requirements, the improved farm tools and implements (Fig 2) are being fabricated in the research workshop and supplied to different government and non- government organizations and individual farmers. The manually operated tools and implements include maize sheller, long handle weeders, cono weeder, wheel hoe, fruit harvester, groundnut decorticator, winnower, SRI row marker, adjustable row marker, seed drills and paddy thresher. Animal drawn implements fabricated are MB plough, light ridger plough and bund former.
The implements worth Rs. 2, 44,305/- were fabricated and supplied during April, 2010 to March, 2011.
Pneumatic seed metering device for power tiller operated planter
A roller type pneumatic seed metering unit was designed and developed for picking up single seed. It was different from the previous design in the aspect of nozzle placement. In a common pneumatic planter, cells are drilled on a plate and another plate is used to maintain the vacuum. In this new design, nozzles were drilled on the periphery of a roller. The concept behind this invention was to lower the vacuum pressure requirement and reduce the multiple seed pick up and increase the accuracy in seed singulation. Initially the operational parameters of the roller will be standardized for maize then some other crops will be selected which are directly planted. This roller was made of cast iron to reduce cost as well as to increase the self life as cast iron does not rust easily. This unit is under testing for its performance.
Application of plastic in agriculture
Standardization of agro-techniques for cut flower production of gerbera in low cost polyhouse
Statistically designed experiments in two polyhouses were laid and data pertaining to vegetative growth, flower yield were monitored. Treatments were:
Soil + FYM; Soil + Leaf mould; Soil + Sand; Soil + Leaf mould + Sand; Soil + FYM + Sand + Cocopeat;
Soil + FYM + Perlite; Soil + FYM + Perlite + Vermiculite; Soil + FYM + Perlite + Vermiculite + Cocopeat; Soil + Leaf mould + Perlite + Vermiculite.
Replications: 3; Plant density: 9 plants per m2; plot size: 1 m2. The most appropriate growing media identified was Soil + FYM + Sand + Cocopeat (T5) followed by Soil + FYM + Perlite + Vermiculite + Cocopeat (T6). Plant height was 40.66 cm in polyhouse in T5 followed by 32.33 cm in T6 as compared to 21.2 cm in open conditions. No. of leaves were 32 in T5 in polyhouse followed by 28 in case of T6 compared to 16 in case of open conditions. Leaf area was 302.83 cm2 in polyhouse in T5 followed by 287.5 cm2 in T6 as compared to 75.44 cm2 in open. Flower size observed was 10.37 cm (diameter of flower) in case of T6 in polyhouse followed by 10.2 cm in T5 and 7.45 cm in open. Root density (nos. of roots / primary root length) was found to be 10.02 in T5 in polyhouse followed by 9.33 in T6 in polyhoude compared to 5.62 in open conditions. Root length obtained was 50 cm in case of T6 and 47 cm in case of T5 in polyhouse compared to 27 cm in open conditions.
Fig 2 Tools and implements manufactured in the workshop
Powdery mildew was observed in August in polyhouse. Spray of Carbendazim @ 0.1% two times at 15 days interval controlled the disease. In open conditions leaf miner, powdery mildew and root rot were observed. The most suitable micro climate in polyhouse was observed when the air temperature was 22 to 24 ºC and relative humidity at 2 PM 70–80%.
The B:C ratio for gerbera cultivation in the low cost poly house was obtained as 4.5:1.
Development of vegetative and structural management strategies for Eastern Himalayan Hilly Watersheds using field measurements and a physically based model
Considering the soil erosion problems associated with agriculture on sloping land, availability of infrastructure for measuring field data, and availability of meteorological and other collateral data, one small untreated watershed namely, Umroi watershed (MW) depicted in Fig 3 and two adjacent treated micro watersheds namely, WS1 and WS2, and eight research plots with different land use treatments were selected as the study areas. The study areas is located in Umsning block of Ribhoi district of Meghalaya state of India and lie between 91° 57' 31" and 91° 58' 37" E longitude and 24° 42' 32" and 24° 43' 42" N latitude.
Toposheet number 78/O 14 of survey of India on 1:50,000 scale covers the entire study area. Location of the MW watershed is shown in figure 3. The area of the MW watershed is 239.44 ha and its elevation ranged from 900 to 1240 m above the mean sea level.
In Eastern Himalayan region of India, traditional method of crop cultivation (bun agriculture) with tuber crops followed by upland paddy in the same bun field in the subsequent year is quite prone to soil erosion, yielding sediment at an average rate of 48.70 Mg ha–1 during the first year and 76.47 Mg ha–1 during the subsequent years. Graded bunding in the bun field at 1 m vertical interval along with water harvesting tank at lower reaches of the hill slope was noted to reduce sediment yield by 74.91%. Therefore, graded bunds along with the siltation tank at the downstream end are recommended for hill agriculture on steep slopes in high rainfall conditions to reduce soil erosion due to traditional cultivation along the slope.
In the present study, the land use and land cover map, and digital elevation model (Fig 4 & 5) were developed with the help of GIS tools. The WEPP model was tested for its efficacy to predict runoff and sediment yield in high rainfall and steep slope conditions of eastern Himalaya. The model was used to develop vegetative and structural control measures to enhance agricultural sustainability in the Umroi watershed representing the typical agro-climatic conditions of eastern Himalaya. Based on results of the study the following conclusions were drawn:
1. The WEPP model simulates runoff and sediment yield satisfactorily in high rainfall and high slope conditions of eastern Himalaya with Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients > 0.87 and percent deviations < ±5.23.
Comparison between WEPP–simulated and measured values of runoff and sediment yield revealed that the model tends to under-predict the values of higher magnitude. Future studies on
Fig 3 Location map of the MW watershed Fig 4 LU/LC map of the MW watershed
subsurface components of the model parameters may be useful to enhance model predictability particularly in case of high subsurface flow.
2. Simulation results indicated that soybean and peanut crops have the potential to replace paddy crop in upland for reducing sediment yield by 29.60 and 27.70%, respectively.
3. Simulation results indicated that replacing existing tillage practice of spading with drill-no-tillage system and field cultivator may reduce the sediment yield by 13.14 and 21.88%, respectively.
4. Simulation results showed that installation of 26 porous rock-fill check dams and trash barriers in the Umroi watershed can reduce the sediment yield by 54.67%.
5. The results clearly indicated that crop and tillage management practices and structural controls individually are not capable of reducing sediment yield to less than 5 Mg ha–1. Simulation of combinations of crop, tillage and structural control scenarios revealed soybean–drill-no-tillage–with structural controls combination has potential to reduce sediment yield by 78.40% i.e. to 4.74 Mg ha–1. Maize intercropped with soybean may be adopted in place of upland paddy to reduce soil loss and to meet food and nutritional requirement.
6. The calibrated, validated WEPP model can be successfully used to develop crop and structural management strategies in high rainfall and high slope conditions of eastern Himalaya.