than 8 hrs of light for flowering
 Short day plant required less than 8 hrs of light for flowering
 Day neutral plants : Soybean, Cotton, Sunflower
 Long day plants induce flowering only in excess of CHO
 Short plants induce flowering only in excess of Nitrogen
 Onion : Long day promote bulb formation & short day promote flowering and seed production
 Transpiration loss of water : 90 %
 Evapotranspiration loss of water : 99 %
 Xerophytes grown under drought conditions
 Plants of cold habitat are called Microtherms
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 CAM plants have minimum water requirement (maxi for sugarcane)

 Rice have maxi daily water requirement
 N fixing bacteria live inside the root nodules of legumes
 Plants breathe through Stomata
 Latex secreted from the plants of Euphorbiacea family
 If temperature is high during maturation of sunflower, the linoleic acid content decrease
 Parthenocarp : Fruit development without pollination
 Apomexis : Seed development without pollination
 Parthenocarpically developed fruits of tomato are seedless
 Normally fruit trees are cross pollinated
 Ratoon crop flowers 15 days earlier than the planted crop
 Broad leaved evergreen trees not successful in temperature of < 5o C
 The % of germination of poly embryonic seeds is lower than mono embryonic
 During fruit ripening, starch is degraded to sugars adding sweetness to the fruits
 Frost damage in crop : Cell break up because of water expansion
 Plant meets their carbon requirement through CO2 in atmosphere
 Plant meet Oxygen requirement by break down of water in the plant body, from air and from soil
 Energy exchangers in plant system are H & O2
 Sealing the stomata of leaves, will slow or stop all processes except Guttation
 The plant molecule responsible for photoperiodism is Phytochrome (hormone)
 Nutritive values : Avacado fruit have maxi fat, energy (215 kg calories), P (80 mg)
 Photoperiodism was first identified in Tobacco plant
Model questions
 Antagonistic effect : Ex. K uptake is limited by high level of Calcium
 Suffocation : The process in which water molecules are converted into ice in intercellular space
 Freezing damage : Plant damage caused by ice formation within the plant cell
 Ephiphytic plants : These plants having spogy tissue called Velamen.
 Velamen : Water storing tissue in roots. It absorb water vapour from atmosphere
 Sciophytes : Shade loving plants
 Heliophytes : Sun loving plants
 Eurothermic plant : The plants thrive at wide range of temperature (0 - 55o C)
 Stenothermic plant : The plants thrive at narrow range of temperature
 Dimorphism : Plants grow partially submerged condition
 Allelopathy : A toxic substance (allelochemicals) secreted by plants
 Exocrines : A toxic substance secreted by micro organisms
 Amensalism : Some plants are not affected by allelochemicals
 LAI (Leaf Area Index) should be above 4 for higher production of crop

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 Green light prevent Crop Growth Rate (CGR)

 Onion pungency is due to presence of Sulphur
 Onion having high percentage of iodine
 Rhizobium - legume symbiotic association produce Lectin protein
 Carrot roots having Isocoumarin substance
 Some plants are tolerant to water stress is due to protein accumulation
 Plants absorb water from soil through Imbibition
 Ascent of sap : The upward movement of water and minerals
 Passive absorption : The absorption need no metabolic energy. Absorption through transpiration
 Active absorption : The absorption need metabolic energy. The uptake is against conc. gradient
C4 Plants Sugarcane, Maize, Grasses, Sorghum Hatch-Slack cycle occurs

C3 Plants Potao, Cole crops, Rice, Wheat Calvin cycle & Dark reaction occurs
C2 Plants Photorespiration or Photosynthetic carbon oxidized cycle
EDTA Ethylene Diamine tetra Acetic acid

NADP Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate
TCA Tri Carboxylic Acid Cycle
Neem
Leaf contain : Azadiractin
Flowers contain : Nimbosterin
Seed contain : Nimbin, Nimbidin (Margosa soil)

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SEED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Seed : Fertilized ovule consisting embryo, stored food and seed coat
The seed is a propagating material or propagule
Seed = Ovule
Fruit = Ovary wall = Pericarp (Epicarp + Mesocarp + Endocarp)
Type of seeds & label colour
Nuclear seed Buff
Breeder seed Golden Yellow tag (tag size 12 x 6 cm)
Foundation seed I & II White tag 15 x 7.5
Registered seed Absent in Indian seed industry
Certified seed I & II Blue tag 15 x 7.5
TFL (Truthful Labelled) seed No certification, no inspection, no genetic purity (15 x 10 cm)
Steps in seed production
Breeder seed ► Foundation seed I ► Foundation seed II
Certified seed I ► Certified seed II ► TFL seed

Three tier system of seed production in Tamilnadu
Breeder seed (TNAU) ► Foundation seed (Dept. of Agriculture) ► Certified seed (Farmer)
▼
37 State Seed Farms
05 Oil Seed Farms
01 Pulse Farm

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74 Seed Processing Units

Separate sowing report should be submitted for
Variety
Classes (Foundation Seed, Certified Seed)
Stages of the crop
Field is separated by more than 50 meters
Size of the farm exceeds 25 ac
Time limit : Application (sowing report) should reach 35 days from the date of sowing or 15 days before flowering
Minimum no. of field inspection for seed certification
Rice, Pulse, Maize 2
Sorgum, Vegetables 3
Hybrid Maize, Sorghum, Cumbu 4
Minimum isolation distance for seed certification (m)
Crop Certified seed Foundation seed
Rice, Wheat, Groundnut 3 3
Hybrid Sorghum 200 300
Hybrid Maize, Bhendi 200 400
Hybrid Cumbu 200 1000
Cotton 30 50
Tomato 20 50
Brinjal 100 200
Hybrid seed production : Yellow tag for Female parent X Red tag for Male parent
Female : Male ratio : Maize 6 : 2, Sorghum, Cumbu 4 : 2, Rice 8 : 2 or 10 : 2
Hybrid rice (CORH1) seed production
Particulars Female Male
Duration 115 days 105
N @ 200 kg/ha for
Seedling age 30 days 20
CORH 2 & ADTRH 1
Seed rate/ ha 20 10
NPK 150 : 50 : 50 150 : 50 : 50
Weight of submitted seed sample for analysis

1 kg Maize, Red/Black/Green gram, Cowpea, Groundnut, Soya, Cotton, Bhendi, Sunflower
900 g Sorghum
150 g Cumbu
400 g Paddy
80 g Ragi
70 g Sesame
15 g Tomato
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Working sample : The sample taken from submitted sample (normally 25 gm)
Seed Testing : Seed testing is conducted to determine the quality of seed
 Genetic purity : Absence of seeds of other varieties of the same crop species as well as other crop
species.
Contamination by seeds of other crop species is permitted to a small degree (upto 0.1 %)
Contamination by seeds of other varieties of same crop is generally not permitted
 Physical purity : Permissible contamination of inert matter and defective seed ranges from 1 %
for maize to 5 % for carrot
 Seed health : Freedom of seed from seed born disease and noxious weed seeds
Designated disease : Halo blight for green gram and black gram, loose smut for wheat
Seed test certificate is issued for each "seed lot"
Three types of test
1. Moisture content test
2. Purity test
3. Germination or seed viability test
Moisture content test
 Maximum moisture % for storage
o Rice 13
o Maize, Sorghum, Cumbu 12
o Cotton 10
o Groundnut 9
o Pulse & Vegetables 8
Purity test
 Purity % = Weight of pure seed / Total weight of working sample x 100 or
 Purity % = weight of pure seed / weight of (pure seed + seed of other variety + seed of other crop
+ weed seed + inert mater) x 100
 Minimum pure seed % : 98 % should be there (except groundnut 96 %)
 Impurity percentage is also referred to as Dockage
 Total weed seed in foundation seed must not be more than 10 nos. per kg of seed
 Objectional weed seeds in certified seed must not be more than 10 nos. per kg of seed
 Pure seed in foundation and certified seed must be 98 %
 Off types in certified seed production is not more than 0.3 % (Seed borne disease less than 0.5%)
 Examination of seed in lab : Morphological features of the seed viz., length, width, thickness,
shape, weight, seed coat color are to be examined
 Examination of seedling
o In Cereals, coleoptiles may be green of pigmented due to presence of anthocyanin.
o Gram cultivars (pulses) may be identified on the basis of size and shape of their leaflets

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Germination or viability test : Two tests are commonly used

1. Germination test
2. Tetrazolium chloride test
Germination test : Seeds are germinated on wet filter paper placed in Petri dishes
Paper for small and medium size seeds
Sand for large size seed
Soil not recommended as primary substratum
o Duration of the test vary from 7 to 28 days depending upon the crop species
o Cereals and many legumes may takes 7 days
o Germination % = Total nos. of seeds germinated / Total nos. of seeds plated x 100
Germination of seed (steps)
 Water absorption by seed
 Insoluble stored food in cotyledon is converted into soluble food
 Growing of epicotyls, hypocotyls, radicle and plumule
Epigeal germination : Pea, Bean, Sunflower
Hypogeal germination : Paddy, Maize
Seed viability test
Topographical Tetrazolium chloride test
The embryo of half seed is taken for test.
Only living cells or tissues are stained red.
Dead cells are colorless.
Partially stained seed have necrotic patched.
Depending on patch size, it will determined whether viable or non viable.
Due to necrotic patch it is called Topographic tetrazolium test
o The test is used for seeds having hard seed coat
o It is faster and cheaper than germination test
Embryo excision method : Embryo from soaked seed are used for the test
Ferric chloride test : To determine mechanical damage (mainly for legume seeds) of seed
Minimum Standard Germination %
Rice 80
Wheat 85
Maize 90
Sorghum 80
Cumbu 75
Groundnut, Brinjal, Tomato 70
Cotton, Chillies, Carrot 60

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Purity % X Germination %
Real value of seed (% ) =……………………………………
100
Varietal purity test can be done through
 Grow out test
 Using molecular markers (presently used)
 DNA finger printing
ISTA : International Seed Testing Association. It gives following certificates
o Orange certificate : Sampling and testing is done in the same country
o Green certificate : Sampling in one country & analysed in another country
o Blue certificate : Submitted sample is not officially sampled
Seed enhancement
1. Priming of seed : Pre sowing hydration treatment (seed soaking in water)
Seed : water ratio - 1 : 1
Soak the seed » dry to original moisture » store the seed
In most cases, seed can be primed overnight and it is simply surface dried and than sown in same day
Priming is mainly done to overcome dormancy problem of seeds & to overcome stress conditions
Primed seed will germinate only if it takes up additional water from soil after sowing
2. Seed Pelleting : The application of mixture of powder around the seed.
It makes seed more uniform in shape, size and weight
3. Seed Coating : The application of very thin layer of polymer on seeds.
Here no change in size, weight.
It is done only for pest and disease control
Seed dispersal
Technical term Dispersing agent Crop seed
Autochory through self Balsom
Anemochory through wind Calotropis, Moringa
Hydrochory through water Coconut, Lotus
Zoochory through animals Tomato, Guava
National Seed Policy (2002) : Objectives

Timely availability of quality seed
Compulsory registration of seed and variety
Import and Export of quality seed
To maintain Seed Bank
Model questions

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 Jute crop does not have hybrid seeds

 Multiplication of disease free potato seed : September to January through seed plot technology
 Central Seed Lab : New Delhi
 The Breeder would have rights to produce, sell, market, distribute, import and export of variety
 First genetically modified (Transgenic) crop in India : Bt cotton hybrid (2002)
 Terminator technology is banned in India
 Geographic indication : Ex. Basmati rice, Darjilling tea
 Pneumatic seed separator : It is functioning in the basis of seeds resistance to air flow
 Rubber, Eucalyptus, Cinchona are introduced seeds

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AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
Extension service : Helping the people to help themselves
Extension work is towards betterment
National extension service block - covers 100 villages
Extension education is an applied behavioral science. It is applied to bring desirable changes in behavioral
complex of human.
- The fundamental objective is overall development of people.
Formal education Extension education
Start with theory With practical
Students study subjects Learners study problems
Teaching is vertical Horizontal (need based, problem oriented)
Homogenous audience Heterogeneous (with diversified goals)
Learning is the process by which, change the farmers' behaviour

- Extension worker is to create effective "learning situation"
- Farmer learns new practices through 5 stages. They are AIETA - Awareness stage, Interest
stage, Evaluation stage, Trial stage, Adoption stage
Teaching is the process of arranging or providing situation in which the things to be learnt are
brought to the notice of the learners
- Ex. Conducting demonstrations on their fields
Extension teaching methods
1. Individual contact: face to face contact
2. Group contact : face to face, 20 to 25 persons as a group, Ex. Demo, training, meeting,
symposium, workshop
3. Mass contacts : printed matter, campaign, fair, exhibition, radio, Trichoderma viride, film
show, internet
Demonstrations
Composite demonstration (divided into 2 types)
1) Method demonstration
2) Result demonstration
 Composite demonstration is a new technique in which all the improved practices recommended
for a particular crop are combined and adopt it. The selected plot for this demo should not be less
than 50 cents
 Method demonstration is a short time demonstration. It is given to a group of farmers to show
(technique) how to carry out an entirely new practice. It is not concerned with proving the worth
of a practice but with how to do something and it is not an experiment or trial. Ex. Preparation of
nursery bed

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 Result demonstration is a way of sowing people the value of a new practice or to prove the
advantage of recommended practices. It is conducted by farmers under the direct supervision of
extension worker. Ex. Use of fertilizers
Front Line Demonstration (FLD) : It is conducted by researcher in farmers field
- To show how production can be increased per unit area per unit time
- To generate production data and feedback information
National Demonstration Scheme : Scientist to demonstrate their experimental findings in the farmers
fields and it is limited to food crops at present
Operational Research Project : It is encouraged by the result obtained in national demonstration
Krishi Vigyan Kendra : The first KVK was established in 1974 at Pondicherry (TNAU). The aim is
learning by doing
Lab to Land Programme : Introduced by ICAR in 1979 on Golden Jubilee year. Ex. organization of field
day, Farmers fair are comes under this programme
Adopted village scheme
Totally for 5 years
First 2 yrs with technical knowledge and critical monetary inputs are provided
Remaining 3 yrs only technical knowledge will be provided
To form a Farm Science Club in the village
Community inputs such as sprayer, duster, improved plough, buck, bull etc., are kept in the club
Programmes sponsored by GOI
- Minikit and adoptive research trials : Identification of suitable variety for a location and grown pre
release cultures
- Adoptive research trial : Identify suitable HYV for a zone
Programme planning
Programme planning is continuous and coordinating process
Programme planning processes are
1. Collection of facts - collecting data through systematic observations, questionnaire, interview,
survey, existing Govt. records, census report
2. Analysis of the situation
3. Identification of problem
4. Determination of objectives
5. Development of plan of work
6. Execution of plan of work
7. Evaluation
8. Reconsideration - never ending, continuous process
Role of extension in agricultural development
1. Technology Transfer (TOT)

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2. Human Resource Development (HRD)

Emerging concept in TOT : Farming Systems Research or Extension (FSR / E)
Extension effectiveness in Tamilnadu is 87 % (first place in India)
TANWA : Project aided by DANIDA since 1986. The project aim is to improve small and marginal farm
women with improved technological skills in agriculture
- Phase I : 1986 to 1993 (7 yrs) implemented through farmers training centers in 6 district
(Kanchipuram, Cuddalur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Ramnad, Thirunelveli)
- Phase II : another 7 yrs, extended to all districts of Tamilnadu except Madras
NRC for women in agriculture at Bhubaneswar
 Landless agricultural labour : Labour without any land holding but having a home and drawing more
than 50 % of their income from agriculture.
 CAIS : Computer Aided Information System (modern information system)
 Training and Visit system : The concept is formulated by Daniel and James
 Cyber extension : Modern communication technology for technology dissemination
 "A satisfied customer is the best advertisement "
 In India, the basic operation unit for rural development is Block
 The institution which is responsible for development at base level is : Panchayat
 Block development advisory committee : Non official block level body
 A national extension service : Block comprises 100 villages
 Firka development scheme of Tamilnadu (1947) : Rural development scheme started before
independence
 Grow more Food campaign was started in Pre Independence era (1945) - Chairman KM. Munshi
 Good extension service : Helping the people to help themselves
 Extension education : Villagers attain desirable changes in his behaviour
 Elements of behaviour : Knowledge, Skill and Attitude
 Crop insurance scheme : Operated by General Insurance Corporation (during 1985)
 No panchayat raj system in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram & Lakshadweep
 Institute of Rural Development : Ranchi (Jharkand)
 The smallest unit of extension service is known as County
 One Extension worker (AO) deal 2000 farmers
Community Development or Rural Development
1. Pre Independence Era
Firka Development Scheme in Tamilnadu
Spencer Hatchs effort at Marthandam
2. Post Independence Era
Grow more food campaign 1947
Grow more food enquiry committee report 1952

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Community Development Project (financed by Ford Foundation) 1952, Oct 2

3. National Extension Service Era
National Extension Service scheme 1953, Oct 2
4. Intensive Agricultural Development Era
Intensive Agricultural District Programme 1960
Fertilizer demand doubled
Yield increased 10 to 20 %
Involving adoption of package of new practices along with assured supply of all inputs
and guarantee about storage and marketing in a district
Intensive Agricultural Area Programme 1964
HYV Programme 1965-66
Mainly for wheat & rice
Also included hybrids of maize, sorghum, cumbu
National Demonstration Project 1965-66
To estimate performance of HYV of wheat, paddy
Demonstrations conducted on farmers field
Demonstrations conducted by the scientist of ICAR institutes, SAU
Demonstration area should be 1 ac to 1 ha
Single crop only allowed
Multiple crops was introduced from 1967
Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) 1971-72
Recommended by All India Rural Credit Review Committee
Marginal Farmers & Agricultural Labour agency (MFAL) 1971
Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) 1971
Tribal Area Development Programme 1972
Command Area Development Programme 1974
Purpose is to reduce wastage of water
Training & Visit system 1974 (TN 1980)
World bank assistance
1 Agrl. Extn. Officer » 6-8 village level workers » 500-800 family » 10 contact farmers
Krishi Vigyan Kendra 1974
1974 first at Pondycherry under TNAU
1977 all over India
Principle : Teaching by doing & learning by doing
Training may be formal and non formal
Conducting OFT (On Farm Testing) on the technology developed by NARS
Conducting FLD (Front Line Demonstration) on various crops

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Mandate of KVK
 Conducting On Farm Testing (OFT) for identifying technologies in terms of location specific
sustainable land use system
 Organize training to update the extension personnel with emerging advances in agricultural
research on regular basis
 Organize short and long term vocational training courses in agriculture and allied vocations for the
farmers and rural youth with emphasis on “learning by doing” for higher production on farms and
generating self employment
 Organize Front line Demonstrations (FLD) on various crops to generate production data and feed
back information
TRYSEM 1979, August 15
Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) 1980, Oct 2, Gandhi Jeyanthi
Funds shared by Central & State in the ratio of 50 : 50
Also called as Anti Poverty Programme
Jawahar Rozgar Yojana 1989
Funds shared by Central & State in the ratio of 80 : 20
Institute Village Linkage Programme (IVLP) 1989
It is a technology assessment and refinement programme
Community development project (1952) is now changed as Rural Development Programme (1978)
Panchayat raj system -1958 -Rajasthan
One community health volunteers for each village of 1000 population
One sub centre for a population of 5000 (plains) and 3000 (hills and tribal areas)
One PHC for 30000 population (plains) and 20000 (hills)
Loan to village and small industries : Given by State Financial Corporation, RRB, commercial bank, Coop Bank
Gandhi began his rural development work at Sevagram (Maharastra)
The incharge of all agriculture projects in national level : Agricultural Commissioner
Crop calendar : 1st July to 30rd June

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AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
Agriculture contributes 33 % of national income

- Pre green revolution period 1950 to 1965
- Post green revolution period 1965 to 1995
 Basic holding : It is smaller than economic holding provide a reasonable std of living but not sufficient
for agricultural operations
 Economic holding : It must afford a reasonable std of living to the cultivators and provide full
employment to a family of normal size. It producing sufficient to his family after paying his necessary
expenses
 Optimum holding : Size not exceeding three times the size of an economic holding
o Requirement of women labour is more in dry land and wet land
o Requirement of men labour is more in garden land
o Mechanization will increase the productivity of the labour, but does not increase the
productivity of land
 Operational holding : Refers to all lands (cultivated, fallow, uncultivated lands)
NABARD bank or National Bank : A apex institution for national level credit to agriculture and provides
refinance assistance. It was set up 1982. Head quarter at New Delhi
 Apex bank in the country for supporting and promoting agriculture and rural development
o Agrl credit function of RBI + Refinance function of ARDC → merged as NABARD
o Deputy Governor of RBI being appointed as Chairman of NABARD
o Share capital equally by RBI and GOI
o For short term credit & working capital it depends on RBI
o For implementation of the projects it depends on World bank & International
development agencies
 Short term credit (15 months) given to State Coop Bank, Regional Rural Bank
 Medium term credit (upto 7 year) given to SCB, RRB, State Land Development Bank
 Long term credit (upto 25 year) given to SCB, RRB, SLDB, commercial banks
RBI : As the central bank gives over all direction to rural credit & give financial support to NABARD
o Extent short and medium term credit through state coop bank
o Extent long term credit through central LDB
- Coop Credit Society : Best source of rural credit
- Coop movement was started in 1951 to help the farmers
Primary Agricultural Coop Society (PACS) or PACB : Made spectacular progress in TN, AP, Karnataka,
Punjab, HP & poor in WB, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan
- Village Adoption Scheme implemented by SBI
- Now new strategy for rural credit is Service Area Approach (April 1, 1989)

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RRB set up in October 2, 1975 in UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, WB (4 states initially) to give direct loan and
advance to small and marginal farmers, agricultural labours & rural artisans
o Authorized capital is Rs 1 crore
o Share capital = GOI 50 % + State Govt 15 % + Commercial banks 35 %
o Sponsoring commercial banks are SBI, Punjab national bank, Syndicate bank, United
commercial bnak, United bank of India (5 banks only)
o Lending rate should not be higher than the lending rate of state coop bank
o Refinancing facilities through NABARD
o Activities are evaluated by Narasimhan committee & they given some recommendation
to improve the activities
- TACCAVI loan to farmers by Govt. at emergency or in distress (famine, flood)
- Commercial banks financing PACB from 1970
Land Development Bank (two tier system) - mainly loan for minor irrigation projects
o Central LDB State level
o Primary LDB / Land Mortgage Bank District level
Agriculture credit flow : RBI + GOI › NABARD (national level) › State coop bank (state level) › Central
coop bank (district level) › PACB (village level)
- Agricultural Credit Review Committee headed by A.M. Khusro recommended for crop insurance
scheme in 1985
Rural indebtedness : Farmers borrowing year by year. But he is not in a position to clear off the loans due
to low agricultural output. So debt is increasing
Role of financial institutions
Two main categories of banks in the country : Commercial bank + Cooperative bank
4 classes of commercial banks : Public sector, Private sector, Foreign bank, RRB
Specialized branches of commercial banks
Agricultural development branch SBI
Gramodaya Kendra Indian bank
Grama vikas Kendra Bank of Baroda
Rural credit and development IOB
Farm clinic centres Syndicate bank
Rural service centres Dena bank
Village adoption scheme was first conceived by SBI
Lead bank in each district suggested by Narasiman committee
Service area approach started in 1989
A branch of bank can finance 10 Primary Coop Credit Societies
Repayment period : Short term loan 15 months, Medium term loan 5 years & Long term loan 15 years
Repaying capacity of a borrower is decided on the basis of net income
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Tractor and implements cover under medium term loan

Major source of finance in village : Village coop society
Loan for agri graduates for agro service centre : Rs 2 lakhs (now 10 lakhs)
The agro service centre scheme was introduced in 1971
Pandyan Grama Bank sponsored by : IOB
First Land Mortgage Bank was started in Madras by 1929 (SLDB)
Oldest nationalized bank - Allahabad bank (biggest - Central Bank of India)
In first decade of nationalization, nos. of rural branches increased from 2 % to 43.5 %
Time limit for financing seasonal operation is 15 months (short term loan)
For crop loan no cash margin is stipulated (Loan in the form of partly in cash + partly in kind)
For dairy loan 33.3 % of total loan amount should be paid as cash margin
State coop bank get loan in max amount from RBI
Marketing and Trading

Agricultural markets
Local market Buyers and Sellers in small area
National market Turmeric market at Kolkatha
World market Tea market at London
Market structure
Monopoly No competition / only one seller is there
Duopoly The market situation in which only two buyers is there
Oligopoly Competition among few
Monopolistic Competition among many
Perfect competition Competition among large
Monopsony Only one buyer (coffee board) / there is only buyer of a product
Oligopsony Few buyer / a market having more than two buyers
Monopsonistic Fairly large
 Buyer‟s market : A place where supply exceeds the demand
 Elastic demand : A small change in price lead to a great change in demand. Change in price is 1 % and
change in demand more than 1 %
 Proportionate elasticity of demand : Change in price is 1 % and change in demand also 1 %
 Trade : Produce can be taken beyond national boundary
MSR : Marketable Surplus Ration

It is derived from cost of cultivation data
Sugarcane comes at top with marketed surplus
Calculated by Directorate of Economics and Statistics

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Marketing complex (TN)

Paddy marketing complex Madurai & Kaveripattinam (Krishnagiri)
Turmeric marketing complex Erode
Mango marketing complex Krishnagiri
Onion marketing complex Coimbatore
Cold storage unit for grapes Odaipatti (Theni district)
Terminal markets in Tamilnadu : Chennai, Coimbatore & Madurai
Main function : Processing, storage and marketing of fruits & vegetables
Agri Export Zone in Tamilnadu
AEZ for cut flowers Hosur
AEZ for flowers Ooty
AEZ for Cashew Cuddalore
AEZ for Mango Theni (It covers 5 district - KK, Nellai, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Dindigul)
Regulated market : Under Agricultural Produce Market Regulation Act (APMRA) of State Govt
- To ensures fair and remunerative prices for the producers
- To reduce the market charges
- It is administrated by market committee (it fixes market charges)
- It is generating income for the marketing board
- RM is more in Punjab, Haryana
- No RM in J & K, Mizoram
- Secret tender system is followed for sale of produce
Essential Commodity Act (1955) by Central Govt.
- All agricultural commodities are essential commodities
Innovative marketing mechanism : direct sale of farm produce to consumer
Ex. Uzhavar sandhai (cHth] re]ij) in Tamilnadu
Tamil Nadu : 23s nos of district level market committee, 39 crops notified, 273 regulated markets
Cooperative marketing
ONE VILLAGE, ONE SOCIETY - Suggested by Mac Lagen Committee
 To give credit and marketing the surplus produce of the farmers
 Very successful in Denmark
 Food Corporation of India buy the food grains from coop marketing
 Rural Godown : Which is 100 tonnes capacity (under coop sector)
 Structure : NAFED (national level) › Coop marketing federation (State) › Central marketing
society (District) › Primary marketing society (Village level)
 IFFCO - Coop organization of largest producer and marketer of fertilizer (New Delhi)
 LAMP Coop society for Tribal
 Cooperative society give max amount of loan to the farmers
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 Maxi long term coop credit was given in Tamilnadu

 Maxi short term coop credit was given in Kerala
Tamilnadu : 3 tier structure of coop marketing societies
State level marketing federation → District marketing societies → Primary Coop Marketing Societies
NAFED (1958) : National Agricultural Coop Marketing Federation
- Apex organization for marketing coop societies at the national level
- It deals procurement, distribution, export and import
- It promotes inter state export
- It exports onion, pulses, chillies, ginger, garlic, cardamom, groundnut, potatoes to many countries
TANFED : Tamilnadu Agricultural Coop Marketing Federation
APEDA : Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority
Cut flowers, rice, pulse and spices are exported through APEDA
Onion is exported through NAFED
AGMARK : Agricultural Marketing. It is grading 123 agricultural produces (Ex. Honey, ghee, etc.,)
- Central Agmark Lab : at Nagpur
- Regional Labs : Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatha
- Agricultural produce (Grading & Marketing) Act : commonly known as Agmark
- Under the Ministry of Rural Development
Agmark net : Run by Directorate of Marketing and Inspection
The information covers
 Rice, Pulse, Edible oil
 Wheat floor, Rava, Maidha, Sago, Masala items
 Ghee, Honey
 Egg, Potato, Seedless tamarind, Sugar
 Oil cakes
Market gardening : The cultivation of high value vegetables, flowers in sub urban areas and harvested
produces are supplied to near by cities.
Commission for Agricultural cost and prices (CACP)

Agricultural Prices Commission 1965
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices 1985
 To fix price policy of agricultural commodities
 Providing incentive to the produces to step up production
 Announcement of Minimum Support Prices (1965) for major food grains well in advance of the
sowing season
 CACP advices the Central Govt. on MSP for various crops based on cost of cultivation of crops
 MSP announced for 24 commodities
 Mainly to adopt new HYV of wheat and rice during green revolution period
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 Fixation of procurement prices (It is generally greater than minimum support prices and lesser
than market price)
 Running a public distribution system
 Building up buffer stocks
 Statutory Minimum price for sugarcane (Guaranteed prices have been implemented for sugarcane
by according Statutory status of MSP, under which sugar factories have to pay the price
recommended by the Govt.)
 Minimum support price for Pulses fixed by NAFED
 Support price : To provide the farmer with a minimum remunerative price for his produce
 The agricultural price commission approves and appreciates the payments of bonus over and
above the procurement prices
Agricultural prices
Minimum support price : Govt. announces before sowing. It is fixed based on the cost of production.
This is nothing but 80 % of the cost.
Procurement price : Govt. announces before harvesting. It is higher than min support price and lower than
prevailing market price. In that price Govt. procures surplus grain from the farmers. It is recommended by
CACP and it is based on the estimated size of the harvest of the particular crop.
CCPC : Cost of cultivation of principal crops (1970). The scheme implemented through out the country.
Study is conducted by CACP
Cost of cultivation of major crops (Rs. per ac)
Sugarcane 25000 Groundnut (Irrigated) 7000
Cotton 10000 Pulse (Irrigated) 6000
Paddy 8000 Pulse (Rainfed) 4000
Govt. procurement
Cotton through Cotton Corporation of India
Jute through Jute Corporation of India
Pulse, Oilseed through NAFED
Rice through Food Corporation of India
Central Warehousing Corporation (1957)
- Warehouse receipts provided to farmers & traders is used to get credit from commercial banks
- It store food grains and other inputs and implements
Food Corporation of India (1965)
It maintains 1. Buffer stock : for food security and price stability
2. Operational stock : for public distribution system, food for work scheme, mid day meal, Annapoorna
State Trading Corporation (1957) : Main function is to identify the demands for various commodities
exported from India
Office is located both in India & other countries
It undertake market studies for various products

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Foreign Trade : Through State Trading Corporation (STC & APEDA)

Farm management
 Indian farming is semi commercialized : Produce for market and family requirement
 Strategic decision : Involve heavy investment and are permanent nature
 Operational decision : Related to day to day farm management problems
 Continuous production function : Inputs are divisible into very small units (Split application of
fertilizers)
 Discontinuous production function : Inputs not divisible (Tractor)
 Fixed cost : Includes depreciation, interest on fixed investments etc.,
 Marginal cost : The amount added to total cost for producing an additional unit of output (change
in production / change in cost)
 The cropping intensity of 200 % indicates better utilization of land. It depends on the water
available for cultivation. In dry lands it is only 100 %
Export and import

 India emerged as a major exporter of basmathi and non basmathi rice
 Export profits are exempt from Income Tax
 Open General License (OGL) : List of import items liberalized under OGL
 APEDA : Agricultural and processed food products export development authority (ministry of
commerce) 1986
 GATT changed to WTO on January 01, 1995
 India exports superior quality pulse and import much larger quantity of average and low grade pulses
 Export of cotton lint is highest in 990-91
 Biggest item of agricultural import is Vegetable oil
Agricultural policies
 Indian national agricultural policy or Pre Green Revolution period - 1965 (mid 1960s)
 New agricultural policy (2000) : Aim is to attain growth rate in excess of 4 % per annum
 New Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (TN) 2002 : It support to set up Agribusiness unit under this
programme
 Set up Agriclinics and Agribusiness Centres either as individual or a group of five (4 agrl and
allied graduates + 1 management graduate) with a max loan of Rs. 10 lakhs for individual and Rs
50 lakhs for a group of five.
 Agriclinic target is 5000 per year
 Indirect tax : Excise, Customs, Sales tax, Wealth tax
Agricultural business
 Single proprietorships : One level of taxation
 Partnerships or Corporate sector : Double taxation

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 Limited companies : Taxes paid on individual income
Model questions
 SFDA (Small Farmers Development Agency) : It should cover 50000 farmers. It formed on the
recommendation of All India Rural Review Committee headed by KN. Raj
 MFAL (Marginal Farmers Agricultural laborers) : It covers 20000 MF & AL
 Engel‟s ratio : The ratio of food expenditure to the total expenditure
 Engel’s ratio : Act of buying and selling
 Coop joint farming & Coop better farming : Cultivator has ownership right over the land
 Peasant farming : The owner of the land is Farmer
 Bhoodan movement was started at Pohampalli (AP)
 Subsidies : To promote purchasing power of farmers
 Agricultural labour : Those having a house and deriving 50 % of their wage from agriculture
 Wealth of nation : Water in the river
 Largest producer of food grain in India : UP (Wheat - Punjab)
 DANIDA : Danish International Development Agency
 Zamabandi : A record of name of the owner and field number
 In crop production 25 to 30 % of total cost of production goes to labour investment
 Arable land = Gross cropped area – Net area sown
 Zamindari system : Land revenue collected by land lords
 Ryotwari system : Land revenue charged directly from the farmers
 Mahalwari system : Land revenue collected by village panchayats
 Taccavi loans is given by Government
 Adopted village : Should be with the radius of 10 miles
 Complementary enterprise : Crop farming + Milk production (LS farming)
 Each marginal farmer will get a subsidy of 33.3 % to the investment cost
 Subsidy for bio gas plant (given by union ministry of agriculture) : 25 %
 The chief drought prone region : West of Aravalli (Rajasthan)
 The state has abolished land revenue : Andhra Pradesh
 The most striking difference between village and town is Population
 The crop period : 1st July to 30th June

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AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATIONS
Govt. declared : Fertilizer whether inorganic, organic or mixed as an essential commodity
Fertilizer (Control) Order : 1957 & 1985
Fertilizer (Movement Control) Order (FMCO) : 1960 & 1973
 Low analysis nitrogenous fertilizers namely ammonium sulphate, ammonium chloride, CAN & all
phosphatic, pottasic and micronutrients are outside the preview of FMCO
 Urea, Zincated urea, Unhydrous ammona and mixture of fertilizers are subject to FMCO
Seed Act 1966
Seed Rules 1968
Seed (Control) Order 1983 - according to this order, Seed as an essential commodity
Seed Bill 2004 - Compulsory registration of varieties
- Regulate genetically modified crops
- Ban on Terminator seed
Insecticide Act 1968
Insecticide Rules 1971 - Registration of Pesticides → Central Govt
- Licensing for manufacturing, sale, distribution → State Govt & UT
- 2 Regional Pesticide Testing Labs at Kanpur & Chandigarh
The Destructive Insects and Pests Act 1914
- Against entry of pest & diseases from other countries and state to state
Plant Quarantine Order 2003

Protection of plant varieties and farmers Right Act 2001
Minimum Wages Act 1948
Kisan Credit Card 1991 - recommended by Narasimhan committee
Multi State Cooperative Societies Act 2002
Warehousing Corporation Act 1962
RBI 1935
Regional Rural Bank 1976
NABARD 1982
 Export of fresh fruits and vegetables : Produce are inspected and certified by Directorate of
Marketing and Inspection, New Delhi
 International Pest : Locust

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INFORMATICS IN AGRICULTURE
Recent concepts
Rainbow Revolution in Agriculture
Biotechnological Revolution
KMS : Knowledge Management System
National Agricultural Research System (NARS) : It consists of
National Research Centres (NRC)
Project Directorates
National Bureaus
State Agricultural Universities (SAU)
Central Agricultural University (Imphale, Manipur - multi state)
Deemed Universities (IARI, NDRI, IVRI, Allahabad Agricultural Institute)
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK)
Agricultural Technology Information Centres (ATIC)
AGMARKNET : Agricultural Marketing Information System Network
It provides daily prices of agricultural commodities in various markets
The farmers can decide where to sell his produce
ARISNet : Agricultural Research Information System Network
ARIS was initiated in 1995 by ICAR to support planning and management of agricultural research
and education
Village Knowledge Centre (1998) : Project implemented by MSSRF in Pondycherry
National Virtual Academy : Collaborated project of MSSRF + TATA + IGNOU
Geoinformatics : It includes
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Remote Sensing (RS)
Indian Communication Technology
Geoinformatics used in Precision Farming in 3 aspects
1. Data collection or Information input
2. Analysis or Processing of information
3. Recommendation or Application of information
The precision farming includes "site specific crop management"
Bioinformatics
It consists of Computer science + Information Technology + Biology
Application in agriculture (recent developments)
Hybrid machine model in rice against rice blast fungi

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Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) in plant breeding

AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
SOIL AND MOISTURE CONSERVATION
Erosion
Soil erosion process : Detachment of soil particle ► Seperation ►Transpotation ► Deposition
Soil washes in rainy season and Soil blow in dry season
Fertility losses by erosion is 20 times greater than crop removal
Sand particles are easily detachable
Clay particles are easily transportable
Fine particles block the soil pores and reduces infiltration rate (So, run off increased)
Runoff depends on : Rainfall, soil type, topography, vegetation
Quick growing tress reduce run off and increase infiltration rate
Shallow rooted tress reduce transpiration loss
Runoff % Forest cover 1 % Grass land 27 % Barren land 125 %
Soil loss 1 ton per ac 32 ton per ac 800 ton per ac
Water erosion
 The main role of falling rain drops is to detach the soil particles called "Splash"
 Splash erosion : Upward, Down ward and Side ward movement of soil particles
 Sheet erosion is the first stage of water erosion
 Rill - do not pose any obstruction to farm machinery
 Gully - obstruct the operation of farm machinery
 Rill is mini gullies
 Gully is developed rills
 Universal soil loss equation : A = RKLSCP Where K is soil erodibility (constant factor)
 Erosion = f (erosivity) X (erodibility)
o Erosivity : Ability of rain to cause erosion
o Erodibility : Vulnerability of soil to erosion, it depends on inherent characters of the soil
(physical, chemical, mechanical properties of soil)
 loss of fertile top soil – India 16.3 ton per ha per yr (permissible limit is 11 ton)
 conservation tillage (min & zero tillage) reduces soil loss by 50 % over conventional tillage
Land / Soil capability classes : based on the intensity of erosion, there are 8 classes
 class I to IV are suitable for cultivation (arable land - private)
 class V to VIII are not suitable for cultivation, suitable for grasses, tress (non arable land - community)
o class I : Green - soil have very few or no limitation for cultivation (it has no sub class)
o class II : Yellow - some limitations (slight)
o class III : Red - moderate limitations

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o class IV : Blue - severe limitations

o class V : Dark green or uncoloured - little or no erosion hazard, used for pasture, forestry,
wild life (grass, tress)
o class VI : Orange - very severe limitation
o class VII : Brown - very severe limitation
o class VIII : Purple - only for wild life, recreations
Soil conservation measures
Vettiver and Lemon grass are vegetative barriers to conserve soil
Contour bunding : slope upto 6 % and rain fall of 600 mm/year
It is failure in deep block soil
Bottom width 200-400 cm, top width 45 cm, Bund height 90 cm, Buns slop 1 : 1.5 ratio
Graded bunding or Channel terraces : rainfall more than 600 mm/year
Contour trenching : are discontinuous trenches (along contours)
Graded trenches : slope 10 to 15 %
Terracing : Formation of platforms or benches by leveling of hilly areas
Bench terracing : Slope 16 to 35 %, red and lateritic soil
The length should not exceed 500 m (1600 feet)
The economical width for agricultural operation is 3 meter
a. Drainage type the Channel for drainage is necessary
b. Absorptive type the ridges is necessary
 Terracing with outward slop for low rainfall areas (less than 750 mm)
 Terracing with inward slop for high rainfall areas (more than 750 mm)
 Level terrace or table type for medium rainfall areas (750 mm)
Zing terracing : length of field is divided into donor area and receiving area in the ratio of 2:1
- Donor area is not leveled but the lower receiving area is leveled and provided with bunds. It is
called as zing terracing
Grassed water ways : are drainage channels / suitable perennial grass which is not edible for cattle, deep
rooted and spreading type
Wind erosion
Commonly occurs in arid and semi arid regions
It depends on velocity and duration of wind, wind direction and turbulence
Favourable conditions
Soil particle size 0.05-0.15 mm dia
Wind velocity 12-14 kmph at 15 cm height
Suspension : floating of fine dust particles (Particle size < 0.1 mm dia, dust cloud formed)
Saltation : jumping of particles (Particle size 0.05-0.5 mm dia, > 50 % soil loss)
Surface creep : rolling of coarse grains (Particle size > 0.8 mm dia, Course grains, 5-25 % soil loss)

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In Surface creep and Saltation, soils moved are remains within the eroded area, especially when
winds are from different directions
Erosion control measures
Shelter belt : Several rows of trees and shrubs
Width 15-30 m
Length - 24 times the height
Taller tree should be planted in centre and shorter trees should be on both sides
26 % perforation of wind should be there
Wind break : Even single row of one species
Soil conserving crops : Alfalfa, Clover, Grasses
Soil Building crop : Grasses
Erosion resisting crops : Groundnut, Grasses, Horse gram
Artificial mulch : Bitumen product can be used
Contour stone wall for the land with slop of 10 %
Contour terracing for the land with slop of more than 10 %
Strip cropping types
Contour strip for sloppy land
Field strip for plains
Wind strip for wind direction based cropping system
Buffer strip for steep sloppy land (Grasses and legumes are planted in between crop strips)
Mulching types
Dry soil mulch Stirring the surface soil & apply mulching materials
Vertical mulch Open trench across slop & fill with crop residues
Stubble mulch Leave crop residues after harvesting of economic parts
WATER HARVESTING
 Water harvesting : to collect runoff in small storage structures
 in situ water conservation : enhancing infiltration of rain water to fill up soil pores
In arid regions
- Runoff farming : water collected in large areas are irrigated to few fields
- Micro catchment : catchment with around 16 m2 area surrounded by dirt wall of 15 to 20 cm, in
the centre of which a basin of 40 cm deep is dug and a tree is planted in it. The basin stores run off
from the catchment
- Water spreading : diversion of flood water to adjacent plans
In semi arid regions
- Dug well / tanks / farm ponds / percolation ponds
- Inter row water harvesting : growing maize in ridges and rice in furrows
- Broad Bed Furrow system : suitable for black soil
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WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
Contour farming : Ploughing, planting and cultivation along contour line / across the slope, it is effective
only in land with low slopes
Run off farming : harvesting of run off and storing it in a farm pond for future use
Agro forestry = Crop + Tree
NWDPRA = National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (1986), it covering 3000 to 5000
ha in each block
Hanumantha Rao Committee recommendation for better technology adoption is Peoples participation +
involvement of NGOs
Since 1 April 2003, the Ministry of Rural Development further improved implementation of the watershed
programme through Panchayat Raj under the name Hariyali
It cover 2000 to 3000 ha per block
Micro watershed covers 50 ha
DPAP covers 500 ha
LEISA = Less External Input - Sustainable Agriculture
ENERGY IN AGRICULTURE
 60 % of electricity in India comes from coal based thermal power station
 77 % of lignite comes from TN
 Hydropower constitute the cheapest source of electricity in India
 Uranium production is in Jaduguda of Bihar (uranium 238 is derived from thorium after
irradiation in nuclear reactor)
 Thorium is principally obtained from monazite (in TN, Melur taluk of Madurai)
 Thorium → Uranium → Energy
 Asia‟s first solar pond project at Kutch dt of Gujarat
 Asia‟s first wind mill project at Mandavi of Kutch dt of Gujarat
o TN has wind power projects in 12 locations
o Ideal wind speed for wind mill is 8.23 meter per second
 Asia‟s first tidal power project at Kandla of Gujarat
 Energy plantation : growing of selected species of trees and shrubs for fuel and firewood
 Energy cropping : growing of sugar and starch containing crops / it can offer a good supplement to
meet the increasing alcohol needs of the country
 One HP = 75 kg per meter per second
 The vertical distance from pump to water surface should not exceed 7.5 m
 Electric motor may use about 0.88 units of electricity per HP per hr
 The estimated useful life of an electric motor is 25 years
 Static head : vertical distance from the suction water level to discharge level

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Pyrolysis : is a process in which organisms are heated in the absence of air (Pyrolysis of wood to yield charcoal)
Gobar gas plant : Bio gas = 55 % methane + 45 % CO2
Anaerobic decomposition of cellulose & hemicellulose by methanogenic bacteria produce biogas
Popular designs : 1. Floating metallic type 2. Fixed dome (Janata) type
2 m2 capacity : need 3 animals for feeding
25 % subsidy given by Union ministry of agriculture
One kg dung produce 35 litre of gas
To cook one man meal (janata meal) - need 5 kg of gas
It is not economic to establish even the smallest size of gobar gas plant unless fresh dung of 30 kg
is available every day
To feed even a smallest size of biogas plant a min of 6 - 8 cattles are required
Full gas production at 20o C and no production at 10o C
To operate 1 HP engine for 1 hr - need 425 liters of gobar gas
Eligibility for tractor loan :
Farmer having productive work for 1000 hr / yr
Security deposit - Rs 500
Name registered in the joint names of the bank and farmers
Economic life of tractor is 10 years
Large number of tractor : in UP followed by MP, Punjab, Haryana
Tractor intensity : high in Punjab (14 ha per tractor) followed by Haryana, UP
Tractive Power = Tractor + Power tiller
Hindustan - first manufactured tractor in India
Eicher - first tractor plant in India
Eicher tractor has air cooled engine
Irrigation operation - requires max non biological power
GOOD EARTH - trade name of diesel tiller
Normal consumption of fuel by a 35 HP tractor per hour is 3 litres
Required time to plough 1 ac with 35 HP tractor - 1¼ hours (75 minutes)
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
 Draught : the power applied to overcome the resistance offered by the soil to the implements
which pass through it
 Desi plough or country plough or Bose plough or melur plough
 Wet land puddler : coverage 2 ac per day
 Cage wheel : average depth of puddle obtained is 23 cm
 Junior hoe : It is not only used as a cultivator but also as an inter cultivator for crops like
sugarcane, cotton

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o Primarily designed for loosening the soil and uprooting weeds between row crops
 Harrows types : Guntakas / spike tooth harrow or zig zag harrow / disc harrow
 Ridge plough coverage 1 ha per day
 Bund former : to form temporary bunds across the field to conserve moisture, water, soil from erosion
Implement for primary tillage : Country plough, Bose plough, Disc plough, Mould board plough
For secondary tillage : Cultivator, Tillers, Harrows, Junior hoe (Inter cultivating harrow)
Leveling implements : Buck scraper, Leveling board
For special operation : Bund former, Ridge plough, Bed furrow former, Rotovator, Chisel plough, Sub soiler
FARM MACHINERY
- Improved iron plough : Bullock drawn, covers 0.5 ha/day
- Low draft chisel plough : Tractor drawn, coverage 1.4 ha/day
- Broadcaster : Broadcasting seed and granular fertilizer, coverage 4.0 ha/day
- Broad bed former cum seed planter : Tractor drawn, coverage 3.0 ha/day
- Direct paddy seeder for wet land (Drum seeder) : Sow pre germinated seeds, coverage 0.4 ha/day,
two labour
- Paddy transplanter : Transplant mat type paddy seedlings, manually operated, two labour,
coverage 0.25 ha/day
- Paddy harvester : Harvesting and winnowing non lodging variety, coverage 1.0 ha/day
- Groundnut decorticator (Hand operated) : Shell 100 kg groundnut per hr
- Groundnut decorticator (Power operated) : Shell 400 kg groundnut per hr
- Dry land weeder covers ½ ac per day
Raspbar type paddy thresher : Popular in Tamilnadu, AP, Karnataka and Kerala
Less breakage to stem (straw)
Straw can be better use
Controlled droplet application automizer : It is a sprayer requires less than 15 lit per ha of spray mixture
The "Till Plant Machine" is minimum tillage equipment capable of Ploughing, sowing and applying
fertilizer without prior preparation of seed bed.
Machinery Coverage per day
Mould board plough 1 ac
Wooden plough 1 ac
Cultivator (Tiller) 1.5 to 2.0 ac
Rotavator 4 to 5 ac
Bullock drawn puddler 1.0 to 1.5 ac
Manually operated sprayer 0.15 to 0.20 ha per hr
Power sprayer 0.25 ha per hr
Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering : Bhopal (MP)

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CRIDA (Central Res. Insti. Dryland Agriculture : Hyderabad (it develop dryland equipments)
Water loss through seepage in earth accounts for 25 %
Length of the surveyor chain is 66 ft
The average velocity of water in an earthen channel should be below 90 cm/sec. Otherwise it will cut
its own banks and take a new course
Pressure head required to operate sprinkler system is 30 metres
Sprinkler irrigation save 35 % of water
Sixth plan (1980-85) : priority for irrigation projects
POST HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES

Post harvest losses
1. Durables (cereals, pulses, oilseeds) : 10 %
2. Semi Perishables (potato, onion, tapioca) : 15 %
3. Perishables (fruits, vegetables, spices) : 20 %
Fortification : Ex. Vitamines or Lysine (amino acid) enriched bread
Detoxification : Removal of Aflatoxin, gossypol, glucocinolate, haemoglutinin from oilseeds
Rice Husk : Used for manufacturing ashmoh cement and in solar cells and transistor due to its high silicon content
Rice bran oil : It contain lipase enzyme, which rapidly reduce oil quality through development of free fatty acids
Wheat : Protein is Glutenin. The indigestible part is cellulose
Soyabean : It contains protein, oil and lecithin (Blanching : removal of some anti nutritional factors)
Preservation of fruits & vegetables
1. Pasteurization : at temperature below 100o C
2. Sterilization : at temperature above 100 o C
Papaya : Tutti Fruitti are produced from the papaya (use in bakery and confectionary).
The Papain and Pectin also produced from papaya fruits
Potato : It is a perennial herb. Its fibrous roots and rhizomes become swollen at the tip (it is called tuber)
Nutmeg and Mace are two spices of the same tree
Nutmeg : Seed
Mace : It is an arial, surrounded the seeds (flesh)
Sugarcane : contain 12-15 % sugar (sucrose, glucose and fructose)
Honey : during winter (cool temp) season, glucose separates out in crystalline form

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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Two main sources of water pollutant
1. Point : waste water discharge from manufacturing plants
2. Non point : sediments, pesticides, nitrates entering surface water due to surface run off from
agricultural farms
 Where fertilizer application is high, irrigations are frequent, soil texture is sandy and water table is also
shallow
 Maximum permissible limit of pollutants in water : Chlorides 600 mg/li, Sodium 60 %
 Methaemoglobinemia : consumption of high nitrate through drinking water and food
 Minamata disease : ingestion of fish contaminated with methyl mercury compounds (by mercury
pesticides)
 Itai - itai disease : due to cadmium
 Bio remediation : microbes are generally useful for assisting in reclamation of sites with heavy metal
problem
 Phyto remediation : higher terrestrial plants used for reclamation
 Plants remove or degrade only small amount of contaminants in each growing season
Pesticide residues : persistence of chemicals in soil
o Non persistent : half life is 1-2 weeks (2,4 D, Diquate)
o Slightly persistent : half life is 2-6 weeks (Dalapon)
o Moderately persistent : half life is upto 6 months (Atrazine, Basalin)
o Highly persistent : half life is above 6 months (endosulfan, DDT)
 Abscission : Dropping of leaves because of formation of abscissic acid at leaf base
 Epinasty & Hyponasty : Down and upward curvature of leaves mainly due to excess growth on upper
(leaf tip) and lower (leaf base) leaf surface respectively
 Green house gas : CO2, methane, nitrous oxide
o They are trap the outgoing infrared radiation from the earth's surface and thus raise the
temperature
 FACE : Free Air CO2 Enrichment Technology
 Info Crop : one such model developed at IARI, New Delhi to estimating the impact of climatic
variability and climate change
 World agriculture contributes 4 % of total global CO2 emissions
 Soil is contributes 65 % of the total nitrous oxide emission
 Bio fuel : Produced from the plant carbohydrates after enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation (in the
form of alcohol)
o Sugarcane being rich in ligno cellulose (has highest ethanol potential of 12000 li / ha)
 Bio diesel : Which consist of the fatty acid esters of simple alcohols (Jatropha is unique plant -
Euphorbiaceae family)

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 Anthropogenic : Man made pollution

 National Forest Policy : 1952 (Target is 33 % forest) - 80 % in hills + 20 % in plains
 Shifting cultivation is maximum in Orissa, AP, MP, Bihar, Assam
 Kumari or Taungya cultivation : Tribes are raising agricultural crops + Forest crops
Watershed management practices are taken up
The tribes are called as Kumaridhar

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BIOTECHNOLOGY IN CROP IMPROVEMENT
Micro propagation is first devised for Orchids

Biotech labs
IARI : Lal Bahadur Shastri Centre for Advanced Research in Biotechnology (IARI campus, New Delhi)
DBT : created in 1986 under ministry of S & T
NBPGR : New Delhi (Germplasm conservation of root, tuber & tree species)
Germplasm are materials, clean source of Nucleus Seed
Plant biotechnology : The basic techniques are 1) Tissue culture 2) Genetic Engineering
Totipotency : The capacity of cell to produce a new individual
1. Tissue culture
 Cultivation of plant organs (tissue or cells) in test tubes on artificial media. It also called as in -
vitro techniques
 Organogenesis : Production of roots, shoots etc., from cells
 Totipotency : Ability of plant cell to develop into a complete plant
 Explant sterilization is done with 0.1 % Mercuric Chloride solution
 Surface sterilization is done with 2 % Na solution or Ca hypochlorite
 Nutrient medium or culture medium : Growth regulators auxins (2,4 D) or kinins (kinetin) + coconut water
+ HCl (for adjusting pH of 5.5) + solidifying agent (agar). The commonly used medium is MS medium &
B 5 medium.
 Callus : Unorganized mass
 Sub culturing : A portion of tissue is used to inoculate new culture tubes
 National tissue culture facility is available at Pune
Tissue culture plants : Banana, Rose, Sugarcane, Black pepper, Papaya, Neem, Citrus, Ginger,
Pomegranate, Vegetables
Classification of tissue culture techniques : based on plant parts used as explant

a) Embryo culture : The young embryos are removed from developed seeds and kept in nutrient
medium. Because, the seeds have lack of stored food.
 Here the dormancy of seed can be eliminated.
 This technique is used for propagation of orchids.
b) Meristem culture : Cultivation of axillary or apical meristem to produce a plant.
 The higher cytokinin in the medium enhances auxiliary branching.
 It is used for Germplasm conservation
 Meristem should be preserved in liquid nitrogen at - 196o C is called Cryo Preservation
 Cryo Preservation : The preservation of cells, tissues and organs in liquid nitrogen (Cryobiology)
 Meristematic cells survive better in cryo preservation
 Thawing : frozen materials are soaked in water at 37 to 40o C

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 Cryo protectant : The substance added to culture medium to protect the cell from injury & it
prevents the formation of larger ice crystals in cell. DMSO is commonly used protectants
 First commercially successful method of tissue culture is meristem culture
c) Anther or Pollen culture : Maheswari - developed haploid plants from pollen culture in datura
d) Tissue and Cell culture : Regeneration of whole plants from plant tissue and cells
2. Genetic Engineering
 Genetic engineering is mainly used to produce transgenic plants
Bio Transformation : Conversion of less useful compounds into a more useful ones through microbes
Genetic Transformation process : Cauliflower mosaic virus (CauliMo virus) » Plasmids (Ti & Ri
Plasmids of Agrobacteriam) as the carrier of genes for genetic modification » Transgenic plants are
produced
 Caulimo virus (cauliflower mosaic) and Gemini virus (wheat dwarf virus) are used as vector
 Ti (tumour inducing) & Ri (root inducing) plasmids of Agrobacterium used as vector for gene transfer
Cybrid or Cytoplasmic hybrid : Hybrids are produced by fusion of cytoplast
 Cybrid cells containing nucleus of one species but cytoplasm from both the parents
 This technique is used to transfer cytoplasmic male sterility from one plant to another
Somatic Hybridization : Hybrids are produced by fusion of protoplasts (naked cells without cell wall) of
two different plant species. Hybrid plants is called somatic hybrids
 PEG (poly ethylene glycol) induce protoplast fusion & DNA uptake
 Fusogen : Fusion inducing agent
 Distant somatic hybrids (Potato + Tomato = Pomato)
 Asymmetric hybrids : Tobacco + Carrot = Tobacarrot
Somatic chromosome numbers of crop plants
80 Sugarcane 40 Groundnut, Soyabean
36 Ragi 34 Sunflower
32 Coconut, Cowpea 28 Wheat
24 Rice, Red gram 22 Blackgram, Greengram
20 Maize, Sorghum 14 Cumbu
Transgenic crops
 The first transgenic plant, Flavr Saur TM (Tomato) for delay ripening, was released for
commercial cultivation in 1994
 The first insect resistance in Cotton was developed by Monsanto company in the world (Bt cotton)
 Transgenic Cotton hybrid (Bt cotton) developed by MAHYCO and released for commercial
cultivation in India. They are the product of Back Cross Breeding Programme.
 Transfer of Bt 2 bacterial gene into cotton plant achieved through tissue culture and Genetic
engineering (using Ti plasmid as vector)

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 This bacteria (Bt2) produce crystal protein during sporulation which is toxic to most of
Lepidopteron, many of Coleopteran and several Dipteran insects
 Transgenic Rice : It is developed for higher ß Carotene (Pro vitamin A). This ß Carotene is a
precursor of vitamin A and it is naturally present in fruits and vegetables.
Ex. Golden Rice : Developed through Back crossing & Direct transformation
 Iron rich transgenic Rice : developed for iron deficiency (Ferritin gene from Phaseolus vulgaris to rice)
 Rice transgenic expressing human milk protein like lactoferrin, lysozyme & α antitrypsin also has
been developed.
 Transgenic Maize : Opaque 2 gene transferred for higher Lysine & Tryptophan content
 Transgenic Potato : The seed Albumin gene (Am A1) isolated from Amaranthus hypochondriacus
and engineered in potato (Albumin is a protein)
 Transgenic Potato developed for expression of Cholera
 Transgenic Tobacco developed for expression of Hepatitis B (HBs Ag)
Application in plant breeding

 Molecular marker (DNA marker) for genome mapping
 Gene tagging
 Marker Assisted Selection (MAS)
Use of molecular marker
 Construction of genome mapping
 Gene mapping and Tagging
 MAS
 Characterization of Germplasm resources
Soil algae is grouped into 3 types
Blue green algae
Yellow green algae
Diatoms
Nitrogen fixation by biofertilizer is a Bio chemical process
Atmospheric N + H ion (Soil) ► Ammonia (NH4)
First isolated enzyme : DNA Polimerase isolated from E. coli by the scientist Kornberg
Ribosome : A site of protein synthesis in Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic cells)
Karyotype : Morphological character of chromosome
Ideogram : Diagrammatic representation of karyotype
DNA synthesis takes place in interphase of cell division
DNA ► m RNA ► Protein synthesis
Transcription Translation
Genetic code : Code for amino acids

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Bacteria types
Autotrophic
Photosynthetic Purple Sulphur bacteria (Does not use H2O for H2. It use Hydrogen sulphid)
Chemosynthetic Iron bacteria
Heterotrophic
Saprophytic
Fermentation It breakdowns carbohydrates
Putrefaction It breakdowns protein (Bacillus)
Parasitic (Living organism) Ex. Xanthomonas, vibrio
Symbiotic Rhizobium

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HORTICULTURE
 Blanching : Heating of a fruit or vegetables in boiling water or steam to inactivate enzymes

 Bolting : Physiological process by which plants produce a flower or seed then die before the end
of the season (during unfavorable condition) Ex. Premature production of seeds in onion
 Corm : Underground stem
 Cotyledon : Embryonic leaves, food storing and photosynthetic structure
 Cuticle are present on leaves and fruits (it reduce moisture loss)
 Imperfect or Incomplete flower : Flowers lacking one or more of the four floral parts
 Indehiscent fruit : Dry fruit and fruit wall does not split (Dehiscent - split)
 Juvenile stage : The plant vegetative stage of growth, during which carbohydrate utilization is more
 Net photosynthesis = Gross photosynthesis – Respiration
 Net photosynthesis is determined by measuring net CO2 uptake
 Peduncle : The sort stem of the flower cluster (Petiole : in the leaf stalk, Pedicel : in fruits & flower)
 Pericarp (present in fruit wall) : Exocarp + Mesocarp + Endocarp
 C3 plants have high rate of photo respiration than C 4 plants
 Phototropism : Bending of plants in the direction of more intense light (Ex. Sunflower)
 Pinching : Breaking all the terminal growing points (just like topping)
 Stopping : Removal of the growing point of shoot along with a few leaves
 Rejuvenation : Stimulation of new growth an old plants
 Perianth in flower = Sepal (collectively called as calyx) + Petal (collectively called as corolla)
 Sod culture : Cultivation of grass in orchard
 Drip irrigation or Trickle irrigation : Water applied directly to the root zone through delivery system
 Water sprouts : Shoots growing from latent adventitious buds
 Winter desiccation : Injury to plants by moisture loss from the above ground portion which can
not be replaced because of frozen or very cold soil
 Conc. of brain solution (NaCl) used for canning of fruits is 1.8 %
 Truck farming is related to Fruits
 Heart of garden is known as Border
 Rock garden is located at Chandigarh
 White flower plants are raised in Night gardens
 Berseem called as Egyption Clover (Trifolium alexandrum)
 Maxi Cardamom production in Karnataka
 Citrus seed are Polyembryonic (Maize - Mono embryonic)
 Rhizome and tubers is Sub terranean stem
 Pricking : Transfer of young seedlings to another tray
 Chrysanthemum as indicator plant of acid soils (Citrus suitable for acid soil)
 Chromotophores are cells with pigment (Chromoplast) for flower color
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 Green tomato become red : because chloroplast gets converted into chromoplast
 Chichory (flavouring agent) obtained from root of chinchory plant
 Coconut : Humid tropic crop
 Kernel : Shell ratio in cashew - 1 : 4
 Maxi garlic production : Gujarat
 Maxi rubber production : Kerala
 Queen of spices : Cardamom
 King of spices : Pepper
 King of fruit : Mango
 Island of clove : Madagascar
 Rubber plantation occupies in Equatorial forests
 Saffron is largely produced in Jammu and Kashmir
 Pruning is most essential for Tea & Grapes
 Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martini) : Geranium content is more when the crop is harvested 7 days
after flowering
 Bamboo : Tropical crop (grow 4 m per day)
 Thornless Bamboo : duration 4 years, at the time of harvesting 40 tillers per hill, height is 25 feet
 Spices : add aroma and flavour (pepper, cardamom, clove, nutmeg)
 Condiments : add taste only (coriander, cumin)
 Both (Spices & Contiments) contain essential oils, which provide the flavour and taste
 Medicinal plants : yield alkaloids and steroids
 Epicotyl or stone grafting
 In vegetative propagation : Progenies are true to type
 Zinger pungent : Zingerone
 Turmeric rhizome oil having Curcumin (coloring matter) & pungent is Zingiberine
Pomology (Fruit culture)

Based on temperature fruit crops are classified into : Temperate, Sub tropical & Tropical fruits
Based on RH fruit crops are classified into : Arid, Semi arid & Humid fruits
 Temperate fruits are deciduous
 Sub tropical & tropical fruits are evergreen
 Temperate fruits are mostly belongs to family Rosaceae
 Highest area in fruit cultivation is in UP (24 %)
 Important fruit crops in India : I) Banana II) Mango III) Citrus
 Water berries : A disorder of the grapes (fruits are watery and fail to ripen properly)
 Mango flower drop controlled by NAA (Planofix) spray
 Mango fruit drop controlled by 2,4 D spray
 Mango malformation : Due to imbalance between growth promoter and growth inhibitor
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 Filler tree in mango orchard is Papaya

 Papain (from papaya latex) enzyme is used for digestion of protein
 Papain : Main producer is Sri Lanka & main consumer is USA
 Asexual method of propagation is unsuccessful in Papaya
 Artificial ripening is very easy in Papaya
 Artificial ripening is very difficult in Persimon
 Sapota bearing twice a year in India (Root stock - Manikara hexandra)
 Largest area under pomegranate : Maharastra
 Custard apple = Sitaphal
 Grapes has highest area among the fruits in the worlds
 Pink disease is common in Jack fruit
 Biennial bearing or Alternate bearing : Fruit trees producing fruit in alternate years (Mango)
 Girdling : Destroying the bark of stem (Grapes)
 Apple is susceptible to Wolly aphid
Banana
 Banana crop occupies maxi area in India
 Maxi production of banana in India : Tamilnadu
 Banana planting time : June to July
 Banana suckers are arising from Underground rhizome
 Upper stem of banana is called Pseudostem
 Red banana : Sportsman food
 Rasakathali : Baby food (from which food powder produced)
 Poovan : for indigestion problems
 TC banana varieties : G9, Nendran, Red banana, Rasakathali
 G9 multiplication ratio is 1 : 10 (Others 1 : 3). So G9 is easily available
 In G9, Ervinia rot is a major problem in summer planting (January). It can be controlled by
Bleaching powder @ 4 g per lit in every 15 days interval.
 Sword sucker : have narrow leaves (good for planting)
 Water suckers : have broad leaves
 Desuckering : Removal of side suckers at periodical intervals (5 ml kerosene used to kill the side
suckers)
 Mattacking : After harvest of buches, allowing healthy and matures side sucker for the next crop
 Variety Monthan is drought resistant
 Choke throat : Bunches emerging in winter become struck through out the year and can not grow
(Dwarf Cavendish)
 November clumps : Small twisted and split fingers found in cold weather condition

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Mango
 Propagation by inarching (90 % success), Veneer grafting (80 % success, best method, widely
followed) and Epicotyl grafting (33 % success)
 for ripening, CaCO2 can be used in mango heap. It release acetylene gas and give good color (it is
harmful to human)
 Use ethrel for ripening, it release ethylene gas (good for health)
 Variety Sindhu : first seedless mango variety in the world
 Ratna variety has no spongy tissue, so highly valuable
 Hybrid variety : Mallika from IARI 1971
 Variety Paiyur 1 for high density planting (5x5 m)
 Variety Arka Anmol : Suitable for processing industry
 In most of the variety Neelum is one of the parent
 Off season mango variety : ka ni ru ba (Kalepad, Niranjan, Rumania, Bangalora)
 Poly embryonic variety : Olour (plants are no true to type)
 Poly embryonic varieties are used as standard root stocks (Neelum, Rumania, Bangalora)
 Malformation : Inflorescence becomes vegetative, leaf like structure by Fusarium moniliforme
(fungus) + Aceria mangiferae (mite)
 Irregular bearing or biennial bearing or alternate bearing : Vegetative growth is in one year and
flowering in the next year
Citrus
 All varieties are poly embryonic (except Citrus grandis - It is mono embryonic)
 Grape fruit Citrus paradise (Bear fruits in cluster like grapes)
 Root stock : Karna khatta
 Propagated by shield budding and layering
Guava
 Rich in vitamin C
 It can comes well under alkaline soil
 Hardy tress withstand drought condition
 Susceptible to frost
 Propagation by air layering & simple layering
 Dip the cuttings in IBA & NAA to induce rooting
 Pollarting or Dehorning : Entire tree is cut down at 30 - 45 cm from the ground level and allow
to regrowth.
 In South India 3 flowerings per year is possible (North India 2 flowering only)
Grapes
 In South India 2 crops per year is possible (North India only one crop per year)
 Propagation by rooted stem cutting

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Pine apple
 Humid tropics crop, it has Bromelin, a digestive enzyme
 Harvesting period
From sucker 15-18 months
From sleps 20-22 months
From crown 24 months
Yield 125 ton per ha
Fruits development
True fruit or Eucarp Developed from ovary
False fruit or Pseudocarp Developed from other parts of flower (Thalamus, flower stalk)
Fruit types
Simple fruit Developed from single ovary
Aggregate Cluster of fruit (Custard apple, Grapes)
Composite or Multiple All flowers of inflorescence give single fruit
Simple fruits
Drupe : One seeded, developed from monocarpellary , it is called stone fruits (Mango, Neem)
Berry : Tomato, Brinjal, Dates
Hesperidium : developed from multicarpellary (Orange, Lemon)
Pome : developed from pentacarpellary (Thalamus as fleshy - Apple, Pear)
Pepo : developed from tricarpellary (Cucumber, Melon)
Legume : developed from monocarpellary (Pea, Bean)
Follicle : Calotropis
Capsule : developed from multicarpellary (Cotton, Bhendi)
Caryopsis : developed from monocarpellary (Rice Wheat, Maize)
Cypsela : developed from bicarpellary (Tridax weed)
Nut : developed from multicarpellary (Cashewnut, Walnut)
Lomentum : Acacia
Cremocarp : Coriander
Regma : Castor
Composite or Multiple fruits
Sorosis : Jack, Pine apple
Syconus : Fig, Banyan (Inflorescence called as Hypanthodium)
Classification of fruits
Type Crop plant Type Crop plant
Caryopsis
Rice, Maize Cypsela Sunflower (Compositae)
(one seeded)
Follicle Calotropis Siliqua Mustard
Capsule Cotton, Bhendi Regma Caster
Drupe Mango, Coconut Berry Tomato, Guava, Brinjal, Grapes, Banana
Baluasta Pomegranate Hisperidium Citrus
Pome Apple Pepo Cucurbits
Sorosis Pine apple, Jack Syconus Fig, Banyan
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Edible parts of fruits

Apple is not a true fruit (Thalamus is an edible part)
Thalamus : Apple, pine apple, straw berry and guava
Juicy placental hairs : Citrus
Mesocarp : Mango, papaya, melon
Juicy out seed coat : Pomegranate
Endosperm in coconut
Seedlessness in fruits
 Vegetative Parthenocarpy (Autonomic) : Fruits develop even without stimulus (Banana)
 Stimulative Parthenocarpy : Grapes (Thompson seedless) & Guava
 Steno Sphermocarpy : Pollination and fertilization take place but embryo get aborted subsequently
resulting in seedleeness. Ex. Grapes (Thompson seedless)
 Induction of seedlessness : GA for Guava
 Parthenogenesis : Fruits developed by Parthenocarpically still they produce viable seeds
 Seedless fruits are small in size (Grapes) and irregular in shape (Guava)
Olericulture (Vegetable cultivation)

 Pre harvest spray of Potato & Onion with Malic Hydracids controls sprouting in storage
 Onion can store for a max of one month
 Sugar content in sugar beet : 18 %
 The vegetables should keep in shade places (Tomato is susceptible to Suns cold injury)
 Egg plant : Brinjal
Cauliflower
Blanching : Bring the outer leaves to cover the curd
Buttoning : Small curd due to N deficiency
Blindness : Plants are without terminal buds due to low temperature at the time of young stage
Potato
Potato tuber is underground stem
The tuber production in potato totally stops at 36 o C
Potato should be stored at 5o C because store at 0o C makes them sweeter
Aphid, one of the main pest does not thrive in all seasons
Weevil is a notorious pest of potato
Seed plot tech for seed potato production in North Western Plains has been evolved to control aphid
Critical stage of irrigation is Tuberization stage
Floriculture (Flower cultivation)

 Cut flowers are being exported by : APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority)

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 Rose cut flowers must be cut at tight bud stage at least 60 cm stem length for export
 Modern roses are derived from crosses between Chinese and European roses
 Common disease of Chrysanthemum : Wilt and Powdery mildew
 Rose mix is having the NPK in the ratio of 5 : 8 : 18
 Average yield of rose : 300 per plant per year
Propagation methods
 Herbaceous cutting : Cuttings made from succulent herbaceous plants
 Mallet cuttings : Cuttings made from basal woody stem
 Heel cuttings : Cuttings made from lateral shoots
 Matrix : A place where root stock and scion are joint
 Xyloporisis : A disorder, associated with lack of compatibility between root stock and scion
 Guava propagation : Latest method is Stooling
 Amla propagation : Shield budding
 Orange propagation : Hard wood cutting, layering
 Sweet orange propagation : Budding
 Popular and cheapest method of asexual propagation : Grafting
 Budding is a form of grafting (single bud is implanted in the stock)
 Rose propagated by : Budding, Cutting & Inarching grafting
 Apple is propagated by shield budding & grafting
 Tea is propagated by seed and cloves
 Orange is not propagated by vegetative means
 Inarching or Approach grafting : Mango, Sapota
Propagation by specialized plant parts
 Bulbs (modified underground stem) : Onion, Tuberose
 Tuber (modified stem) : Potato
 Tuberous roots: Sweet potato
 Rhizome : Ginger, Turmeric
 Off shoots : Pine apple, Dates
 Suckers : Banana
Method of layering
 Simple layering : Plant branches are bent easily to the ground
 Compound or Serpentine layering : Branches are alternatively covered and exposed over their
entire length
 Trench layering or Etiolation method : Branch of tree is covered for its entire length to produce
plants from all nodes or buds
 Tip layering : Tip of the shoots grows downward into the ground
 Mound layering : Parent plants cut down to the ground and covered up with soil

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 Air layering or Marcottage : Moist sphagnum moss or vermiculite are placed around the girdled
portion
Method of budding
 Patch budding : Rectangular patch of bark will be removed (Rubber, Mango, Citrus)
 Flute budding : Topped off at 25 cm height then 2.5 cm of bark is removed here, the bud in the
form of flute is then fitted in the root stock
 Shield or T budding : T like cutting will be made on bark (Rose)
 Ring budding : Taking ring of bark (Cinchona)

 Tomato cracking is due to Boron deficiency
 Browning of cauliflower is due to Boron deficiency
 The citrus diseases “Reclamation disease” and “Dieback disease” are due to Copper deficiency
 Apple is very sensitive to Boron even it presents below 1 ppm in soil

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MUSHROOM PRODUCTION
Mushrooms are fruiting body of Basidiomycotina fungi

Mushroom contains no Carbohydrates
Types of mushroom
Oyster mushroom : Pleurotus sajar caju, Pleurotus citrinopileatus
Milky mushrrom : Pleurotus sp
Button mushroom : Agaricus bisporus
Paddy straw mushroom : Volvariella sp
Oyster mushroom
Pleurotus citrinopileatus White color
P. sajorcaju Grey color
Yield is reduced 20 % in summer months
Varieties
CO1 White
M2 Grey
MDU 1 Bright white
Suitable substrates for spawn : Grains of Sorghum, Maize, Wheat and Paddy chaffy grains
Substrate for bed : Paddy straw & Sugarcane bagasse (maintain moisture 65 % at the time of bedding)
Spawn preparation steps
Half cook the grains and than air dry
Mix with CaCO3 at 2 %
Fill in glucose bottles and than sterilize in autoclave
Inoculate with pure culture and incubate at room temperature
Spawn running room : maintain temperature of 25 to 30oC, provide no light, provide ventilation
Cropping room : maintain temperature of 23 to 25oC & RH 80 % and provide diffused light and aeration
Weeds : Trichoderma sp, Penicillium sp, Aspergillus sp, Sclerotium sp
Milky mushroom
Variety : APK 1 Deep rose buds fading to white at maturity
APK 2 Milky white in color
Casing : Cylindrical beds are cut horizontally into two equal halves. Over the each half bed casing soil is
applied (CaCO3 at 2 %)
Button mushroom
Variety : Ooty 1 Bright white in color

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SERICULTURE
Sericulture : Silk worm rearing
Order : Lepidopteron
Family : Saturnidae
Moriculture : Cultivation of mulberry
Sericulture
Five varieties of silk : 1. Mulberry 2. Eri 3. Muga 4. Oak Tasar 5. Tropical Tasar
Mulberry silk : Mulberry
Non mulberry or wild silk or vanya silk : Eri, Muga, Oak tasar, Tropical tasar
Mulberry silk worm : Bombyx mori
Feed on the leaves of morus sp only (Monophagous)
More than 98 % of mulberry silk is produced from 5 states (Karnataka, AP, TN, WB, J&K)
Karnataka state alone produce 85 % of mulberry silk
Karnataka is famous for sericulture in India
Eri silk worm : Philosamia ricini
Feed castor leaves (Ricinis communis) and tapioca leaves
Produced at Assam, Orissa, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh
90 % of Eri silk is obtained from Assam
Pupae (red coloured cocoon) are edible by local people
Moth stage is non-feeding stage (for all silk worms)
Eri silk is finer than Muga and Tasar & softer than Mulberry silk
Muga culture : worm undergo "Hibernation" in pupal stage during winter (Resting period)
Tasar culture : Tropical tasar - feed variety of plants (Polyphagous)
Temporate or Oak tasar - feed oak leaves only
Silk worm classification

Univoltine : 1 generation per year (it gives good quality cocoons and filaments)
Bivoltine : 2 generations per year (races are KA, NB)
Multivoltine : 3 generations per year (races are Kolar gold, Mysore prince, Hosa mysore, Hybrid Cauvery
 dfls : disease free layings
 Optimum temperature for rearing : 20 to 28 oC & RH of 75 %
 Life cycle : Egg period 1 week, larval period 3 weeks & pupal period 2 weeks
 Larva has 5 stages (Instar)
 Chawki worms : Young stage worms (upto 3 rd instar)
 Worms have to picked up and transferred to Chandraki (6‟x4‟) for spinning cocoons (1000 worms per
chandrakis)
 Cocoon is a pupa stage (female cocoon is yellow colour & male cocoon is white colour)

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 Each cocoon yield 900 m silk yarn (filament)

 Silk fiber is a Protein, produced from the silk glands of silk worms
 Thickness of yarn (silk) is measured as Denier
 International grade of filament : 2A Grade
 Silk production in the world : 1st China, 2nd India
 1 kg of raw silk production - need 60,000 nos of cocoons or one tone of mulberry leaves
 India is exporting shellac to China (Lac is mainly produced in Bihar)
 Host of lac insect is castor
 Non mulberry silk is largely produced in Bihar
Pest
Uzifly (use uzi trap or spray uzicide or release hyper parasitoids Nesolynx thymus)
Dermestid beetle
Disease
Pebrine : caused by Protozoa
Flacherie : caused by Bacteri
Grasserie : caused by NPV
Muscardine & Aspergillosis : caused by Fungus
Cocoon marketing : It is officially regulated for mulberry silk only (except West Bengal)
Markets in TN : Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri,Vaniambadi and Coimbatore
Reeling : It is a process of separation (unwinding) of silk filament from cocoon
Moriculture
 Var Kanva 2 (M5)
o Spacing 90 x 90 cm
o Fertilizer recommended 350 : 140 : 140 kg NPK per ha + Biofertilizer VAM
o Yield per year per ha : 35-50 ton of leaves in irrigated or 25 ton in rainfed
 Propagated cutting should have 45o slanting cut on both sides
 Mulberry is pruned twice a year (June & November)
o In rainfed areas one pruning is enough (June)
 A safe period of 3 days for silk warm rearing after pesticides spray

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APICULTURE
Apiculture : Bee keeping is a subsidiary or supplementary or complementary enterprise
Honey bee : Order : Hymenoptera Family : Apidae
Honey bees are popularly known as angels of agriculture or social insects
It increase cross pollination
Single bee carries 5 lakh pollen grains
Entomophilous : The crops which are insect pollinated
It increasing the crop productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively
Type of bees (5 types)
Little bee : Apis florae
It construct small single comb
Wax is very high quality
Efficient pollinator
Honey yield : 250 gm per colony
Rrock bee : Apis Dorsata
It construct very large single comb
Best yielder of honey (50 kg per colony)
Indian bee : Apis cerana indica
It involves commercial bee keeping (popular in Kanyakumari district)
Queen lays 500 to 800 eggs per day
Foraging capacity : 1 km
Honey yield : 15 kg per hive per year
In early days it was severely affected by the outbreak of Thai Sac Brood virus disease
Italian bees or Western bees : Apis mellifera
It is a introduced bee into TN
Because of, it resistant to Tai Sac Brood virus
But highly susceptible to Brood mite infection
Commercially good for plains than hills
Nos. of worker bees per colony : 30000 to 50000
Queen lays 1500 to 1800 eggs per day
Foraging capacity : 2 to 3 km
Honey yield : 40 kg per hive per year
Dammer bee : Trigona irridipennis or Melipona irridipennis
Small bees build nests or comb with cerumen (bark material) in wall cracks or tree hollows
Rearing by tribal in some parts of Kanyakumari district
Yield only little amount of honey having high medicinal value

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Bee castes : Queen, Worker, Drone

Queen : Perfectly developed female
Mother of the colony
Only one number in a colony
She mats with drones in air only, once in her life, this phenomena is called "Nuptial Flight"
Male sperm is preserved for her life in "Spermatheca"
Spermatheca (sperm storage structure) is found in female body of Queen bees & Nematodes
After mating it lays fertilized eggs (worker bees) or unfertilized eggs (drones)
Mating take place when queen is 4 -10 days old
Worker : Imperfectly developed female (sterile)
10000 to 30000 nos. per colony
Life span is 6 weeks
1st half (3 weeks) : becomes nurse bee, attending such indoor duties as secretion of royal jelly,
feeding brood (young worker), feeding queen, secreting bee wax, building comb, cleaning,
fanning than guard bee
2nd half (3 weeks) : searcher and gatherer (pollen, nectar, propolis, water)
Worker bee completes its pupa stage in 12 days
Drone : Male bee
Only for mating
Few hundreds per colony
Life span is 2 months
Communication behaviour of bees

Hibernation: a kind of bee dance
Round dance : when food source is near the hive
Wagtail dance : when food source is distant from hive
Sickle dance : having shaping of figure 8
Bee space : Bee hive design is based on the principle of bee space
Swarming : It is a natural instinct of bee to propagate
More and more combs are added
Prevention : remove queen cell regularly from strong colony and
Divide colony, if increase in colony numbers
Bee hive maintenance : In summer and rainy days, feeding artificial diet or pollen substitute
Artificial diet = yeast + sugar + gram powder + skimmed milk (10:10:1:1 ratio)
These artificial diets is mainly to check absconding of colonies
Bee disease
Thai sac brood disease caused by virus

170
American foul brood caused by bacillus larva (bacteria)

European foul brood caused by streptococcus (bacteria)
Nosema disease caused by Nosema apis (protozoa)
Bee enemies (Predation)

Wasp, wax moth, wax beetle, ant, birds, cockroaches
Bee flora
Worked out for their value as nectar and pollen sources to bees
Major bee floras in TN are coconut, tamarind and rubber
Bee toxicity
Bees are susceptible to many pesticides
Dust formulations are more hazardous to bee than sprays
Granular formulations applied to soil are safest for bees
Honey products
Honey : mainly from nectar of the flowers
Fructose 41 % + glucose 35 % + sucrose 1.9 % + mineral 0.2 % + water 17 %
One kg of honey having 3500 calories of energy
Squeezed honey : rock bee comb is squeezed manually, it contains pollen grains. It is a crude honey
Hive honey : honey from bee hives extracted from combs with extractor
Royal jelly : secreted by nurse bees (worker) in Hypopharyngeal glands
Very nutritious food
Feed to young workers and queen larva
Honey preservation : heating honey to 64o C in water bath for 30 minutes
Pure honey : contains less than 20 % moisture and having specific gravity of 1.35 to 1.44
Bee venom : sting apparatus of worker bee is attached to a poison sac where venom is stored
Apitherapy : a treatment through bee venom
Type of bee hive normally used in TN : Newton's bee hive (For Italian bee - Langstroth hive)

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CROP PRODUCTION GUIDE

Crop family
Malvacea Cotton family
Fabacea Avarai family
Rubeacea Coffee family
Astracea Sunflower family
Solanacea Potato family
Euphorbeacea Castor family
Lilliacea Onion family
Aricacea Palm family
RICE : Oryza sativa
- World average productivity : 3.83 ton per ha (in India 1.73 ton per ha)
- Bio control agents are compatible with bio fertilizers
- Fungicides and bio control agents are incompatible
- Broad cast VAM fungi (Glomus intraradices) in the nursery @ 50 g/m2 to mobilise the
phosphorous (for 8 cent 1.6 kg mixed with sand in 1:1 ratio)
- DAP @ 2 kg/cent in nursery
- Seedlings absorb and store P and utilize it in later stage of crop
- Azospirillum AZ 204 M culture
- Pseudomonas fluorescens for rice blast control (500 g + 500 li water for 1 ha)
- Spray fluid @ 2 li/cent is necessary in nursery
- For rice root nematode control in nursery : Carbofuran 3 G @ 3.5 kg / 20 cents, Pseudomonas
fluorescence @ 10 g/kg of seed
- One head load of green manure crop weighs about 20 kg
- Green manure crop Sesbania rostrata : 50 kg/ha seed rate, cut 50 % flowering (45-60 DAS)
- Organic acid produced during the decomposing process of organic manures it dissolve the P and
make them easily available to the crop
- If nursery manured with DAP, apply 1/3 of recommended P is enough
- Do not incorporate ZnSO4 @ 25 kg/ha, Zn-P interaction will occur
Short duration less than 120 days 60 kg seed / ha 120:38:38 kg NPK/ha
Medium duration 120 to 135 days 40 kg seed / ha 150:50:50 kg NPK/ha
Long duration more than 135 days 30 kg seed / ha 150:50:50 kg NPK/ha
2
- Closer spacing for light soils (sandy soil) - 80 hills/m
- Under water stress condition : spray cycocel @ 1000 ppm or kaolin 3 % or KCl 1 %
- Weed control : Butachlor 2.5 l/ha + 50 kg sand
- Azolla @ 250 kg/ha will add 25 kg N/ha in low land rice
- Blue green algae : soil based powder @ 10 kg /ha (multiplies well from march to sep)

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- Azospirillum 10 pockets + 25 kg FYM + 25 kg soil (for soil application)

- Avoid closer planting for BPH and lead folder (and avoid synthetic pyrethroids)
- ETL for major pests
Stem borer 10 % dead hearts
Leaf folder 10 % leave damage at vegetative stage or 5 % flag leaf damage
Gall midge 10 % silver shoots
Whorl maggot 25 % damaged leaves
Green leaf hopper 60 nos. per 25 net sweeping or 5 nos per hill at vegetative stage or
10 nos per hill at flowering or 2 nos per hill in tungro endemic area
- Trichogramma japonicum for stem borer control, T. chilonis for leaf folder control (bio agent)
- Bacterial leaf blight contrl : spray streptomycin sulphate + Tetracycline
- RTV transmitted by the vector Green leaf hopper
- Stem borer resistant variety : IR 20, ADT 34
- RTV resistant variety : IR 50
- Dry the grain to 12 % moisture level and store it
- Maturity may hasten by 4 days by spraying 20 % NaCl (to escape monsoon rain)
- Technology for salt affected soil
o Seedling will pull out one week later
o 25 % increased N application
o Apply 40 kg ZnSO4 before planting
o Plant 4 seedlings per hill
- Intercrop : Rice + Black gram (4 : 1 ratio) in rainfed condition sown sep 15
- Seed upgrading through common salt solution (specific gravity of salt solution is 1.13)
- Moisture content of grains at harvesting : 20 % for short & medium varieties, 17 % for long varieties
Hybrid rice
o Father of hybrid rice : Yuan Long Ping
o Hybrids : CORH 1(MGR) released in 1994 115 days
CORH 2 released in 1998 125 days
ADTRH 1 released in 1998 115 days
CORH 3 released in 2006 115 days
o Breeding method : Cytoplasmic Genetic Male Sterility (CGMS)
o Seed rate - femle 20 kg & male 10 kg
o N application @ 200 kg/ha
o Spray of 2 % urea will delay flowering
o Spray of 2 % DAP will enhance flowering
o Water stagnation induce male flowers
o Drainage will reduce male flowers

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o To improve panicle exertion - spray GA 3 @ 125 g/ha

- Rice is a short day plant (IR 8 & Padma - day neutral variety)
- To obtain the physiological maturity earlier, spray NaCl
- Oryza glaberrium grown in Africa
- Max rice area : India (max production in China due to hybrid rice cultivation)
- Suitable pH rang for rice growth is 5.0 to 8.5 (temp of 21 to 37 o C)
- Jaya variety : Evolved at Hyderabad under All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Programme
- Apply N fertilizer in rice at reduced zone
- The Zn deficiency in rice cause Khaira disease
- One ton of rice = 2200 ton of water (required)
- Dapog nursery developed by IRRI, Philippines
- Indica varities are Tall in habit
- The new high yielding varieties were mainly based on DWARFING GENE first discovered in
Dee Geo Woo Gen in Taiwan
- The dwarf character is fertilizer responsive
- Hybridization programme initiated in 1951. The basic aim behind these programme was using
some good character of indica variety and more fertilizer response of the japonica vazriety
- As per the area of cultivation, the most important crop of India is - Rice
- Rice cultivated in North Eastern states. Here pest incidence is more compared to other areas
Rice is grown under 4 eco systems : Irrigated > Rainfed low land > Rainfed upland > Flood prone area
55 % of area under rainfed
Two cultivated species are 1. Oryza sativa (Indica, Japonica, Javanica)
2. Oryza glaberrima (Africa)
Weedy rice : Oryza spontanea
Medicinal rice : Navara (Kerala state), duration 60 days
Two types of rice roots : 1. Primary or Seminal roots developed from radicle of seed
2. Secondary or Advantitious or Crown roots developed from lower nodes
SRI (System of Rice Intensification)
- Developed at Madakascar country
- Every drop of water will increase yield (aim)
- TN : rice area 21 lakh ha, production 72 lakh tones
- Rice is not a aquatic plant (water stagnation is only for weed management)
- TN : 80 % irrigation water goes to rice cultivation only
 Seed rate : 3 kg per ac or 7.5 kg per ha
 Nursery area : 1 cent (40 sq.m) for 1ac planting
 Seedling age : 14 days (when 4th leaf is emerging)

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 Seedling of 3th leaf stage should be transplanted. Because 4th leaf only give large nos. of tillers.
This leaf only increase rice yield upto 70 %.
 In paddy, panicle initiation to maturity period is same for all rice verities. So, tillering period is
very important for rice. In SRI due to young seedling, the tillering period is prolonged. During this
time, large nos. of tillers produced
 Spacing : 22.5 x 22.5 cm, square planting
 Single seedling per hill
 Water management : 2.5 cm depth (in old method 5 cm)
 N management : through LCC, need based top dressing only, no basal dressing
 Weed management : by Rotary weeder (10, 20, 30, 40 th DAP)
 Foliar spray : 2 % DAP + 1 % Urea + 1 % Potash (200 liters per ac)
LCC : Leaf Colour Chart
6 Dark Green Select 10 plants randomly
5 Examine 3rd leaf from top with LCC
4 If 6 leaves show above 4th no - No N application needed (leaves are green)
3 If 6 leaves show below 4th no - need N application (leaves are pale yellow)
2 Samba 12 kg N per ac, Kuruvai 14 kg N per ac
1 Light Green For white ponni refer 3rd no
DPS : Direct Planting System or Direct wet seeding (Rice)

- Profuse tillering under wide spacing through young seedlings, means before they go for fourth leaf
stage
- No nursery and transplanting needed
- Seed rate 30 kg per ha
- Use rotary weeder at 8 DAS to thin the plants in the row
Varieties : Adhisaya Ponni (ADT 43) & Podhigai Ponni (CO 48)
Micronutrient : do not incorporate in soil (because it will be fixed with P & become unavailable form)
Endosulfan : Broad spectrum insecticide (apply for all insects)
MILLETS : Family :Poaceae

Major millets : Sorghum, Cumbu
Minor millets : Ragi, Tenai, Samai, Varagu, Pani varagu, Kuthiraivali
Tenai Fox tail millet
Samai Little millet
Varagu Kodo millet
Pani varagu Common millet
Kuthiraivali Banyard millet

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Minor millets are called as nutritious grain or nutri cereals
SORGHUM : Greater millet : Sorghum bicolor

- Varieties : K 5, K tall
- lFodder cum grain sorghum variety : K 9, K10
- Sorghum hybrid in TN : K tall, COH 3, COH 4
o Thaipattam - Jan to Feb
o Chithiraipattam - April to May
o Adipattam - Jun to July
o Puratasipatam - Sep to Oct
- Forage cowpea (CO 1) can be intercropped at 2 row of cowpea in between paired rows of sorghum
- Weed control : Atrazine for pure crop & Pendimethaline for intercroped with pulse
- Deficiency symptoms : Zn (Yellow streaks), Fe (Interveinal chlorosis)
- Early sowing minimize the shoot fly incidence in both seasons (NE & SW monsoon) - set fish
meal trap @ 12 no/ha for attracting adults of shoot fly
- Storage pest : Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae)
- Irrigation : Copious irrigation given in flowering stage & controlled irrigation in maturity stage
- Rainfed crop : rainfall of 250-300 mm is optimum for sowing
- Synchronization of flowering in seed production : Spraying of growth retardant Maleic hydrazide
@ 500 ppm delay flowering in advancing parent
- Sorghum is susceptible to shoot fly and gall midge
- Sorghum poisoning : Under drought condition, sorghum roots synthesis Dhurrin in the form of
HCH. It is harmful to livestock
CUMBU : Pennisetum glacum

- Nursery area 7.5 cent for one ha
- Seed technology : Female Male ratio of 6:1 for hybrid seed production
- Ergot & downy mildew is the major disease
RAGI : Eleusine coracana

- Poor mans food
- Variety INDAF 5 for Adipattam
- Weed control : Butachlor
MAIZE : Zea mays
- Sensitive to moisture stress and excessive moisture
- Popular variety : Ganga 5
- Deficiency symptoms : Zn, Fe, NPK, Mg
- For pest management : use alternate chemicals for each application and do not repeat same chemical

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- Seed technology : Female Male ratio of 4 : 2 for hybrids seed production
MINOR MILLETS
- Samai variety : Paiyur 1
- Varagu variety : APK 1, Vamban 1
- Kovilpatti variety (K) is available in Tenai, Samai, Varagu, Panivaragu & Kudiraivali
WHEAT : Triticum spp.

- Sowing should be done within the first fortnight of November
- TN : Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri districts covers cultivation
- Critical period of Irrigation : CRI and flowering
- Major weed is Phalaris minor (Foxtail weed) - it is controlled by the weedicide Isoproturon
- Wheat variety used at green revolution period : Dwarf wheat from Mexico (Kalyansonna & Sonalika)
- In area & production, India is a second place in the world
- Four triticum species are
1. Triticum aestivum : Common bread wheat (cultivated in all over India)
2. T. durum : Macaroni wheat
3. T. dicoccum : Emmer wheat (TN - Nilgiris & Palani hills)
4. T. sphaerococcum : not grown in India
- Diseases of wheat
o Leaf or Brown rust Puccinia recondite
o Stem or Black rust Puccinia graminis
o Stripe or Yellow rust Puccinia striformis
o Loose smut Ustilago tritici
PULSES
Bengal gram or Gram or Chick pea : Cicer arietinum
Red gram or Pigeon pea or Arhar : Cajanus cajan
Black gram or Urd bean : Vigna mungo
Green gram or Mung bean : Vigna radiate
Cowpea : Vigna unguiculata
All pulse germination is Hypogeal type (except green gram and cowpea are Epigeal type)
Horse gram has medicinal properties
Red gram
- Variety CO 6 for all districts
- Variety BSR 1 :Pure line selection from Mayiladumparai & it is semi spreading type, perennial
crop, 180 days duration, more than 2 years after rationing, indeterminate growth habit, seed rate of
3 kg/ha

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- Rhizobium culture CC 1 is effective

- Halogen mixture : CaOCl + CaCO3 + Arappu leaf powder (Albizzia amara) 5:5:1 ratio - seed
treatment @ 3g/kg of seed to maintain germination percentage for more than 10 months
- For wilt & root rot : Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 2.5 kg/ha + 50 kg FYM (Soil application)
Blackgram
- Seed treatment with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g / kg of seed or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10g/kg
of seed or Carbendazim / Thiram @ 2g / kg of seed
- Rice fallow crop : Spray 2 % DAP + NAA (Planofix) 40 ppm at flowering stage
- Storage : Spray neem seed kernel powder @ 3 % to control Bruchid beetle
- Virus disease : Yellow mosaic, Leaf curl, Leaf crinkle
Greengram: Spray neem seed kernel extract @ 5 % at 50 % flowering stage for pod borer control
Cowpea : Seed hardening with ZnSO4 at 100 ppm
Avarai (Garden lab lab) : Lab lab purpureus var typicus
Mochai (Field lab lab) : Lab lab purpureus var lignosus

- Variety CO 1 is indeterminate, photo sensitive & CO 2 is determinate type
- Multi strain bacterial culture is used for seed treatment in Avarai and Mochai
Soyabean : Glycine max

- Spray salicylic acid at 100 ppm as foliar spray to increase yield
- Very sensitive to excess moisture
- Deficiency symptoms : P, Boron (die back), Zn
- Do not use carbaryl (sevin) as soyabean is sensitive
- Intercropping system : Sugarcane + Soyabean (CO 1)
- Soyabean contain : 40 % Protein + 21 % P + 20 % oil
- Boneless meal : Soyabean
- Poly unsaturated fatty acid in soya : Oleic acid and Linoleic acid
- Protein : Globulin and Albumin
- Amino acid : Lysine
OILSEED CROPS
Country rank in the world
First : Sesame, Castor, Safflower, Niger
Second : Groundnut, Rape seed - Mustard
Third : Linseed
Fifth : Soya bean, Sunflower
Technology Mission on Oilseed : 1986 (known as Yellow Revolution)
Groundnut : Arachis hypogaea

- In India, groundnut had first reached in East Coast Madras Province (Mysore)
- Boron defeiciency symptom : Rosette effect
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- Other deficiency symptoms : Zn, Fe, S

- Ring mosaic or Bud necrosis : Adopt spacing of 15 x 15 cm for control
- Hand Decorticator is used for shelling
- For red hairy caterpillar control : Groundnut + Cowpea in 5:1 ratio (Intercropping system)
- Earthing up at 45th day provide medium for the peg formation
- Gypsum application @ 400 kg/ha (avoid in calciferous soil)
- Do not keep pulled out plants in heaps, especially bunch varieties, as the pods will starts sprouting
- Pod borer other wise called as Ear wig
- Spodoptera control : Grow castor as border or inter crop to serve as indicator or trap crop
- Spodoptera litura & Helicoverpa armigera controlled by release of NPV
- Groundnut oil content : 45 % in kernel , 28 % in shell
- Shelling % in groundnut : 70 %
- Groundnut variety : TMV 7 Bunch type & TMV 6, 8, 10 Spreading type
Gingelly : Sesamum indicum

- Oldest oilseed crop in the world (Family : Pedaliaceae)
- Fertilizer : Rainfed 23:13:13 or 17:13:13 + 3 pockets Azospirillum
Irrigated 35:23:23 or 21:23:23 + 3 pockets Azospirillum
- Add 5 kg/ha of MnSO4
- Phyllody or little leaf (virus disease) is transmitted by Mycoplasma. It is controlled by intercrop
Red gram.
- Fatty acids in sesame are Oleic, Lenoleic, Palmitic and Stearic acid
Castor : Ricinus communis

- Variety TMV 6, Hybrid TMVCH 1
- Major non edible oil seed crop
- Family : Euphorbiaceae - having latex content
- It has more fat, So non edible
- Hydroxy fatty acid : Ricinoleic acid (non edible nature)
Sunflower : Helianthus annus

- Yellow Gold : Sunflower
- Variety : Modern, hybrid BSH 3
- Deficiency symptoms : Mn (spray MnSO4 @ 0.5 %), Zn (ZnSO4 @25 kg/ha or 0.5 % spray)
- Seed rate : 15 kg / ha (CO 1- 30 kg/ha)
- For rainfed sowing : Soaking seeds in 2 % ZnSO4 for 12 hrs
- Spray NAA 20 ppm (do not spray insecticides on the same day)
- Apply insecticides after 4 pm when the bee activity is minimum (bee for pollination)
- Don't spray chemicals during flowering, it affect honey bees

179
- Disease : Head rot (Humid weather favour the disease)

- Oil is Premium oil (Because of high level of Linoleic acid and absence of Linolenic acid)
- Unsaturated fatty acid are Oleic acid and Linoleic acid
- Head is Heliotropic (sun facing) until majority of flowers are fertilized, after which it remain fixed
facing Easterly, which is related to Auxin level (growth hormone)
Safflower : Minor oilseed crop

- Poly unsaturated fatty acid (Linoleic acid) content is 78 % . So, it reduce Blood Cholesterol level
Niger : Important to tribal economy (minor oil seed crop)
Linseed (Flax) : Dual crop, oil extracted from seed and fibre from stem. Oil has rich in linolenic acid
Fruit type of Linseed - Seed ball
It is called Exhaustive crop
Rape seed - Mustard : They are Cruciferous oilseed
Brassica juncea Brown mustard or Indian mustard
Brassica nigra Black or True mustard
Brassica alba White mustard
COCONUT : Cocos nucifera

- Humid tropical crop
- India is 3rd largest producer
- Normal spacing : 25 „ x 25 „ (175 plants/ha or 70 per ac)
- Planting season : June or Sep
- Water management : 100 li/day/tree through drip irrigation for matured plantation
- Drip is the best method of irrigation in coconut
- In water scare condition, 4 pitcher / palm may be adopted
- Root activity is maximum around a radius of 1.5 to 2 m from the base of tree
Pest & disease Control measures Symptoms / remarks

o Incorporate the Entomopathogen fungus
(Metarhizium anisopliae) in manure pits to check
the pest larva
Rhinoceros beetle
o For seedling apply 3 (weighing 3.5 each)
naphthalene balls/palm
o Field release of Baculo virus
Black headed
larval parasites Parasierola nephantidis
caterpillar
Aluminium phosphide for fumigant action (insert
Red palm weevil
tunneled trunk)
Eriophyte mite Carbosulfan 15 ml + water 15 ml (root feeding) Air born
o Aureofungin-sol 2 g + 1 g copper sulphate as root Casual organism is
feeding Ganoderma lucidum
Thanjavur wilt
o Intercrop banana reduce wilt Symptom of stem
o Bordeaux mixture drenching (soil should be dry) bleeding
Stem bleeding Bordeaux mixture 1 %
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Pencil point Micro nutrient

Apply MN mixture
disease deficiency
Button shedding
Reasons
Soil acidity : Apply lime
Soil alkalinity : Apply gypsum
Lack of drainage : Facilitate drainage
Drought prevalence : Give copious irrigation
Genetic causes
Lack of nutrients (macro & micro) : Apply additional 2 kg K with 200 g borax per palm
Lack of pollination : Install bee hives @ 5 nos per ac for proper pollination
Hormone deficiency : Spray 2,4 D @ 30 g per li one month after flower opening
Boron application induce IAA production in tree itself
Pest & disease occurrence : Spray plant protection chemicals
Nursery
Mother palm should giving not less than 100 nuts/palm/yr
Age of mother palm 25 to 40 yrs
Average one leaf and an inflorescence in its axil every month
12 bunches of varying stages of maturity at any one time
Seed nut treatment for better germination : Soak nut 0.02 % potassium permanganate or sodium carbonate
solution for 48 hrs before placing the nuts in sand nursery
Coconut seed nut takes 3 months to germinate normally
Varieties
Type Spacing (ft) Nos. per ac Year of bearing Crop duration
Tall (Cross pollination) 25 x 25 70 5 80 years
Dwarf (Self pollination) 18 x 18 135 3 45 years
TxD 25 x 25 70 4
DxT 18 x 18 135
o Tall : East coast tall, West coast tall, Andaman ordinary, Lakshatheev ordinary,
VPM 3, ALR (CN) 1
o Dwarf : Malaysian yellow dwarf, Malaysian orange dwarf, Malaysian green dwarf, Ayiram kaichi,
Sawcott green dwarf, Sawcott orange dwarf
o Hybrids : T x D (female:male) VHC 1, 2, 3
D x T (female:male) Chandra sankara (Kerala)
T x T (female:male) Not practiced in India

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Fertilizer management
Palm Compost Urea SSP Potash Neem MN Azospirillum Phosphobacteria
age (kg/palm) (kg/palm) (kg/palm) (kg/palm) cake mixture (pck/palm) (pck/palm)
(kg/palm) (kg/palm)
1 10 0.325 0.5 0.5 5 1 1 1
2 20 0.650 1.0 1.0 5 1 1 1
3 30 0.975 1.5 1.5 5 1 1 1
4 40 1.30 2.0 2.0 5 1 1 1
5 50 1.30 2.5 2.5 5 1 1 1
Time of fertilizer application : June to July & Dec to Janu (2 split per year)
- One ton of copra = 3500 coconut (oil content 62 %)
- Coconut fruit contain 140 gm of kernel (Endosperm)
Yield : 10600 nuts / year / ha
OIL PALM
- Humid tropical crop
- Climate : Annual rainfall of 2000 mm, sun light 2000 hrs per year
- Under low mini temp more no. of male inflorescence produced
- Higher diurnal temp variation cause floral abortion
- Ablation or Castration : Removal of initially produced bunches it will very small and low oil content
- Two leaves produced per month (so, pruning of leaves is necessary)
- Weed management : Atrazine (apply contact herbicides rather than translocated one)
- Mg deficiency
o Named as orange frond
o Heavy dose of K induce deficiency
o Management : 500 g of MgSO4 /palm/yr
- Boron deficiency symptom : little leaf
- Excessive N application increase male flower. But P & K increase female flowers
- As fruit ripens oil content increase to 85 %
COTTON
- White gold, semi xerophytes
- Best source of pure cellulose : Cotton fibre
- India ranks first in area and third in production
- Reddening management : MgSO4 5 % + ZnSO4 0.1 % + Urea 1 %
- Seed rate : TCHB 1 kg/ha of fuzzy
Jayalaxmi 3.75 kg fuzzy or 2.5 kg delinted seed per ha
- Weed control : Fluchloralin or Pendimethalin
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o Do not use Diuron (Karmex) in sandy soil. Heavy rains after application, it may affect
germination of cotton seed
- Spray NAA 40 ppm to prevent early shedding of buds & squares
Nipping or Topping : for controlling excessive vegetative growth & promote symbodial branches
15th node for short & medium duration variety
20th node for hybrids
12th node for rice fallow variety
Pest & disease management
Use locally fabricated light trap (modified Robinson type) with 125 watt mercury lamp
Cut worm Spodoptera litura
Grow castor along border
Release NPV
Place poison bait (rice bran 12.5 kg + jaggery 1.25 kg + carbaryl WP 1.25 kg + water 7.5 lit)
White fly Bamisia tabasi
ETL 5-10 white flies/leaf
Raise tolerant variety - Supriya
Setting up yellow pan trap and sticky trap
Do not use Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Fenvalerat (Synthetic pyrethroids)
Synthetic pyrethroids cause resurgence of white fly
Boll worms Helicoverpa armigera
ETL 10 % affected bolls
Release egg & larval parasite Chelonus blackburnii at weekly interval
Egg parasite Trichogramma spp
Predator Chrysoperla
Release NPV
Bacterial blight or Angular leaf spot or Black arm
Mainly in summer Cambodia cotton
Spray streptomycin sulphate + Tetracycline mixture or copper oxy chloride
Irrigation schedule : 0.40 and 0.60 IW/CPE ratio during vegetative and reproductive stage respectively
Rice fallow cotton : Apply ZnSO4 at 50 kg/ha
Rainfed cotton : Raised where the rainfall of 375 mm
Cotton and pulse can be sown at a depth of 5 cm in black cotton soil even before the
onset of monsoon rains in dry bed sowing. When light rains are received, the moisture will not
penetrate deeper and the seeds will not germinate and die away. Only when good rains are
received, the moisture level is sufficient to penetrate to the level of the seed and facilitate
germination and proper establishment

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Seed technology
Hybrid seed production through Cytoplasmic Male Sterility & Hand emasculation
Emasculation (removal of anthers) in 3 to 6 pm
Hand pollination in 10 am to 1 pm (for highest purity of hybrid seed)
Max germination 65 %,
Max genetic purity 90 %
Grow out test : To test the genetic purity of the seed
Staple length
Short staple < 2.17 cm Desi cotton (Local variety)
Medium staple 2.21 to 2.22 cm American cotton
Long staple 2.86 to 3.42 cm Egyptian cotton
Mahalakshmi with fibre length of more than 30 mm
 55 % pesticides used for cotton crop only
 Gossypol glands are present in leaves
 Lint : cotton seed ratio 1 : 2
 Ginning : Separation of fibre from seed cotton
 Ginning % of MCU 5 cotton : 34 %
 Area coverage : Hybrids > G. hirsutum > G. arboreum > G. herbaceum > G. barbadense
 India is the only country, cultivate all 4 species and hybrids
 Cotton fibre is derived from epidermal hairs on seed
 Cotton is very sensitive to excess soil moisture
Marketing
Cotton is marketed through Private agency, Public sector and Cooperative societies
Monopoly scheme : Maharastra State Coop Cotton Marketing
Mumbai is largest terminal cotton market
Export cotton : 1. Desi cotton (coarse and short staple)
2. Staple cotton (long staple - 253.4 mm)
Jute Corcorus spp

 Golden fibre : Jute
 Capsularis jute can grow in standing water
 Olitorius jute will not thrive in standing water and it is drought resistant
 Retting : The process for fibre extraction from stem (done by using Clostridium bacteria)
 Maxi jute production in Bangladesh (WB in India)
 For fibre purpose, jute crop harvest before flowering
Agave : Agave sisalana, A. cantala, A. Americana are common in India

- Blossoms only once during its life time and then dies

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SUGARCANE : Saccharum officinarum

- Sugarcane is perennial crop
- Sett roots : roots comes from sett
- Large area in UP
- High productivity in TN followed by AP, Karnataka
Planting seasons
Main season Dec to May
Early season Dec to Jan
Mid season Feb to March
Late season April to May
Special season June to July
TN & AP planting season is Dec to Feb
Sugarcane planting
Autum planting October
Adsali planting July
Spring planting February
Special season June
Deficiency symptoms
NPK Apply recommended dose of NPK
Zn Apply 37.5 kg /ha ZnSO4 as basal
Fe Apply 100 kg / ha FeSO4 as basal
Seed rate / ha
50000 three budded sett
75000 two budded sett
187500 single budded sett
- Seed cane : top one third to half portion, in which immature and viable buds are present
- Arrow : sugarcane inflorescence
- Fluff : sugarcane hybrid seed
Weed management
Atrazine for pure crop
Thiobencab for intercropping systems
2,4 D for parasitic weed striga
Apply 20 % urea for the control of striga as direct spray
Earthing up
45th day partial earthing up
90th day with victory plough
150th day with spade

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Detrash : 150 and 210th day (120 and 180th day for ratoon crop)
Propping : 210th day (180th day for ratoon crop)
Garmendisers : late tillers of sugarcane
Intercrops with sugarcane : Soyabean, Blackgram
Harvesting
Apply cane ripener (Sodium metasilicate 4 kg/ha)
Assess the maturity by Hand Refractometer brix index (18 to 25 %)
Top to bottom ratio of brix reading should be 1 : 1
Spraying of 2,4 D prior to harvesting increase the sucrose content
Sugarcane contains : 12 % sugar & 18 % sucrose
Pest & disease
Shoot borer management
ETL 15 % dead heart
Release Granulosis virus
Spray female of Sturmiopsis inferens
Intercropped daincha reduce early shoot borer
Trash mulch on ridges, minimize shoot borer incidence
Internode borer management
Release Egg parasite Trichogramma chilonis
Drench the crop on 150 and 210th DAP
Grassy shoot management
Transmitted by mycoplasma
Treat the sett with aerated steam at 50o C for 1 hr
Sunhemp intercropping reduce nematode population
Baggase : Residues of sugarcane at the time of crushing
Pressmed : Residues of clarified juice
Molasses : Bye product of sugar industry (contain 3 % sugar)
One ton of sugarcane gives 40 kg of molasses when crushing
TOBACCO : Nicotiana tobacum

Duration of tobacco crop is 75 days in TN
Nicotiana tobacum & Nicotiana rustica are cultivated in India
Tobacco contain Nicotine (Alkaloid) 5 %
Bedi tobacco is predominantly grown in Gujarat
Practicing raised bed (10 cm) for controlling the damping off and leaf blight disease in nursery
Over crowding of seedling (higher seed rate), low lying area & excessive watering favours damping off
Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) : Mormor tabaci

186
Spacing
Chewing 75 x 75 cm
Cigar 75 x 50 cm
Cheroot 60 x 45 cm
Ammonium sulphate application specifically for chewing tobacco (avoid Ammonium chloride)
Parasitic weed Orobanche controlled by raising trap crops viz., Green gram, Gingelly, Sorghum
Topping and Desuckering are done by Manually or Chemically
Curing methods
Sun curing : for cigar and chewing types
Pit curing : for chewing tobacco
Shade curing : for Bhavani special and Sendarapatty special
Intercrops : Onion, Coriander
Pest white fly (Bemisia tabaci) cause leaf curl virus disease
Rainfall at the time maturity of tobacco is undesirable as it cause washing down of gum and resin from leaf
Method of harvesting
Tobacco Priming
Mustard Reaping
Amaranthus Cutting
Average yield of tobacco leaves : 990 kg / ha
FORAGE CROPS
Fodder sorghum : CO 11, CO 20, CO 27, K 7, K 10
 Harvest at 50 % flowering
 For rainfed crop : rainfall of 250 - 300 mm is necessary
 Intercrop with forage cowpea (CO 5) at 1 : 1 ratio (to provide nutritious fodder)
Fodder cumbu : CO 8
 Harvest at boot leaf stage
 Intercrop with forage cowpea
Fodder maize : Hybrids African tall, Ganga 5
 Harvest at cob is in milky stage
 Cowpea as intercrop
Neelakolukattai Pul
Blou buffel grass or Anjan grass : CO 1
Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus setigerus are low yielder
Cenchrus glaucus is high yielder and well in dry land conditions
Intercropping with highly drought resistant legume fodder Stylosanthus scabra at 3 : 1 ratio
Guinea grass : Panicum maximum CO 1
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Propagate by seed or slips

Intercropped with velimasal (desmanthus) at 3 : 1 ratio
Deenanatha grass : Pennisetum pedicillatum CO 1
Cumbu napier hybrids : CO 3, CO 4, KKM 1
It is a irrigated crop
Fertilizer dose 50:50:40 NPK kg / ha
Propagated by rooted slips and cuttings
Seed rate 40000 slips per ha
Spacing 50x50 cm
Intercropped with Desmanthus (velimasal) at 3:1
Yield : Green fodder 400 t/ha/yr (oxalate content of 2.51 %)
Harmful effect of oxalate can be rectified through
Give 5 kg of leguminous fodder / day / animal
Provide calcium, bone meal, mineral mixture to animal
Provide daily 0.5 lit of supernatant clear lime water along with drinking water
Lucerne : Medicago sativa CO 1
Not suitable for very hot and cold climates
Cuscuta as a parasitic weed
Hedge Lucerne (Velimasal) : Desmanthus virgatus
Fodder cowpea : CO 5, Co 8
Indeterminate & semi spreading type
Apply biofertilizer mixture (Azospirillum + Rhizobium + Phosphobacterium)
Harvest at 50 % flowering
Desmodium
Desmodium is an efficient N fixer
Nutritious forage plant (termed as alfalfa of the tropics or tropical medic)
Crude protein content 20.9 %
2 spp : Grass leaf desmodium (Desmodium tortuosum)
Silver leaf desmodium (Desmodium unciniatum)
Muyal masal : Stylosanthes hamata (Annual)
Stylosanthes scabra (Perennial)
Drought resistant legume
Rainfall of 450 to 840 mm is enough for cultivation
Seed hardening : Acid scarification with conc. H2SO4 & scarified in hot water (80oC)
Subapul : Leucaena leucocephala
Variety : CO 1, K 8, Hawaiian gian (Ivory coast)
Introduced from Australia

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Fodder should have low mimosine and tannin content
Crop improvement in forage crops : It includes

High dry matter yield
Quality component (Crude protein content)
in vitro dry matter digestibility
Low percentage of neutral detergent fibers and toxicity
High response to inputs
Tolerance to adverse soil & climate
Resistant to pest & disease
Greater persistence (Multi cut)
Constraints in forage production
Non availability of quality seed (because, crop harvested before seed set)
Apomictic (Apomixis) nature of tropical grass (which limits genetic improvements)
Water is most important input for forage crops (because max vegetative growth is in a short duration)
The quality of fodder is begins to deteriorate after flowering
Forage conservation
Hay making : Dry the fodder upto the moisture content of 10-20 %. This inhibits the enzyme
activities. This process is difficult during monsoon (because of high rainfall & low sun light)
Silage making
The technique is called "Ensiling"
The container is called "Silo"
Through Fermentation under anaerobic condition
Bacteria "Lactobacillus" involved and produces lactic acid. It prevent other type of bacterial
activities
Legumes with high nitrogen content are not suitable for ensiling. (So, Hay making is possible
way to conserve it)
In India, Pit Silo is common method
Maize is good for silage making
JATROPHA : Jatropha curcus

Drought resistant crop
Variety : TNMC 1, TNMC 2, TNMC 3, TNMC 4, TNMC 5, TNMC 6, TNMC 7
Distribution : All district of Tamilnadu except Nilgiri
Soil type : All type of soil expect saline and alkaline
Seed rate : 1 kg per ac
Spacing : 2 x 2 m or 3 x 2 m (1000 plants per ac)

189
Seed treatment : Soak seeds in cow dung water for 12 hours

Keep soaked seeds in gunny bags for 12 hours
Sow the sprouted seeds in poly bags
Seedling age : 2 month onwards (upto 6 months)
Planting season : June or September
Fertilizer (2nd year onwards) : 20 : 120 : 60 gm NPK per plant (two split)
Topping and Pruning : keep the plant 1 m height (in 5 th year cut the whole plant and leave only 1 feet)
To induce flowering : Spray GA @ 100 ppm
Intercrop (upto 2nd year) : tomato, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Black gram
Harvesting : Fruits turn yellow in colour
Yield : 3 kg seed per plant or 3 tones per ac
Yield starts from first year onwards (but economic yield will be obtained from 3 rd year onwards)
Yielding upto 30 years
Seed contains 30 % fuel (Bio diesel)
Bye products : cake and glycerol
COMPOSTING
Coirpith contains lignin 30 % + cellulose 26 %
Decomposed by Pleurotus sajarcaju @ 5 bottles (250 g) + urea 5 kg
Vermicompost : 1 kg earth worm can convert 5 kg of waste per day
AGROFORESTRY
Eucalyptus spp are introduced from Australia (raised for rayon industry)
Casuarinas equisetifolia introduced from Australia
Ceiba pentandra (silk cotton) : variety are Indica, Africa, Caribea (Singapore kapok)
Ailanthus excelsa : Aiyilai or Peemaram or The tree of heaven or Matchsplint tree

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CROP VARIETIES
Crop Variety Remarks

Rice TN 1 First rice variety released by central variety releasing committee
ADT 28 Indain variety x Japanese variety
ADT 41 JJ 92 (scented rice)
ADT (R) 48 Duration of 94 days in direct seeding & 99 days in transplanting
ADT 43 Adhisaya Ponni
CO 33 Karuna
CO 37 Vaigai
CO 48 Podhigai Ponni
TPS 3 Ponmani (140 days duration)
TPS 4 95 days duration
Rasi Dry & semi dry rice
CR 1009 155 days (long duration for cauvery delta)
PY 4 Jawahar
CORH 1 MGR
Jalmagan Deep water rice (Kerala)
Navara Medicinal rice (60 days duration)
Wheat Co (W) 1 Bread wheat type (released in 2005)
Kalyansona
High yielding variety covered max area in Green revolution
Sonalika
Sorghum Co 29, Co 20, K7 Fodder sorghum
K9 Tenkasi Vellaicholam
CO 20, CO 25, CO
Ratoon varieties
26, K tall
Maize African Tall Fodder maize
Ganga 5 Fodder maize (Three way cross hybrid)
Protina It has high lysine content
COBc 1, Prakash Baby corn (Young cob harvested within 1 to 4 days of silk emerge)
Amber, Pearl Pop corn variety
Madhuri, Priya Sweet corn (used for soups)
Ganga, Deccan, Hybrids
Ranjit
Hi starch Three way cross hybrid
Kisan, Vikram,
Composite variety
Vijay, Jawahar,

191
Sona
Cowpea Co 5, Co8 Fodder cowpea
Co 6, VBN 2 Vegetable cowpea
Groundnut TMV 7 Pure line selection from Tennessee
TMV 10 High shelling % of 77 & high oil content of 55 %
JL 24 Mass selection from Taiwan
Mauritious
Coromandal
Mozambique
Soyabean Alankar Resistant to YMV
CO 2 Protected irrigation should be given
Sesame SVPR 1 Selection from Western Ghat White & White colored seeds
Cotton Egyption variety Long staple variety (Gossipium barbadense)
American variety Medium staple variety (Gossipium hirsutum)
Indian cotton Short staple variety (Gossipium arboretum)
K9, K10, K 11 Rainfed Karunganni cotton (do not delint the seeds)
ADT 1, MCU 7,
Rice fallow cotton
SVPR 2
MCU 7 Short duration crop, Mutant variety
MCU 10 Mutant variety
TCHB 213
Jayalaxmi Interspecific Hybrid
Suvin
Varalakshmi Composite variety
Banana Winter banana
Apple of Rome beauty
paradise
Blood red
Golden delicious
Red delicious
Pine apple Kew
Queen
Mauritius
Papaya CO 1 For papain extraction
Coorg Honey dew Bisexual variety
CO 3 Bisexual variety

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Ber Umran
Tharnless
Pomegranate Muscat Red Red seeds
Ganesh Seedless variety
Pine apple Kew, Queen Suckers, slips and crown are used as planting material
Ganesh Seedless variety
Brinjal Swarna Shree
High yielding variety
Arka Naveneeth
Chillies Paprika Baji milagai
Potato Kufri sindhuri
Upto date
Cabbage Pride of India
Leaf
Ooty (SP) 1 New Zealand Spinach
vegetable
Rose John F Kennedy Hybrid rose
Gladiator Main exported variety from Mumbai
Queen Elizabeth
Hapiness
Super star
Pepper --- King of spices
Panniyur Best for lower elevation
Karimunda Best for higher elevation
Kottanadan
Panchami
Pournami
Cardamom Green gold Queen of spices
Cinnamon YCD 1, PPI 1
Garlic Ooty 1
Rio de janerio
Singapore
Turmeric BSR 1 Mutant variety
Tea Pandian, Sundaram, Golconda, Jayaram, Evergreen, Brookeland
Arecanut Mangala, Subamangala, Srimangala
Rubber RRII 105, 108 Rubber Research Institute of India
RRIM clones Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia
Betel vine Karpurakodi, Kallarkodi
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Senna KKM (Se) 1 Sennoside content 2.54 %
Tobacco varieties
Type Variety Hybrid
Cigar Vellaivalai, Karuvalai Krishna
Bhavani special (Narrow leaf)
Cheroot Oosikkapal
Sendarapatty special (Broad leaf)
Chewing
Vattakapal, Valaikapal, Vadamugam
Sun cured Bhagyalakshmi
Vedaranyam, Monnai
Smoke cured Periya vadamugam Thangam, Maragatham
Pit cured Vattakapal, Vadamugam Vairam
Rice fallow varieties

Black gram : ADT 3, ADT 4, VBN 2
Cotton : SVPR 1, ADT 1
Soyabean : ADT 1

194
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES ON AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (1999)

 Scheme functioned by Agricultural Insurance Company of India Limited
 In Tamilnadu this scheme has been operated from Rabi 1999
Objectives
 To provide insurance coverage and financial support for notified crop during crop failure like
natural calamities and pest & disease
 To encourage farmers to adopt hi tech agriculture
 To stabilize farm income during disaster year
Crop covered
 Food crops (cereals, millets, pulse)
 Oilseeds
 Sugarcane, cotton, potato
 Annual horticulture / commercial crops
Risk covered
 Natural fire, drought, dry spell, cyclone, flood, land slide, pest & disease
Sum insured
 Value of threshold yield
 We can insured upto 150 % of average yield (but the premium @ commercial rate)
 Loanee farmer should insure atleast loan amount
 Loanee farmers will get = Scale of finance + Insurance charge
Premium rate
Season Crop Premium
Bajra, Oilseeds 3.5 % of sum insured
Kharif
Others 2.5 % of sum insured
Wheat 1.5 % of sum insured
Rabi
Others 2.0 % of sum insured
Kharif & Rabi Annual horticulture / commercial crop Actuarial rate
 Small & Marginal farmers can get 50 % subsidy on premium amount

 Central & State Govt shares the subsidy equally.
 Subsidy is only for 3 to 5 years
 Tamilnadu Govt. provide 50 % premium subsidy to non loanee & tenent farmers (2006-07)
TN IAMWARM project
Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization & Water bodies Restoration & Management Project
Aim
 To improve productivity in irrigated agriculture
195
 To improve water resource management in river basin or sub basin

Objectives
 Adoption of modern water saving irrigation technologies (micro irrigation) and agriculture
technologies
 Agricultural intensification and diversification
 Enhance market access and agri business opportunities
 Strengthening institutes and instruments dealing with water resource management
Project
 A multi disciplinary project
 Aided by World Bank
 Project period is 6 years (2007-08 to 2012-13)
 During the project period totally 63 sub basins would be covered (except Cauvery basin)
 At the end, 617000 ha of irrigated land would be benefited
Project Implementing Agency
 Water Resource Organisation (WRO)
 Multi disciplinary project unit - Guide, Coordinate and support the project
 Line Departments : agriculture, Horticulture, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Marketing,
Animal husbandry and Fisheries along with TNAU
TANWABE : Tamil Nadu Women in Agri Business and Extension

TANWA project was implemented during the period from 1986 to 2002 in 2 phases with financial
assistance from DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency). The project declared as women as
potential farmers and keen learners.
Based on the declaration, TANWABE project was started from 2005-06 with the following
objectives
 Strengthening existing farm women groups
 To give capacity building trainings
 To adopt new technology
Farm women group = Self Help group = Farm women + Agricultural labourers
Women groups provided 25 % subsidy to purchase agricultural machineries
This machineries can be hired by others
Micro Irrigation Scheme

Aim
 To increase area under irrigation through efficient irrigation methods (drip & sprinkler)
Objective
 Enhancing productivity, quality of produce and profitability
Crop covered

196
 Horticulture crops : Fruits, Vegetables, Spices, Plantation crops, Medicinal plants

 Agriculture crops : Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds, Coconut
District covered
 All district except Chennai
Implementation
 Implemented on “Compact Area” basis
 State Implementing Agency : Tamil Nadu Horticulture Development Agency
 District Designated Agency :
o Dept. of Agriculture : Agri crops + Coconut in Non command area
o Dept. of Horticulture : Horticulture crops in Non command area
o Dept. of Agrl. Engineering : All crops in command area
o Dept. of Sericulture : Mulberry crop
Assistance to the farmers
 For all type of drip irrigation systems (online drip, inline drip, micro sprinkler, mini sprinkler etc.,)
 Assistance will be given upto 5 ha per farmer (12.5 ac)
 Farmers will get 50 % subsidy
 Beneficiaries should have
o Own land or leased land (tenant)
o Permanent water source
o Power connection
o They are not availed subsidy
NADP : National Agricultural Development Programme (2007-08)

Programme covers
 Precision farming
 Organic farming
 Agricultural mechanization
 Automatic weather station
 e agriculture
 Management Information System (MIS)
 Land resource inventory through GIS (Geographic Information System) data base
 Agri clinic cum mini STL (Soil Testing Lab)
 Strengthening quality seed production and distribution
 Development of clusters of horticulture / Biomass tree plantation
 Dryland development and improving crop productivity
Including (2008-09)
 Biofertilizer production unit
 Distribution of LCC (Leaf Color Chart) to farmers
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 Augmenting pulse production through DAP spray
Project
 Centrally sponsored scheme to achieve 4 % annual growth rate in 11 th plan in agriculture
 State‟s plan of action includes
o Consideration of agro climatic condition
o Natural resource availability
o Availability of agricultural technologies
o Integrating live stocks, poultry, fisheries, etc.
Precision farming
 Site specific crop management system
 Production led marketing is converted into Market led production
 Aim : Quantity, Quality and Uniformity
Technologies
 Remote sensing and satellite approach for determining climate, soil and water potential
 Chisel ploughing upto 60 cm for aeration and drainage
 Use of F1 hybrids
 Production of elite seedlings through community nursery
 Adoption of drip irrigation
 Application of water soluble fertilizers & MN mixture through fertigation
 Adoption of IPM
Implementation process
 Promote Growers Association and register it
o Association procure inputs directly from manufactures
o Sale their produce directly without intermediates
o Get technology from TNAU
 Community nursery
o Erection of shade nets to create controlled condition
o Use of portray for seedling production
o Seed treatment with pseudomonas
 Drip irrigation
o Water use efficiency is 80 %
o Fertilizer use efficiency will increased
o Weed growth is minimized
o No land leveling is practiced

198
Organic farming
 Otherwise called as Organic production system or Sustainable Farming System
 Environmentally safe, Ecologically sound & Economically viable
 Yield quality produce
 Maintained soil fertility
 Achieved by
o Crop rotation with legumes
o Raising of green manure crops
o Application of biofertilizers
o Application of crop residues, animal manure, off farm wastes
o Bio control of pest, disease and weeds
Agri clinic cum mini STL

Eligibility criteria
 Unemployed graduate in agriculture discipline (agri, horti, forestry, agri engineering, animal husbandry)
 Diploma holder in agri, horti, agri engineering
 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Bank
 Retired technical officer of agricultural department or scientists of SAU, ICAR (4 years old)
ATMA : Agricultural Technology Management Agency

 It is a district level body
 Responsibility : Technology dissemination in district level
 Linkage : All line departments (agri, horti, sericulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, marketing)
o Research organisation
o NGOs
o KVKs
o Zonal Research Stations
 Funds received directly from : GOI, State Govt., membership fee, beneficiary contribution
NFSM :National Food Security Mission (2007-08)

 Centrally sponsored scheme
 Comprising : Rice, Wheat, Pulse
Aim
 To increase production of rice by 10 mt, wheat by 8 mt and pulse by 2 mt in the end of 11 th plan
Objectives
 Increasing production of rice, wheat, pulse through area expansion and productivity enhancement
 To sustain soil fertility and productivity
 To generate employment opportunities
 To enhance farm income
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Project structure
 National food security mission (Chairperson - Agricultural secretary)
 State food security mission (Chief secretary)
 District food security mission (District collector)
NBM : National Bamboo Mission

Aim
 To cover 2 million ha under bamboo by the end of 11 th plan
Objectives
 To promote bamboo area with improved varieties
 To promote bamboo marketing
 To establish R & D centers (for developing new technologies)
 To disseminate technologies
 To generate employment opportunity
Green gold : Thorn less Bamboo Bamboosa vulgaris
 For soil erosion control, paper industries, furniture, food, medicine, forage
 Poor man‟s tree, People friend, Bio steel
 Edible bamboo Bamboosa bamboss (feed for tribal)
IPM centers : Madurai, Kanchipuram

Biofertilizer quality control lab : Trichy
Coconut mother palm garden : Neyveli, Putiur
NPV labs : Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Kanchipuram
Large nos. of state seed farms : Thiruvarur district (7 farms)

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FOOD SCIENCE
 Vitamin A : Mango, Carrots
 Vitamin A & C : Potato
 Vitamin B : Banana
 Normally, an adult requires 8 amino acids essentially
 Per capita min requirement of vegetable & fruits together : 137 gm per day
 Per capita min requirement of cereals : 304 gm & pulses : 203 gm per day
 Calorie of energy content : Carbohydrate 4, Protein 4, Fat 9
 Cereals contain Lysine (amino acid)
 Pulse contain Methionine & Triptophane (amino acid)
 Food preservator : Sodium Benzoate
 Max protein content : Shrim fish
 Among cereals whole wheat contains maxi protein (Glutalin)
 Soyabean contains maxi protein, fat, minerals (among pulses)
 Green gram contains maxi Carbohydrates among pulses (more nutritious pulse)
 Sorghum contains max mineral and energy among cereals
 Ragi contains maxi Calcium
 Dry Maize contains more fat among cereals
 For quick digestion we are adding common salt in food (NaCl)
 Protein in egg : Albumin
 Protein in meat : Myosin
 Milk and egg not contain vitamin C
 Protein efficiency ration is maxi in Egg
 Enzyme are proteins
 Coenzyme are non protein part of some enzyme
 Wheat having well balanced Carbohydrate & Protein

201
MODEL QUESTIONS
 Organic matter content of histosol (organic soil) 12 - 18 %

 Crop logging : It is a method of plant analysis, for assessing requirement of plant nutrients
 In compost pit, raise of temperature during decomposition process is upto 60 - 80o C
 Nitrogenous fertilizer for tea (in acid soil) is Ammonium sulphate
 Low carbohydrate status & high protein synthesis in plant system is due to high nitrogen supply
 Purple colouration of maize leaves caused by P deficiency
 Firing of tobacco leaves caused by K deficiency
 Composite population : Single plants derived from crosses and /or Germplasm lines
 Synthetic population are other wise called as Isolines
 Potato seed rate : 15 quintals per ha
 Grapes are pruned only once in Northern India while twice in Southern India. This is due to grapes
shed leaves in winter in north while they remain evergreen in south
 Wheat loose smut can be effectively controlled by seed treatment with systemic fungicides
 Mycoplasma is sensitive to Tetracycline (antibiotics)
 Autocidal technique of insect control - by release of sterile males
 Mist blower : It is a sprayer requires only 1/3 of the quantity of water + same quantity of a.i
 India‟s productivity in rice is 1.75 t/ha
 In wheat, seminal roots are responsible for nourishing plants during early stages of the crop
 Irrigation efficiency is very low in irrigated farming in India mainly because of large irrigated area is
under canal irrigation system
 Nicotine synthesis in tobacco plants is take place at roots
 Neem act as oil cakes + nitrification inhibitor
 Chlorite belongs to 2 : 2 type of clay mineral
 Humus contains lingo protein
 Humin is insoluble in alkali soil
 Humic acid is insoluble in acid soil
 Heterosis (Fi hybrid) over the better parent is called Heterobeltiosis
 Aruna varity of castor evolved through induced mutagenesis
 CAM plants (Pine apple & Sisal)
o They are succulent plants,
o Nocturnal stomata opening
o Night time transpiration take place
o Decrease in acidity during night
o No CO2 uptake during night time
 Photosynthetic pigment which occur in red & blue green algae is called as Phycobilin
 Rose : No. 1 flower in international cut flower market
202
 Migratory locust is a Gregarious pest

 Under IRDP the basic unit is Family
 Operational holding : Net land area cultivated by a farmer
 Ikebana : Japanese art of flower arrangement
 Spores of Lycopodium are known as Vegetable sulphur (used to cure stomach disorder)
 Glucose (sugar) is obtained from grapes
 Nipping : Removal of undesired branches by picking auxiliary buds
 Topping : Removal of terminal buds (cotton)
 Male bamboo, flowers only after every 30 years
 Tree of heaven : Coconut
 Acid soil reclamation is done by adding lime @ 5 ton per ac
 Edible oil content in rice bran : 20 %
 Poor mans food : Ragi
 Poor mans animal : Goat
 Poor mans crop : Samai
 Poor mans root crop : Tapioca
 Land of rivers : Andhra Pradesh
 Five river state : Punjab
 Deciduous trees shed their leaves during all the year round
 Evergreen trees shed their leaves during summer only
 Invation of vegetation : Take over of some other vegetation in the place of other
 Root hairs take up nutrients through Diffusion (water through Absorption & Ca, Mg through Imbibitions)
 World‟s food basket : Prairies of North America
 Phyllotaxay : Arrangement of leaves on the stem
 Crescograph : The device used for measuring growth of plants
 Rain shadow region receives meager amount of rainfall
 Fern prepare food without chlorophyll
 Mitochondria known as Physical basis of life or Power house of cell
 Agrostology : Study of grasses
 Dry leaves of lawsonia intermis is used as a dye
 Rice bowl of forest : Burma
 King of coarse grain : Sorghum
 Nature takes 400 to 1000 years to form 1 inch of surface soil (soil formation processes)
 Sun‟s energy is called as Insolation
 Ancient seed : Gingelly
 Utilization of HYV is max in Wheat
 Poudrette : The useful product converted from night soil (contain 6 % N)

203
 More phosphoric acid is present in Bone ash

 Insecticide dust dose @ 25 kg per ha
 1 pair bullock + country plough cover 0.02 ha per day
 Agriculture consume 15 % of power generated in India
 King of Indian forest : Teak
 Rock cotton : Asbestos
 Cellulose is a Carbohydrate
 Cantharidin medicine for external irritant obtained from Blister beetle
 Plant inside the aquarium : for supply of CO2
 Agar agar is produced from algae (used as tissue culture medium)
 Autology : Ecological study of individual organisms
 N & P are present in equal amount in Ammonium nitro phosphate (23 : 23 %)
 Land reform : Redistribution of property rights in land for the benefit of cultivators and agricultural laborers
 NPK application for Photosynthesis and Protein synthesis
 Phosphorus application for photosynthesis, synthesis of starch, fat, protein and for Glycolysis process
 First scheme on the use of Ammonium sulphate was launched in paddy growing area of West Bengal in 1945
 Soil tests started in 1952 for the use of fertilizer in cultivator‟s fields
 Ameliorants or amendments or improver or soil conditioners : for soil health maintenance
 Largest amount of dew deposition in India : Assam
 Amaranthus is non graminaceous weed
 Cheapest method of irrigation : Diversion of water from a flowing stream
 Sulphur is essential for Groundnut (for oil content), Onion, Garlic (for aroma)
 2,4 D used to kill broad leaf weeds
 Laterisation : formation of lateritic soils
 Sea weed add iodine in soil if incorporated into the soil
 During storage, a manure loses its N content (vermicompost)
 Calcium cynamide : Nitrogenous fertilizer + Weedicide
 Bryophytes : Simplest terrestrial plants
 Ammonium fertilizer should not stored with lime
 Kharif crop grown during monsoon season (June - July)
 Rabi crop grown during post monsoon season (Sep - Oct)
 Gram crop is grown during winter season (Garden land crop)
 The temporary roots in maize root system are seminal roots
 Application of N in cowpea at the time of planting is known as starter dose
 Touch me not plant : Mimosa pudica
 Plant nutrient leaching order : Ca > Mg > S > K > N > P
 Second important food crop in India : Wheat (suitable soil is loam)

204
 Major producer of gram : Rajasthan

 Groundnut : Max area and production in the world - India
 Maxi cropped area in UP
 Main crop of Meghalaya : Sugarcane
 Alcohol is extracted from beet root at Ganga nagar sugar mill (Rajasthan)
 In deserts, the clouds do not precipitate because of low humidity
 Western ghates having evergreen forest (Rose wood)
 Turmeric is under ground stem
 Operation soil watch : A special afforestation programme to prevent soil erosion
 Laquer : Pesticide incorporated into varnish to achieve slow release over
 Total consumption of NPK per year in India is highest in Uttra Pradesh
 The fertilizer consumption per ha is highest in Punjab
 Saccharum barberi & Groundnut removes maximum primary nutrients from the soil
 Tamilnadu is first in position for no. of pump sets & tube wells
 Bhendi YMV transmitted by cotton butterfly (White fly)
 Madhya Pradesh having large forest area
 Haryana have 100 % rural electrification
 Paddy : First position among irrigated crop in terms of irrigated area
 1 kg of groundnut gives 0.4 to 0.55 kg of kernel
 Jhuming cultivation : Conventional method of cultivation in hilly tracts
 Canals are three type : Perennial , Storage & Inundation type
 Mummy : A dried shriveled fruit
 Energy plantation : Planting trees for fuel purpose
 Energy cropping : Raising crops for alcohol production
 Vertical revolution : Production of maximum yield per unit area per unit time
 Indian Farming : Semi commercialized (produce for market + family consumption)
 Enforced farming : Farming without season
 Tamilnadu has 23 district level market committee
 Agmark under Agricultural produce (Grading and Marketing) Act
 Agmark is functioning under Ministry of Rural Development
 Bolting : Premature seed production
 Exported variety of rose : Gladiator
 Depth of cultivated soil : 15 cm
 Viviparae : Adult female not lay eggs (Aphids)
 Hybridization : Reshuffling of genes
 Maximum variability is occur in F2 generation
 LD50 : Dose of mutagent in mutation breeding

205
 Vaniyambadi of Vellor district of Tamilnadu comes under top 10 polluting cities

 Certificate of Registration : given by Joint Director of Agriculture
 Certificate of Manufacturing : given by State level Agricultural Officer
o Application should be submitted in “Farm D of FAO” (1985)
 Carbon cycle = Bio cycle = Cycle of life
 Calvin cycle = Benson cycle = C3 cycle
 Leguminaceae = Fabaceae = Papilionaceae
 Hatch-Slack cycle = C4 cycle
 Vernal equinox (day & night is equal) : March 21
 Autumnal equinox : September 21
 Freon : A trade name of CFC (Chloro Fluro Carbons)
 Ozonator : A machine to produce O3
 CEQ : Council of Environmental Quality (under USA President)
 Gram stain : Gram positive - Cell retain purple color (Bacillus)
 Gram negative - No color (E. coli)
 Vinegar : Manufactured from sugar solution through Acetobacter aceti
 Fungi : Non Chlorophyllous Thallophytes
 Oxalic acid is the fermentation product of Aspergillus niger
 Vitamin B : it can be obtained from Yeast & Clostridium


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1

AGRICULTURE SYLABUS (Single Paper)

1. IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE : Importance of Agriculture in Indian Economy and its sectoral

3. CROP IMPROVEMENT : Principles of breeding - Breeding methods - Modern tools in crop

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Five year plans

Indian Institute of Jute & Allied Fibres Technology, Kolkata

National Research Centres (NRC)

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

DNA Finger Printing New Delhi (Pusa) Mushroom Sholan (HP

Major food crops & Producing states

Crops and Places

Recent developments in agriculture

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Pit method of sugarcane planting

Organic farming or Natural farming

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

1971 Agro Service Centre Scheme

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Pyranometer : for measuring total incoming radiation

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Effect of weather on crops

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

- Rate of photosynthesis is reduced due to reduction in temperature

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Agro climatic zones of Tamilnadu (7)

Rainfall distribution in Tamilnadu

Summer : Hot weather period or Pre monsoon period (March to May)

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

ESP = Exchangeable Na / CEC x 100

Grade EC (Salinity) SAR (Sodicity)

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Very high 2250 - 5000 26 - 31

- Cations (+) : Ca, Mg, K, Na

Irrigation and Drainage management

It back to Field Capacity of soil moisture

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Cauvery system : Start at Coorg - Dam at krishnarajasagar of Karnataka - Electricity at Sivasamudram of

India’s water budget

Water Use Efficiency : WUE = Y / ET (Yield, Evapotranspiration)

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Classification of soil water

Water absorption by plants

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Water requirement of crops

Reference ET : Rate of ET from tall green grass cover surface

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Red gram Flowering and pod development

Crop Critical stage Physiological stage

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Panicum repens (Inji pul)

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle)

TAUSEWA, TNAU, Coimbatore – 641 003

Cyperus rotundus is a sub aerial food storage stem

Weed as an alternate host for pest and diseases