<div>Background: Adequate tillage checks and delays the emergence of weeds and provides a more favourable environment for early crop establishment. Slow growth of crop plant provides favourable environment for emergence of weeds. Cultural as well as mechanical practices such as hand weeding and intercultural are effective but unavailability of labour and continuous rainfall in rainy season does not permit for timely management of weeds Chemical weed control is effective weed management option which provides effective control of weeds. It is well known that weeds are ubiquitous but their presence in cropped area particularly in rainy season crops like clusterbean act as major limiting factor in achieving high potential yield. The current study aimed to study the impact of crop establishment methods and weed control practices on productivity and profitability of clusterbean.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: A field experiment was carried out to find out suitable method of crop establishment methods and weed management practices in clusterbean during kharif seasons of 2018, 2019 and 2020. The experiment was conducted in spilt plot design with three replications. The treatments were four crop establishment methods viz., conventional sowing, zero tillage sowing, broad bed sowing, zero tillage sowing with mulch as main plots and four weed control practices viz., weedy check, pendimethalin+imazethapyr 1000 g ha-1, T3- Imazethapyr 40 g ha-1, T4-Imazethapyr+imazamox 40 g ha-1 as sub plot treatments . 
 
Result: The broad bed sowing of clusterbean along with pre-emergence application of&nbsp; pendimethalin+ imazethapyr 1000 g ha-1 was found effective to achieve higher productivity and farm profitability.</div>

Effect of Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices on Productivity and Profitability of Clusterbean under Semi-arid Region of Rajasthan

<div>Background:&nbsp;Rice is most important staple meal for more than half of the world&rsquo;s population. The conventional method of rice production uses a lot of water, requires a lot of labor and has a negative impact on soil and environmental health. Besides, unbalanced nutrient supply leads to low growth and development of plant, soil deterioration and poor environmental health.&nbsp; 
 
Methods:&nbsp;The field experiment was conducted with rice variety PR-121 using 4 establishment methods (transplanting, system of rice intensification, direct seeded rice and wet-direct seeded rice) and 5 nutrient management practices (100% RDF, 75% RDF+FYM (equiv. to 25% N), 150% RDF, RDF (LCC based N application) and RDF+5 t FYM) in split plot design with three replication.&nbsp; 
 
Result:&nbsp;Results revealed that the highest value of plant height was recorded under transplanting method while the maximum value of number of tillers m-2, dry matter accumulation crop and relative growth rate was found under direct seeded method of rice establishment over other establishment methods at all the stages of crop growth during both the years of study. Application of 150% RDF recorded the highest value of plant height, number of tillers m-2, dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate and relative growth rate on most of the crop growth stages during both the years of study compared to remaining nutrient management practices but found statistically on par with application of RDF+5 t FYM.</div>

Influence of Different Establishment Methods and Nutrient Management Practices on Growth Attributes of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Field experiments were conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Thirupathisaram, Tamil Nadu during kharif and rabi seasons of 2011-12 to evaluate the different establishment techniques on growth and yield of rice. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with four replications. The treatment structure comprises of wet seeding, drum seeding, random transplanting, line planting, SRI square planting and SRI machine planting. Among the different establishment techniques, SRI machine planting significantly influenced the growth and yield characters and yield and which was on par with SRI square planting. The maximum plant height, number of tillers hill-1, LAI, dry matter production, number of panicles m-2, number of grains panicle-1, panicle length, grain yield and straw yield were recorded under SRI machine planting during kharif and rabi. The lowest grain yield and straw yield were recorded under wet seeding during both kharif and rabi.&nbsp;

Evaluate the establishment techniques on growth and yield of rice

Background: SRI and aerobic rice are one of the techniques of growing rice under water scarcity areas where meeting water requirement is becoming a global threat. Weeds are another threat to yield of rice irrespective of different establishment methods. Until checked, it can decline rice yield and quality up to more than 70%. SRI and aerobic rice have different densities of weeds and integrated weed management can be applied to suppress the weeds. Considering the current scenario, research was conducted to investigate growth, yield and bioenergetics of rice under different establishment methods and weed management.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: The experiment entitled &ldquo;Effect of crop establishment methods and weed management practices on productivity and bioenergetics of rice&rdquo; was carried out in split plot design with main plots, viz., M1- aerobic rice (AR) and M2- system of rice intensification (SRI) and five subplots W1- pre-emergence (pendimethalin @1 kg a.i ha-1) fb post-emergence (bispyribac-sodium @20g a.i ha-1) (PE+POE), W2- pre-emergence (pendimethalin @1 kg a.i ha-1) fb cono weeding at 15, 30, and 45 DAT/ DAS (PE+CW), W3- weed free (WF), W4- weedy check (WC), W5- stale seedbed followed by post-emergence herbicide (bispyribac-sodium 10% SC 20 g a.i ha-1) (SSB+POE) in split plot design with three replications taking the variety &lsquo;Pusa Basmati-1121&rsquo; as a test crop. 
&nbsp;

Result: Among the establishment methods, SRI recorded significantly higher growth attributes like plant height and dry matter production and yield attributes like number of panicles per hill, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test weight, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Among the weed management treatments, WF recorded significantly higher growth attributes like plant height, number of tillers per hill, dry matter production and yield attributes like number of panicles per hill, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test weight, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, and harvest index that was followed by treatment PE+CW. Maximum net return and B:C ratio was observed in the treatment combinations M2W2- SRI + (PE+CW). The maximum total energy input was found in the treatment combination M1W1- AR+ (PE+POE) and the maximum total energy output was found in the treatment combination M2W3- SRI + WF. The energy intensiveness was observed to be maximum in the treatment combination M1W4- AR + WC and the maximum energy efficiency index was observed in the treatment combination M2W3- SRI+WF.

Effect of Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices on Productivity and Bioenergetics of Rice

<div>Background: In this study, we aimed to establish a multiplex fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the identification and detection of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine rotavirus (BRV) and bovine coronavirus (BCV). 
 
Methods: Based on the highly conserved sequences of BVDV E2 gene, BRV VP6 gene and BCV N gene in GenBank, specific primers were designed to amplify the target gene fragments of each virus and the reaction conditions and system were optimized. Multiple fluorescence quantitative methods were established by fluorescence quantitative PCR. 
 
Result: The minimum detection limits of plasmid standards for BVDV, BRV and BCV by multiplex fluorescence quantitative PCR were 1.19&times;102&nbsp;copies/&mu;L, 3.89&times;101&nbsp;copies/&mu;L and 3.74&times;101&nbsp;copies/&mu;L, respectively. The lowest sensitivity of the established method was 100 times higher than that of conventional PCR and had high sensitivity. Furthermore, BVDV, BRV and BCV were amplified specifically, with no cross-reactivity with Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV). The intra-and inter-group coefficients of variation were less than 1%, showing good assay repeatability. Using the established method and ordinary multiplex PCR to simultaneously detect 150 clinical diarrheal disease material samples, the coincidence rate of samples with mixed infection of the three viruses was 83.3%. The results showed that the multiplex fluorescent quantitative PCR detection method established in this study provides a rapid, sensitive and specific technique for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological monitoring of BVDV, BRV and BCV.</div>

Establishment and Preliminary Application of Multiplex Fluorescent Quantitative PCR for Simultaneous Detection of BVDV, BRV and BCV

Background: Most orchid species in the Dendrobium genus are epiphytic. Dendrobium orchid (Dendrobium nobile L.) var. Sonia is a non-woody epiphytic orchid that bears a beautiful purple-coloured flower and grows in soilless medium. Dendrobium can be propagated vegetatively through divisions or Keikis. But this propagation method is extremely slow. Micropropagation is most suitable method for multiplication of dendrobium orchids. Surface sterilization is an important step in the preparation of vigorous and viable explants in micropropagation. Most of the surface contaminants can be abolished by surface sterilization with a suitable sterilizing agent. The aim of the investigation is to present an effective disinfection method for the aseptic culture of Dendrobium var. Sonia by using nodal segments.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: In the present investigation, two sterilant were employed namely mercuric chloride (HgCl2) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) at different concentrations and durations. A total of nine combinations were tried for treating nodal explants in this investigation during 2022-2023. Explants were surface sterilized with 70% ethanol for 5 minutes followed by 3 to 4 washes with sterile distilled water. Thereafter, the explants were subjected to different surface sterilization treatments to establish contamination free cultures. 
 
Result: The study revealed that among the 9 treatments, minimum contamination (30.40%) was recorded in 0.1% HgCl2 for 10 minutes which helps in the maximum establishment of healthy culture (69.60%). Whereas, the lowest result for establishment was found in autoclaved distilled water with maximum contamination (100%). Maximum explant mortality (20.80%) due to sterilant was observed in NaOCl (2%) for 20 minutes.

Efficient Surface Sterilant for Establishment of Dendrobium in vitro Culture

Background: Astragalus membranaceus Mongholicus (Astragalus) is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world. It is a traditional Chinese medicine plant that has been used to treat various human diseases and conditions, such as inflammation, gastrointestinal bacterial infections and malignant tumors. With the expansion of artificial planting areas, the demand for high-quality Astragalus seedlings is also increasing. The traditional seedling-raising methods of direct seeding and induced callus have problems such as a long growth period, unstable genetic traits, strict sampling and rooting difficulties. Therefore, it is very important to multiply the excellent germplasm by optimizing the tissue culture regeneration system.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: In this study, Astragalus field cultivated plants, which are easily available, were used as materials and the method of tissue culture cuttings was used to select the direct inoculation method of stem segments as explant materials to establish a plant regeneration system of Astragalus and the best sampling period, sampling site and optimal medium for regeneration of field cultivated plants were screened.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The best sampling period for plant regeneration of Astragalus in the field was about 40 d after the emergence of the 3-year-old Astragalus and the rooting rate of the regenerated plants was 100.00%. The best sampling site is the middle section of the stem and the regeneration system using the middle section of the stem as the explant is better than using the top and bottom of the stem as the explant and the rooting rate of the regenerated plants is 100.00%; the best medium for the regenerated plants is N22: 1/2MS+1 mg/L NAA and T28: 1/2MS+1 mg/L ABT, the rooting rates were 76.67% and 96.67%, respectively. The regenerated plants established with the stems of the field cultivated plants of Astragalus as explants were all able to induce seedlings after 1 week and the regenerated seedlings start to take root after 3 weeks of growth and can be transplanted and propagated after 6 weeks of culture. The regeneration system established in this study by direct cuttings from cultivated Astragalus stems is more rapid and efficient, breaking through the difficulties of limited access to material and long growth period of regenerated seedlings in the traditional regeneration system and providing technical support for the conservation and utilization of wild resources of Astragalus and rapid expansion of new varieties and germplasm conservation.

Rapid Establishment of a Regeneration System for Astragalus membranaceus Mongholicus

Mungbean, is a drought-resistant, green manure crop and suitable for dry land as a major pulse crop in India. India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses, which improve soil properties, provide nutritious fodder and prevent soil erosion. However, pests like bruchids can destroy 60% of production, necessitating the use of eco-friendly seed protectants. Laboratory studies were conducted at Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agricultural and Technology, Ayodhya, using mungbean seed cv. IPM-2-3. Seeds were mixed with seed protectants and stored in gunny bags. Field emergence and crop establishment were tested and data were analyzed using a Completely Randomized Design with three replications. Seed protectants and insecticides are effective in maintaining field emergence and crop establishment in mungbean. Emamectin benzoate, Sivanto prime and Gorakhmundi powder are the best treatments, with maximum field emergence and minimum establishment influenced by environmental factors. These findings are supported by various studies. Emamectin benzoate and Neemoz gold were found to be effective insecticides for field emergence and crop establishment in mungbean, with the latter recommended for storability and field establishment.

Effects of Botanicals and Synthetic of Insecticides on Field Emergence and Crop Establishment in Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilzeck]

Background: Optimal seed germination and synchronized establishment of vigorous seedlings play a vital role in mitigating the initial challenges associated with germination and subsequent growth stages. The primary objective of this research was to determine the optimum concentration and duration of seed priming because more or less may not be effective in achieving the desired outcomes. 
&nbsp; 
Methods: A laboratory experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with four replications under controlled conditions in a BOD incubator. The temperature and humidity were maintained at 20oC and 70%, respectively, for the desired duration. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of nanoparticles (NP)-based ZnO on the establishment of healthy seedlings, employing priming durations of 6, 8, 10 and 12 hours and concentrations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm. 
&nbsp; 
Result: The findings revealed that among all the priming durations, 10 hours was the most effective. The treatments T3&nbsp;and T4&nbsp;(75 and 100 ppm of ZnO, respectively) were identified as the most suitable concentrations, achieving 100% seed germination along with higher fresh and dry weight of the shoot and roots. Additionally, these treatments attained 50% germination (T50%) in 1.16 and 1.18 days, as compared to 3.95 days in the control group. It was followed by T4&nbsp;of 12 hours and T3&nbsp;of 8 hours, which recorded 96 and 92% of seed germination, respectively. An inverse relationship was observed between electrical conductivity (EC) and germination (%), as well as between 50% germination (T50%)&nbsp; and germination performance. Furthermore, the total chlorophyll content (including chlorophyll a and b) was maximized in T4&nbsp;and T3&nbsp;at 10 hours of priming. The correlation matrix analysis indicated that the highest positive correlation was observed at 10 hours, whereas T50% exhibited a negative correlation across all durations. The findings suggest that seed priming with (NP)-based ZnO with 75 and 100 ppm at 10 hours enhanced seed germination and promoted the establishment of more vigorous seedlings compared to the rest of the tested concentrations and durations.&nbsp;

NPS Based-seed Priming with ZnO: A Study to Optimize the Concentration and Duration for the Establishment of Barley Seedlings

<div style="text-align: justify;">A field experiment was carried out during kharif (sali) 2016 at Jorhat, Assam to study the performance of two scented local varieties (Kalajoha and Bakuljoha) of rice under different staggered planting and crop establishment methods (transplanting and throwing of seedlings). Both the varieties were comparable in respect of grain and straw yields. However, delay in planting beyond 20th July with 30 days seedlings upto 20th September using 90 (30+60) days double planted seedlings significantly reduced the yield of rice. Transplanting of seedling significantly increased the grain and straw yields over the throwing of seedling method. Variety &lsquo;Bakuljoha&rsquo; recorded significantly higher net returns and benefit-cost ratio when transplanted on 20 July over other planting methods and dates.</div>