DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE
B. A. COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, A. A. U., ANAND Scheme-wise teaching/non-teaching and supporting staff:
B. H. No. Plan/Non-
plan/ICAR/O.A No. of posts
sanctioned Designation Name of employee Nature of work
3126-2 Non-plan 01 Professor and
Head Dr. H. C. Patel Overall office administration, P. G. guidance, Research, P. G. teaching and extension activities
03 Agril.
Assistant
Vacant ---
--“-- -- --
--“-- Shri V. D. Rathva Store handling, Office purchase, Raising & sale of ornamental planting materials, field supervision and mali training dead-stock & record keeping
01 Peon Shri C. M. Bhoi Office activities
02 Mali Shri I. B. Thakor College garden maintenance
--“-- Shri B. K. Chauhan Nursery maintenance and propagation activities
5106 Non-plan 01 Assoc.
Professor Vacant ---
02 Asstt.
Professor
Vacant ---
--“-- Vacant ---
5014 Non-plan 01 Agril. Officer Shri D. N. Suvera Store, Register maintenance 01 Agril. Officer Shri P. C. Patel Research in fruit crops
02 Agril. Asst. Vacant
--“-- Vacant --
01 Jr. Clerk Vacant ----
01 Peon Vacant ----
5026 Non-plan 01 Assoc. Res.
Sci.
Dr. M. J. Patel Research in fruit and vegetable crops, Horti. Res. Farm in-charge, U. G.& P. G teaching, P. G. guidance 01 Asstt. Res.
Sci.
Prof. J. S. Patel Research, In-charge mali training, Fruit nursery raising &
maintenance, Research, U. G.
01 Jr. Res. Asst. Vacant ---
06 Agril. Asst. Vacant ---
--“-- Vacant ---
--“-- Shri M. B. Gadhavi Fruit nursery raising, maintenance, sale of planting materials of fruit crops, record keeping and field supervision, Labour muster
01 Tractor Driver Shri R. M. Vasava Driving tractor
01 Permanent
Farm Labour
Smt. S. S. Rathod Cleaning of farm animal sheds and farm activities
6503-03 ICAR 02 Assoc.
Professor
Dr. N. S. Parekh In-charge of ornamental nursery, campus beautification, P. G. guidance, U. G./P. G. teaching
--“-- -- ---
03 Asstt.
Professor
Prof. R. L. Rajput U. G. teaching, research in value addition & purchase of value addition centre
Asstt.
Professor
Prof. R. H. Patel Horti. Res. Farm activities monitoring and research Asstt.
Professor
Dr. K. M. Patel Research in fruit crops, Green-houses handling &
maintenance, extension activities, U. G. and P. G.
teaching, P. G. guidance 18053 Other Agency
(Dept. of Economics)
-- Agril.
Supervisor
Vacant ----
1) Research Schemes Sr.
No.
Name of Scheme Budget head
Type of Scheme plan/non-plan
Funding agency
1 Modern Green House 12931-01 Plan State Govt.
2 Research on horticultural fruit and flower crops
12959 Plan “
3 Horticulture Research cum- Demonstration Farm
5026 Non plan "
4 Project for Research In Fruit Crops
5014 Non plan "
5 Department of Horti. Research 3126-2 Non plan "
2) Extension Schemes Sr.
No.
Name of Scheme Budget head
Type of Scheme plan/non-plan
Funding agency
1 Mali Training 12508 Plan State Govt
2 Landscaping & Tree Plantation 12712-2 Plan "
3) Teaching Scheme Sr.
No. Name of Scheme Budget
head Type of Scheme
plan/non-plan Funding agency 1 Department of Horti. Research 3126-2 Non plan State Govt.
2 Strengthening of Horticultural Department at A.A.U.
6503-3 -- "
3 Experiential Learning Setting up of Facility for Hands on Training in High-Tech Floriculture
9510-A- 48
Revolving Fund ICAR
4 Experiential Learning Setting up of Facility for Value addition in Aonla, Mango, Tomato and Kagzilime
9510-A- 44
" ICAR
4) Revolving Scheme Sr.
No.
Name of Scheme Budget head Type of Scheme plan/non-plan
Funding agency
1 Fruit Nursery 9510-A-2 Revolving Fund ICAR
2 Ornamental Nursery 2504 " State Govt.
3 Seed Production in Agricultural Crops and Horticultural Crops
2030-11-A " ICAR
Student M.Sc. 199 Ph. D 34 Total 233
RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS
Research recommendations on horticultural crops for farmers as well as for scientific community:
Sr. No. Crops No. of recommendations
1 Fruit Crops 33
2 Vegetable Crops 22
3 Flower Crops 09
4 Agro forestry 01
Total 65
(A) Fruit crops :
Research work was carried out on major fruit crops like mango, banana, sapota, guava, acid lime, aonla, papaya and coconut as under.
Crop-wise research recommendations on fruit crops:
Sr. No. Name of fruit crops No. of recommendations
1 Mango 02
2 Banana 08
3 Sapota 02
4 Guava 02
5 Kagzi lime 08
6 Aonla 08
7 Coconut 01
8 Papaya 02
Total 33
(A) FRUIT CROPS:
1. MANGO :
(i) Released improved, high yielding and better quality of mango variety “Amrutang”.
Important characters of fruit of 'Amrutang' variety of mango
Sr.No. Important characters Figures
1 Average weight of fruit (g) 180.00
2 Average weight of ripe fruit (g) 160.00
3 Ripening loss (%) 11.00
4 Length of fruit (cm) 10.50
5 Width (cm) 07.50
6 Pulp weight (g) 130.00
7 Peel weight (g) 18.00
8 Stone weight (g) 12.00
9 Pulp/stone ratio 83 : 1.00
10 Pulp (%) 81.25
(ii) Standardization of propagation technique called “Soft-wood grafting in mango”. This technique is cheaper, quicker and simple than the traditional technique and can be easily adopted.
2. AONLA :
(i) Released improved, high yielding and better quality of aonla variety “Gujarat Aonla-1.” It contains high vitamin ‘C’.
Important characters of Gujarat Aonla-1 tree:
Tree size is medium
Compact branches with drooping habit
More foliage and green leaves
Vigorous growth habits
Prolific bearer
Bigger size fruits
Yield 100-150 kg/tree/year after 10th year Gujarat Aonla-1
Important characters of ‘Gujarat Aonla-1’ fruit:
Sr. No. Characters Figures
1 Average weight of fruit (g) 43.10
2 Average pulp weight (g) 28.62
3 Average weight of stone (g) 14.48
4 Pulp : Stone ratio 1.69:1.00
5 Total soluble solids (0Brix) 16.33
6 Vitamin ‘C’ ( mg/100 g) 815
7 Acidity (%) 1.90
(ii) For propagation of budded aonla by patch budding from 15th June to 30th June period was recommended. It gave more than 85 per cent success.
(iii) To propagate the aonla from April to July in situ by patch budding. The success during this period was 72.56 per cent, which was 25.27 per cent higher than budding in potted plant. This method took less number of days for sprouting and had better vegetative growth in terms of length of sprouted shoot.
(iv) Nurserymen are advised to sow seeds of “Gujarat Aonla-1” during month of May for raising the seedlings in order to get higher per cent germination.
Sowing of aonla seeds during this period gave 84.00 per cent germination and healthy growth.
(v) The farmers of Gujarat/ home scale users are advised to prepare aonla candy in 2% brine with 700 brix sugar syrup added with 0.2 % citric acid which is good for consumer preference.
Aonla candy :
Recipe for aonla candy:
Select mature aonla fruits.
Wash the fruits in clean water.
Cut the fruits in uniform pieces with stainless steel knife.
Immersed the aonla pieces in 2% brine for 24 hours.
Cook the aonla pieces in pressure cooker for 5 to 10 minutes.
Prepare a 700 brix sugar syrup.
Maintain 700brix of sugar syrup by adding require quantity of sugar syrup for 3 days.
Put the product for oven drying at 600 for 2 to 3 days.
Immersed the aonla pieces in 700brix sugar syrup for three days.
Pack the “Aonla Candy” in plastic bags.
(vi) Aonla flakes:
To prepare aonla flakes (mukhvas) in 2% brine with 600 brix sugar syrup for consumers preference. It retain vitamin 'C' content 230 and 201 mg/100 g during storage at 4 and 8 month after preparation respectively.
Recipe for aonla flakes:
Select matured aonla fruits.
Wash the fruits in clean water.
Make small flakes with the help of stainless steel greater.
Immersed the aonla flakes and ginger flakes in 2 per cent brine separately for 2 days.
Prepare a 600 brix sugar syrup.
Strain the aonla flakes from brine solution.
Immersed the flakes in 600 brix sugar, 20 ml lime juice and 50 g ginger flakes for 2 days.
Take out the flakes from sugar syrup for oven drying.
Put the product for oven drying at 600 C for 18 to 24 hours or sun dry for 2 to 3 days.
Pack the aonla flakes or mukhvas in plastic bags.
(vii) The farmers growing aonla are advised to apply 100 g CuSO4 (24% Cu) and 200 g Boric acid (17% B) in soil at the onset of monsoon followed by three sprays of 0.2% year old aonla cv. Gujarat Aonla-1 are advised to apply 1 Kg N in addition to 100 kg FYM per tree (age 10 years and above) at the onset of monsoon (June-July) to get higher net realization (CBR-1 : 3.14).CuSO4
and 0.4 % boric acid in first week of July, third week of July and first week of August for getting higher yield as well as more healthy fruits.
(viii) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone-III (AES-II) growing ten 3. SAPOTA:
(i) The rayan (khirnee) was found to be the most suitable root-stock for sapota grafting.
(ii) The farmers can take clusterbean as a intercrop in kharif season and for getting higher income up to 6 year in sapota orchard cv. Kalipatti.
4. BANANA:
(i) Farmers growing banana cv. “Basrai” are advised to plant the crop between 15thJune to 30thJune for higher yield. Which gave significantly higher yield (74.84 t /ha) without affecting the fruit quality.
(ii) Robusta variety of banana found most suitable in middle Gujarat region.
An average weight of one bunch is about 28-30 Kg.
(iii) The farmers interested to cultivate organically produce banana are advised to apply 10 Kg FYM along with organic matter (6 kg dry sapota leaves/plant OR castor cake 3.6 kg/plant) to supply 180 g N in soil containing high phosphorus and potash in place of chemical fertilizers.
(iv) Banana growers and traders are advised to dip matured banana fruits in 500 ppm ethrel (200 ml 40 % ethrel in 100 lit. of water) solution for five minutes and then keep it with ice (15 kg ice for 100 kg banana) for 48 hrs. in airtight chamber for uniform ripening with better quality fruits.
(v) The farmers of middle Gujarat (AER-6) are recommended that in banana crop recommended dose of fertilizers which is applied on 3rd, 4th, and 5th month of planting is correct. Application of extra N and K each @ 50 g/plant at post shooting was not found beneficial.
(vi) Banana (cv. Basarai) growers of Middle Gujarat Agroclimatic Zone-III (AES- II) are advised to apply 50 g FeSO4 + 40 g ZnSO4 per plant as basal on soils having marginal status of Zn and Fe along with the recommended dose of 200 + 100 + 200 g NPK + 10 kg FYM per plant to obtain higher yield of quality fruit with higher net return.
(vii) Banana cv. Robusta, growers of middle Gujarat (AES-II) are advised to replace 25 % of recommended dose of N in banana in the form of poultry manure and apply at the time of planting which gives higher net return (CBR- 1 : 3.53) and improves quality of banana fruits and soil health.
(viii) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone-III (AES-II) growing banana (var. Robusta) are advised to apply multi micronutrients mixture equivalent to Government notified grade V (Fe- 2 %, Mn- 0.5 %, Zn- 5 %, Cu- 0.2 % and B- 0.5 %) as soil application @ 20 g per plant besides 10 kg FYM + 200-100-200g NPK per plant in soil deficient to marginal in Zn and Fe for getting higher fruits yield and net return. Alternately, farmers can also
apply 20 g ZnSO4 and 40 g FeSO4 per plant besides recommended dose of FYM and NPK for higher yield and net return.
5. ACID LIME:
(i) Planting of acid lime cv. “Kagzi lime” at a spacing of 4.50 x 4.50 m for getting higher yield. It yielded double than that of normal spacing of 6 x 6 m.
(ii) Farmers are advised to grow Kagzi lime among acid limes for commercial cultivation.
(iii) For Kagzi lime it is recommended to apply fertilizers viz. 900 g N + 750 g P2O5 + 500 g K2O + 50 kg F.Y.M. /tree.
(iv) In Kagzi lime under conditions of water scarcity farmers are advised to adopt drip method of irrigation to save about 63 per cent irrigation water. The system should be laid out with 4 drippers of 4 LPH capacities at a distance of 1 m around the trunk and operated for following periods on alternate day at 100 KP a pressure.
Month Period Month Period Note January 2 hrs April to June 5 hrs
*During dry spells only February 3 hrs July to Sept.* 2 hrs
March 4 hrs Oct. to Dec 3 hrs
(v) Farmers are advised to apply 2 g cultar(Paclobutrazol) per mature tree of kagzi lime as a soil application 30 cm away from the trunk during October for getting higher yield. This dose gave maximum fruit yield and net ICBR.
(vi) The farmers as well as consumers are advised to store the Kagzi lime fruits in ambient conditions in polythelene bag (150 gauge and 0.5 vent) with minimum weight loss and can be stored up to 12 days.
(vii) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone–III (AES-II) growing kagzi lime on soils having marginal status of Zn and Fe are advised to spray neutralized ZnSO4 at 0.3 % OR FeSO4 at 0.5 % starting from first year during February – March and October – November besides application of recommended dose of NPK + FYM to get higher yield and net return (CBR – ZnSO4 1 : 7.04; FeSO4 1 : 6.94). The NPK (900: 750 : 500 g/plant) and FYM (50 Kg/ plant) application schedule is as under.
NPK in two equal splits in July and November, while FYM once in a year at onset of monsoon (July).
(viii) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone-III (AES-II) interested to grow acid lime (cv. Kagzi lime) organically are advised to apply 50 kg FYM in July and 22.5 kg castor cake per plant in two equal splits i.e. in middle of July and February for getting higher net return.
6. GUAVA
(i) Recommended high density (hedge-row) planting system in guava, which should be planted at 6 x 2 m distance to get yield of 20.52 t/ha as against 11.41 t/ha in wide spaced planting at 6 x 6 m.
(ii) Farmers are advised to prune 60 cm terminal shoots of mature guava trees during last week of May for getting higher yield and better fruit quality. This also helps in restoration of lost vigour of trees. This treatment produced 21.6 per cent higher yield over un-pruned trees.
7. COCONUT:
(i) In coconut, production of average nuts per palm per year was only 8.30 which could not be a commercial crop in this region.
8. PAPAYA:
(i) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone–III (AES-II) growing papaya (cv. Madhubindu) are advised to apply 10 kg FYM at the time of transplanting and NPK fertilizers @ 200-150-200 g per plant in four equal splits at 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th month after transplanting to obtain higher fruit yield and net return.
(ii) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone-III (AES-II) growing papaya (cv. Madhubindu) under drip irrigation are advised to irrigate the crop through drip for 5 hours and 20 minutes during September to February and 10 hours and 40 minutes during March up to onset of monsoon at alternate day for 20% water saving with maximum water use efficiency.
They are further advised to fertigate with N (Urea), P2O5 (Orthophosphoric acid) and K2O (Muriate of potash) @ 80% recommended dose (160-160-200 g NPK/plant) in sixteen equal splits starting from 60 days after transplanting at 15 days interval to save 20% fertilizers and get higher yield. FYM 10 kg per plant as basal should be applied.
The distance between two laterals (16 mm) should be 2.5 m and each plant having two drippers (4 LPH), installed at 45 cm distance from the plant stem on both sides and run the system at 1.2 kg/cm2 pressure.
(B) VEGETABLE CROPS:
Research was also carried out in vegetable crops like potato, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, okra, brinjal, bottle gourd, tomato, chilli and curry leaf (Spices crop).
Crop wise research recommendations on vegetable crops:
Sr. No. Name of Crops No. of recommendations
1 Potato 03
2 Cauliflower 01
3 Cabbage 02
4 Onion 03
5 Okra 04
6 Brinjal 02
7 Bottle gourd 01
8 Tomato 01
9 Chilli 01
10 Drumstick 02
11 Curry leaf 01
12 Cowpea 01
Total 22
1. POTATO :
(i) Farmers are advised to grow “Kufri Badshah” variety of potato for the commercial cultivation which yielded 363 quintal per hectare along with blight resistance.
(ii) Farmers are advised to grow potato cv. “Krufri Badshah” at a narrow spacing of 45 x 15 cm with a fertilizer dose of 200 + 100 + 200 kg NPK / ha.
(iii) The farmers of middle Gujarat Agro climatic zone-III growing potato are advised to irrigate the crop through drip for 21 minutes during November to January and 32 minutes during February to March at an alternate day for getting higher potato tuber yield and net income with saving of 28 % water.
For drip irrigation potato crop should be planted in pair row (60 X 30) X 10 cm. The system should be laid out with lateral distance of 90 cm (in pair row) and dripper (4 LPH) spacing of 30 cm. The system should be operated at a pressure of 1.2 kg/cm2
2. CAULIFOLWER :
(i) It is recommended to apply fertilizers dose of 200 kg N + 75 kg P2O5 + 37.5 kg K2O per hectare for early cauliflower with ICBR of 1: 7. 70.
3. CABBAGE :
(i) It is recommended to apply fertilizer dose of 200 kg N + 75 kg P2O5 per hectare.
(ii) Farmers growing cabbage (Golden Acre) are advised to apply castor cake 3 t/ha (before 15 days of transplanting of cabbage followed by irrigation) and 50 kg inorganic N (30 days after transplanting) with CBR 1:5.76 or castor cake 4 t/ha which gave higher yield, better quality with CBR 1:5.40.
Moreover, it also sustained the soil fertility.
4. ONION:
(i) In order to get higher yield in Kharif onion farmers are advised to plant onion cv. ‘N. 53’ between 20th July and 20th August by adopting ridge method of planting.
(ii) Farmers are advised to apply poultry manure 9 t/ha or castor cake 3.4 t/ha or
FYM 45 t/ha instead of chemical fertilizers for higher production and
quality of
onion bulb cv. ‘White Local’.
(iii) The onion cv. GWO-1 growers of middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone-III (AES-II) are advised to apply recommended dose of chemical fertilizer 75- 60-50 NPK kg/ha along with Azospirillum (Azospirillum lipoferum ASA-1) or Azatobactor (Azotobacter chroococcum ABA-1) @ 2.5 kg/ha at the time of transplanting in morning or late evening hours to get higher yield with more “A” grade bulbs and net return with CBR 1:5.76 and 1:5.74, respectively.
5. OKRA:
(i) In order to get higher yield of Kharif okra, cv. “Gujarat Okra Hybrid-1”
(GOH-1) and “Parbhani Kranti” by adopting narrow spacing of 45 x 10 cm.
(ii) The farmers are advised to apply nitrogen @ of 150 kg/ha to okra ‘GOH-1’.
This treatment gave significantly higher yield as 188.4 q/ha.
(iii) For winter season okra crop farmers are advised to sow "Gujarat Okra Hybrid-1" on first October for higher yield (14.67 t / ha ) and better remuneration.
(iv) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone–III (AES-II) growing okra (cv. GOH-1) during summer are advised to adopt drip irrigation to save 60
% irrigation water without affecting yield. They are also advised to fertilize the crop with 100 kg N/ha and 25 kg K2O/ha by water soluble fertilizers in six equal splits starting from 21 days after sowing at six days interval.
The crop should be sown in triple row group at 30 cm distance and 60 cm between two groups keeping plant to plant distance at 15 cm. The system should be laid out at 16 mm lateral size at 1.2 m and 2 drippers (4 LPH) at 45 cm distance. This system should be operated at every two days interval at 1 hr and 50 minutes duration through out the crop season.
6. BRINJAL:
(i) Farmers are advised to apply N 200 kg and P 50 kg per hectare to the hybrid brinjal G.B.H-1.
(ii)Brinjal (GBH-1) growers are advised to use drip irrigation to irrigate the crop at alternate day for 35 minutes in October and for 25 minutes in November to January (with 60% water saving) and apply liquid fertilizer @ 50 kg N and 25 kg P2O5/ha. (with a saving of 50% fertilizer) in 10 equal splits at 6 days interval after 21 days of TP (with 20 t/ha FYM). This practice gave 31.13% higher yield with higher CBR (1:2.06) as compared to flood irrigation system. If liquid fertilizer is not available in the market, urea can be added to the fertilizer tank and SSP can be given as soil application.
The drip may be laid out at lateral pipe at 90 cm and two drippers having 4 lit/hr. capacity at 60 cm with a spacing of 90 x 60 cm and operated at 1.25 kg/cm2.
7. BOTTLE GOURD :
(i) Farmers are advised to grow bottle gourd cv. ‘Pusa Naveen’ in summer season at the distance of 2.0 x 1.0 m with an application of 75 kg N/ha.
The farmers are also advised to apply 50 kg each of P2O5 and K2O /ha as a basal dose along with half dose of N white remaining half dose of N should be applied 30 days after sowing.
8. TOMATO:
(i) Farmers growing tomato are advised to adopt fertigation system. This system has increased 28.3 % in yield with 60 % water saving and 9 % increased in additional net return. The crop should be planted in pair row system as 45.0 cm x 75.0 cm x 45.0 cm with plant to plant distance at 60 cm. The system should be laid out at 1.2 m distance one dripper (4 LPH) at 60 cm distance and operated at alternate day for 36 minutes during November-December, 45 minutes during January-February and 70 minutes during March-April at a pressure of 1.2 kg /m2. They are also advised to fertilize their crop with 37.25 kg N, 18.75 kg P2O5 and 31.25 K2O through water soluble fertilizer by drip (50 % saving in NPK) in 6 equal splits at 5 days interval after 21 days from transplanting the crop.
9. CHILLI:
(i) To apply nitrogen 80 kg and phosphorus 20 kg per hectare for getting higher yield (21.92 t/ ha) which gave net profit Rs. 14,770/- in chilli cv. ‘S- 49’(green). Nitrogen should be applied in two splits, 50 % as basal and remaining 50 % one after transplanting.
10. CURRY LEAF:
(i) To apply 20 kg F.Y.M. per plant and 2% foliar spray of Urea at an interval of three months, starting from June (June, September, December and March) for higher yield in curry leaf cv. “Local” which gave 19.38 t /ha green biomass.
11. DRUMSTICK:
(i) The farmers of middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone - III (AES - II) are advised to apply 5 kg FYM at transplanting and 10 kg FYM, 100 g nitrogen and 25 g potash per plant of drumstick variety PKM - 1 from first year onward.
Among them the half dose of nitrogen and full dose of potash and FYM should be given in first week of May after pruning at 90 cm above ground and remaining half dose of nitrogen in the month of October to obtain higher yield with net return and the highest BCR (1:7.61).
(II) Farmers of middle Gujarat Agro Climatic Zone III (AES - III) are advised to plant the drumstick variety PKM - 1 at the spacing of 2.0 m X 2.0 m and prune the plants from second year and thereafter at 90 cm height from ground level during the month of May for obtaining higher yield and net return.
12. COWPEA:
(i) Farmers of middle Gujarat Agro climatic zone-III growing vegetable cowpea (AVCP-1) in kharif season are advised to apply 5 tonnes FYM per hectare along with basal fertilizer 10:20:00 NPK kg/ha with the seed treatment of Rhizobium (cowpea AAU isolate) and PSB culture (PBA-16) (each at 5 ml per kg seed) and sow the seed at 45 X 45 cm spacing to obtain higher green pod yield and maximum net return.
(C) FLOWER AND ORNAMENTAL CROPS:
In flower crops viz, rose, gaillardia, spider lily and duranta (Ornamental hedge plant) research work was carried out.
Research recommendations on flower, ornamental and agro-forestry crops
Sr. No. Crop No. of
recommendations
1 Rose 03
2 Chrysanthemum 01
3 Gaillardia 01
4 Marigold 01
5 Spider lily 01
6 Duranta 01
7 Ornamental plants 01
8 Agro-forestry 01
Total 10
1. ROSE:
(i) The farmers growing rose cv. ‘Deshi Red Rose’ are advised to use paddy husk as a mulch material in summer (March to June). This treatment gave higher flower yield 2731 kg /ha with CBR 1: 6.30 (The thickness of paddy husk is 5 cm and total quantity required about 4 t/ha).
(ii) The farmers growing rose cv. ‘Deshi Red Rose’ are advised to apply CuSO4 0.4 % as a foliar spray twice, first spray in last week of October and second in last week of November. This treatment gave significantly higher yield as 11.71 t/ha. The recommended dose of manure and fertilizers stand as such.
(iii) The farmers of middle Gujarat Agro Climatic Zone-III (AES-II) growing Deshi Red Rose are advised to apply 40 g nitrogen (87 g urea), 40 g phosphorus (250 g SSP) and 25 g potash ( 42 g muriate of potash) per plant in three equal splits from third year onward in June, October and January and after two days of fertilizers application 1 ml/plant each in 3 equal splits of Azospirillum and PSB (Bacillus coagulans) should be applied as soil treatment mixing in 200 ml of water for getting higher flower yield, maximum shelf life of flowers as well as higher net realization.
2. CHRYSANTHEMUM :
(i) The farmers of Middle Gujarat Agro-climatic Zone-III (AES-II) growing chrysanthemum (cv. ‘IIHR-6’) are advised to apply 200 kg N/ha in four equal splits i.e.1st at the time of transplanting and remaining three splits at 30, 60 and 90 days after transplanting in soil having adequate P and K for getting higher flower yield and net return.
3. GAILLARDIA :
(i) The farmers are advised to transplant gaillardia seedlings at the spacing of 30 x 30 cm for getting higher flower yield (16.62 t/ ha)
4. MARIGOLD :
(i) Farmers of middle Gujarat Agro climatic zone-III growing of African marigold are advised to spray the foliar application of cycocel 750 mg/l in two intervals (first spray at 30 days after transplanting and second at 45 days after transplanting) for getting higher flower yield per hectare, enhancing vase life of flowers and higher net realization.
5. SPIDER LILY :
(i) The spider lily growers are advised to apply 25 t/ha farm yard manure with 150 kg/ N/ha in form of castor cake as a basal in month of July after 60 days, 150 kg N/ha should be applied through urea for getting higher flower production and net profit.
6. DURANTA :
(1) The farmers /nurserymen propagating Duranta plumieri cv. “ Parrot colour
” are advised to apply IBA or NAA at the rate of 2500 mg / l to get higher percentage of rooting and number of roots/ plant along with higher survival of plants. (First to dissolve 2500 mg /l IBA or NAA in small quantity
of alcohol or 0.5 % NaOH and then make 1 litre solution with adding water).
7. MANAGEMENT OF ORNAMENTAL CROPS:
The nurserymen as advised to keep the high value ornamental indoor plant (Crotons, Aglaonema, Coleus, Dieffenbachia, Draceana, Maranta) under plastic net shade (75 %) during the hot months (March to June) of summer in order to save the plants for getting higher market price as compared to keep under partial shade.
(D) AGRO-FORESTRY:
(i) Comparative biomass production study of various tree species revealed that eucalyptus ranked first.