Background: The field experiment was conducted at the Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu during rabi, 2022-2023 to study the influence of spacing and weed management practices on growth characters, nutrient removal by weeds and nutrient uptake of direct seeded rice (DSR).&nbsp; 
 
Methods: The field experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. The main plots were spacing of 20 &times; 15 cm, 20 &times; 20 cm and 25 &times; 25 cm. Sub plots were assigned with weed management practices viz., pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i ha-1 on 3 DAS as PE + bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 25 g a.i ha-1 on 20 DAS as PoE, Pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g&nbsp; a.i ha-1 on&nbsp; 3 DAS as PE + Cono weeding on 20 DAS + hand weeding (HW) on 40 DAS, Pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i ha-1 on 3 DAS as PE + Cono weeding on 20 DAS and 40 DAS, Pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i ha-1 on 3 DAS as PE + Bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 25 g a.i ha-1 on 20 DAS as PoE + Cono weeding on 40 DAS, Pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i ha-1 on 3 DAS as PE + Bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 25 g a.i ha-1 on 20 DAS as PoE + Hand weeding on 40 DAS, Hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS and unweeded control.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The results indicated that the highest growth attributes, higher nutrient uptake of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium under DSR and were significantly improved by spacing 20 &times; 20 cm along with pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i&nbsp; ha-1 on 3 DAS as PE + Bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 25 g a.i ha-1 on 20 DAS as PoE + Cono weeding on 40 DAS. This was on par with pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i ha-1 on 3 DAS as PE + Bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 25 g&nbsp; a.i ha-1 on 20 DAS as PoE + Hand weeding on 40 DAS and hand weeding on 20 and 40 DAS. Similarly lower nutrient removal by weeds were registered under 20 &times; 15 cm spacing along with pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i ha-1 on 3 DAS as PE + Bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 25 g a.i ha-1 on 20 DAS as PoE + cono weeding on 40 DAS. The interaction of spacing 20 &times; 20 cm and pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% WP at 20 g a.i ha-1 on 3 DAS&nbsp; as PE + Bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 25 g a.i ha-1 on 20 DAS as PoE + Cono weeding on 40 DAS significantly increased the growth attributes such as plant height, dry matter production and total numbers of tillers and significantly lowered the nutrient removal by weeds.&nbsp;

Influence of Spacing and Weed Management Practices on the Growth Characters, Nutrient Removal of Weeds and Nutrient Uptake of Direct Seeded Rice

At the present time, incessant cereal-cereal cropping along with haphazard use of nutrients including micronutrients is posing menace to agricultural sustainability and environmental safety. Thus, the present investigation was conducted during kharif season 2013 on sandy loam soil of S.V.P.U.A &amp; T Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) to evaluate sulphur and iron fertilization on performance and production potential vis-&agrave;-vis nutrient removal by using F test. The data on active growth and yield with their contributing trait were calculated on net plot area basis (18 m2). Moreover nutrient content in plant, qualities and available soil nutrient status were recorded as per the standard procedure. The experimental results revealed that plant height, number of branch per plant and dry weight at 30 and 60 DAS, number of nodules per plant, number of pods per plant, qualities and nutrient contents were affected significantly by different sulphur and Iron levels. Application of RDF along with sulphur 40 kg ha-1 and Fe 2.5 kg ha-1 gave the maximum grain yield (10.83 q ha-1) which increased by 83.56% over control, besides it also improved all growth attributes at 30 and 60 DAS and number of pods per plant. Furthermore, grain yield was positively related with number of branches, number of nodules at 60 DAS (42.46) and number of pods (45.90). The maximum total uptake of P, K, S and Fe by urdbean was recorded as 5.34 kg ha-1, 30.21 kg ha-1, 5.22 kg ha-1, 871.57 g ha-1 respectively by using RDF + Sulphur 40 + Fe 5.0 kg ha-1, whereas maximum total N uptake (60.03 kg ha-1) was noticed under RDF + Sulphur 40 + Fe 2.5 kg ha-1. It is a legume crop so it is tremendously eco-friendly and useful for sustainable agriculture and soil health.

Effect of sulphur and iron fertilization on performance and production potential of urdbean [Vigna Mungo (L.) Hepper] and nutrients removal under inceptisols

<div>Background: Finger millet production and productivity is lowering in India due to the growth of different weed species. Weeds are the prime yield limiting biotic constraints in finger millet. Therefore, the present investigation has been carried out to find out the suitable weed management practices on the performance of finger millet. 
 
Methods: In this regard, a field experiment was carried out during Kharif, 2018 at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India to evaluate the different weed management practices for transplanted finger millet under sodic soil. The experiment comprised of ten weed management practices with different herbicidal treatments viz., pre emergence (PE) application of pendimethalin at 750 g/ha, oxyfluorfen at&nbsp;50 g/ha, bensulfuron methyl at 60 g/ha + pretilachlor at 600 g/ha, early post emergence (EPOE) application of bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha, PE pendimethalin at 750 g/ha fb EPOE bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha, PE oxyfluorfen at 50 g/ha fb EPOE bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha, PE bensulfuron methyl at 60 g/ha + pretilachlor at 600 g/ha fb EPOE bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha, PE oxyfluorfen at 50 g/ha fb hand weeding (HW) at 30 DAT, HW at 15 and 30 DAT and unweeded control (UWC) in transplanted finger millet.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The results revealed that lower nutrient removal by weeds, higher nutrient uptake by crop and yield parameters viz., productive tillers/m2, earhead weight and total grains/earhead were registered in application of PE bensulfuron methyl at 60 g/ha + pretilachlor at 600 g/ha fb EPOE bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha. The highest grain and straw yields were also registered in application of PE bensulfuron methyl at 60 g/ha + pretilachlor at 600 g/ha fb EPOE bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha and it was on par with hand weeding at 15 and 30 DAT.</div>

Influence of Weed Management Practices on Nutrient Removal and Performance of Transplanted Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana L.)

<div>Background: A field experiment was conducted during two consecutive Rabi (winter) seasons of 2016-17 and 2017-18 at Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat, India to assess the impact of wheat varieties and integrated nutrient management practices on nutrient content and uptake and soil nutrient status. The soil of the experimental plot was loamy sand in texture, low in organic carbon (0.24%), available nitrogen (159 kg/ha) and Zn (0.41 mg/kg), medium in available phosphorus (38.90 kg/ha) and high in available potash (287 kg/ha). 
 
Methods: Experiment was laid out in a Factorial RBD with three replications, consist of four wheat varieties viz. GW 273, GW 322, GW 451 and GW 496 and six integrated nutrient management (INM) practices viz. control, 100% RDF, 100% RDF + Azotobacter + PSB, 75% RDF + Azotobacter + PSB, 75% RDF + Azotobacter + PSB + ZnSO4 and 50% RDF + 25% N through FYM + Azotobacter + PSB + ZnSO4.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The pooled results indicated that uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by grain and straw, grain yield and straw yield were found higher with wheat variety GW 451 as compared to other wheat varieties. Nutrient content in grain and straw was not significantly affected by different wheat varieties. Among nutrient management practices, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content, uptake, grain yield and straw of wheat were significantly higher under application of 100% RDF + Azotobacter + PSB. Further, result revealed that different wheat varieties did not bring any significant variation in available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and organic carbon content in soil. Moreover, highest available nitrogen and phosphorus in soil was recorded with the application of 100% RDF + Azotobacter + PSB. However, significantly higher organic carbon and zinc content in soil was observed under 50% RDF + 25% N through FYM + Azotobacter + PSB +ZnSO4.</div>

Effect of Wheat Varieties and Integrated Nutrient Management Practices on Nutrient Content, Uptake and Soil Nutrient Status

<div>Background:&nbsp;Weeds are the major biological constraint in okra due to its slow initial growth and wider row spacing. Due to severe crop weed competition, weeds removed considerable amount of nutrients from the soil. Competition exists between the crop and weed for nutrients results in nutrient deficiencies in crop. Hence the present experiment is formulated to assess the effect of stale seedbed, mulching and mechanical weeding on nutrient availability, nutrient uptake by crop and weed in okra. 
 
Methods: Experiment was conducted at Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala during Rabi 2020-21. Design adopted for the study was RBD with two factors. The first factor was seedbed preparation (S) and the second factor was weed management (W). Stale seedbed (S1) and normal seedbed (S2) were the two different seedbed preparation methods and dried banana leaf mulch @10 t ha-1 alone (W1), dried banana leaf mulch @10 t ha-1 fb wheel hoe weeding at 30 and 45 DAS (W2), dried banana leaf mulch @10 t ha-1 fb hand weeding at 30 and 45 DAS (W3), wheel hoe weeding at 15, 30 and 45 DAS (W4), hand weeding at 15, 30 and 45 DAS (W5) and weedy check (W6) were the six different weed management options tried. Soil samples were collected after the harvest of the crop to determine the nutrient availability. Weed samples at 30 and 60 DAS and plant samples at harvest were analyzed to determine the NPK content and respective uptake of nutrients were calculated by multiplying the nutrient content with DMP. 
 
Result: Stale seedbed significantly enhanced the dry matter production and nutrient uptake by okra at harvest and lowered the nutrient removal by weeds at 30 and 60 DAS. Compared to non-stale, stale seedbed recorded significantly higher fruit yield. Among the weed management, wheel hoe weeding at 15, 30 and 45 DAS, recorded the lowest total weed dry weight at 30 and 60 DAS and resulted in the highest NPK uptake by crop and fruit yield. Uncontrolled weed growth resulted in a loss of 81.33, 18.16 and 50.84 kg N:P:K ha-1&nbsp;at 30 DAS and 102.09, 57.90 and 55.31 kg N:P:K ha-1 at 60 DAS, respectively. Nutrient removal by weeds was the lowest in wheel hoe weeding at 15, 30 and 45 DAS and the highest in weedy check. It could be concluded that, wheel hoe weeding at 15, 30 and 45 DAS was the best option for the management of weeds, higher nutrient availability and uptake and yield in okra.</div>

Nutrient Availability and Nutrient Uptake by Crop and Weed as Influenced by Stale Seedbed, Mulching and Mechanical Weeding in Okra

The present investigation reports diversity in contents of &nbsp;cell wall components, nutrients and anti-nutrients in flours of lupin genotypes belonging to 3 species viz. Lupinus albus, Lupinus luteus and Lupinus angustifolius. Lupin genotypes exhibited 96.17&plusmn;0.24-98.36&plusmn;0.16% dry matter, 8.33&plusmn;0.18-30.94&plusmn;1.8 g hundred seed weight, 27&plusmn;1.41-36&plusmn;1.0% neutral detergent fibre, 22.25&plusmn;0.92-29.65&plusmn;1.48% acid detergent fibre, 0.85&plusmn;0.21-3.4&plusmn;0.71% lignins, 21.05&plusmn;2.33-26.90&plusmn;0.85% cellulose, 4.15&plusmn;1.2-10.75&plusmn;0.49% hemi-cellulose, 7.0&plusmn;0.1-10.1&plusmn;0.42% oil, 15.87&plusmn;0.88-30.1&plusmn;2.52% proteins, 9.02&plusmn;0.24-21.69&plusmn;1.33 mg/g sucrose and 29.70&plusmn;1.43-55.49&plusmn;2.25 mg/g starch. The contents of different anti-nutrients were in the range of 0.29&plusmn;0.04-0.52&plusmn;0.07 mg/g phytic acid, 0.85&plusmn;0.17-2.75&plusmn;0.06 mg/g saponins, 0.61&plusmn;0.10-1.34&plusmn;0.05 mg/g tannins, 1.80&plusmn;0.07-3.64&plusmn;0.13 mg/g total phenols and 85.63&plusmn;2.06-182.9&plusmn;17.6 mg/g amylase inhibitor activity. Lectins were absent in all lupin genotypes as well as in chickpea check &lsquo;GPF-2&rsquo;. Carotenoids isochromic red and yellow fractions in lupin genotypes were 0.21&plusmn;0.06-2.22&plusmn;0.31 and 0.71&plusmn;0.15-9.35&plusmn;1.98 mg/g, respectively. The activities of lipoxygenases (LOX) varied from 3.6&plusmn;0.85-10.95&plusmn;1.63 units/g for LOX-I and 3.1&plusmn;0.71-9.8&plusmn;0.1 units/g for LOX-II isozymes. All the lupin genotypes exhibited higher dry matter, acid detergent fibre, cellulose, oil, sucrose, phytic acid content and lower LOX-I and II activities as compared to chickpea check variety &lsquo;GPF-2&rsquo; at 5% level of significance. White lupins, Kiev Mutant and Andromeda were found to be better in nutritional quality as compared to chickpea check and other lupin genotypes studied. 
&nbsp;

Comparison of cell wall constituents, nutrients&nbsp;and anti-nutrients of lupin genotypes

<div>Background: The excessive usage of chemical fertilizers and the negligence on soil health regarding the conservation and use of organic sources of nutrients have not only caused the exhaustion of soil nutrient reserves but also resulted in soil health problems which is not conducive to achieving consistent increase in agricultural production. The beneficial influence of organic matter on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil is well known, the full appreciation of the same remains which is unfortunately ignored in modern agriculture. The regular recycling of organic wastes in the soil is the most efficient method of maintaining optimum nutrient reserves of soil and nutrient uptake by the plant. The Present Study was conducted to evaluate the nutrient status of soil under integrated usage of organic and inorganic sources. 
 
Methods: A field experiment entitled &ldquo;Nutrient Management Interventions in Rice-Ragi Sequence&rdquo; was conducted during kharif and rabi seasons of 2017-18 and 2018-19 on sandy loam soil of the Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla. The seven treatments consisted of T1: 100% RDF (100-60-40 kg N-P-K ha-1); T2: 100% RDF + Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 50 kg ha-1; T3: 125% RDF+Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 50 kg ha-1; T4: 75% RDF + Poultrymanure&nbsp; @ 0.82 t ha-1 + Soil application of ZnSO4 50 kg ha-1; T5: 75% RDF + FYM @ 5.0 t ha-1 + Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 50 kg ha-1; T6:50% RDF + Poultrymanure @ 1.6 t ha-1 + Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 50 kg ha-1 and T7: 50% RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + Soil application of ZnSO4 @ 50 kg ha-1. The experiment was laidout in randomized block design with seven treatments and replicated thrice during kharif rice and in rabi each kharif treatment was subdivided into four sub treatments (S1: Nofertilizer, S2: 100% RDF, S3:75% RDF and S4:50% RDF) and hence, The split plot design was adopted in rabi. Total No.of plots per each replication in the rabi was 28 (7x4=28).&nbsp; 
 
Result: Nutrient content and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and zinc have increased significantly with the fertility levels and organics. 50% RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + ZnSO4 @ 50 kg ha-1 recorded the highest nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and zinc contents and uptakes in grain and straw of rice. In no till rabi ragi, N, P, K, Zn and calcium content and uptake in grain and straw were found to be significantly superior with 100% RDF (S2) to the rest of the treatments in both the years and in pooled data.</div>

Effect of Nutrient Management Interventions on Nutrient Uptake of Rice-zero Till Ragi under Coastal Lands

<div>A field experiment was conducted during the rabi seasons of 2012-13 and 2013-14 to study the influence of sowing window, nutrient dose and foliar spray on yield and nutrient uptake of pigeonpea on sandy loam soil which was low in available nitrogen, medium in available phosphorus and available potassium. The experiment was conducted in a split-split plot design, consisting of three sowing windows in main plots, three nutrient doses in sub-plots and two foliar sprays in sub-sub plots. Crop sown during II FN of September produced significantly higher seed and stalk yield, nutrient content and uptake. Application of 30-60-20 kg N, P2O5 and K2O ha-1 improved seed yield, stalk yield, nutrient content and uptake of redgram. Higher seed yield, stalk yield and nutrient uptake by the crop was recorded with foliar application of NAA (25 ppm) and DAP (2 per cent) applied at 60 and 80 DAS. Interaction between sowing window and nutrient doses, sowing window and foliar sprays were significant in influencing yield of pigeonpea.&nbsp;</div>

<div>Yield and Nutrient Uptake of Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.)] as Influenced by Sowing Window, Nutrient Dose and Foliar Sprays</div>

<div>Background: Supplementation of urea molasses mineral block (UMMB) showed promising results in improving the nutrient utilization and the productivity of animals. This offers several advantages such as easy transport, storage and handling and reduced risks of poisoning as compared with other approaches, such as giving a small amount of urea in drinking water, sprinkling of urea solution on fibrous feeds before feeding, or urea-ammonization of crop residues. These advantages of solid multi-nutrient blocks (SMB) opened up new vista to enhance productivity in terms of increased milk and meat production and higher reproductive efficiency in ruminant animal species. Keeping the above facts in view, this study was undertaken to determine the effect of feeding solid multinutrient blocks on feed intake, nutrient utilization and haemato-biochemical profile of crossbred calves 
 
Methods: In this study twenty four crossbred male calves of about 14-17 months of age were divided into four groups of six animals in each group. All animals were supplied wheat straw ad lib. In addition, animals in all groups were fed a concentrate mixture to meet out their nutrient requirement. Additionally, 30 % of concentrate mixture (on CP basis) was replaced by solid multi-nutrient blocks (SMB-I), SMB-II and SMB-III in groups T1, T2 and T3, respectively. After 60 days of feeding a metabolism trial of 6 days was conducted to assess the nutrient utilization of animals. Blood samples were collected at 0, 75, 150 day of experimental feeding to determine hematological parameters, enzymes, biochemical parameters and serum mineral concentration. 
 
Result: The intake and digestibility of DM, OM, EE, NDF and ADF were comparable among 4 groups. The CP intake was significantly higher in SMB supplemented groups as compared to control but there was no significant difference in CP digestibility among 4 groups. All the animals in four groups were on positive nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus balance. Haematobiochemical parameters like Hb, PCV, glucose, total protein, globulin, A:G, SGOT and SGPT showed non-significant differences (p&gt;0.05) among the groups, however, periodical serum concentrations of albumin, urea and creatinine was higher in crossbred calves at 75 and 150 days of experiment in comparison to 0 day. On basis of present results, it may be concluded that supplementation of SMB can replace 30% crude protein of concentrate mixture without any adverse effect on feed intake, digestibility, nutrient utilization and blood biochemical profile of crossbred calves.</div>

Effect of Feeding Solid Multi-Nutrient Blocks on Feed Intake, Nutrient Utilization and Haemato-Biochemical Profile of Crossbred Calves

<div>A field experiment was carried out during kharif season of 2016 and 2017 at an experimental farm of MACS Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India to study the influence of foliar application of nutrient on growth, yield, economics, soil nutritional status and nutrient uptake of soybean crop. An experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) comprising of three replications and nine treatments. Recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) was applied as basal application to all treatments. Seven treatments consisted of different doses of nutrients as foliar application at pod initiation stage. Water spray at pod initiation stage and RDF alone were treated as control. The results revealed that, growth attributes, nodulation and its weight, morpho-physiological parameters, yield and its attributes, nutritional parameters and economics significantly differed by various foliar nutrition treatments except control and RDF + water spray. RDF + Urea 2% (3098 kg ha-1) gave significantly higher seed yield over control (2704 kg ha-1) and RDF + water spray (2686 kg ha-1) but was at par with RDF + DAP 2% (3050 kg ha-1), RDF + MOP 0.5% (2992 kg ha-1) and RDF + Molybdenum 0.5% (2955 kg ha-1). The increase in seed yield with foliar application of 2% Urea along with RDF was 14.57% over control and 15.34% over RDF + water spray. Higher net returns (Rs. 49,006/- ha-1) and benefit: cost ratio (2.23:1) was obtained in treatment RDF + Urea 2% followed by RDF + DAP 2% foliar spray. Availability of N, P and K was significantly higher with treatment RDF + Urea 2% foliar spray over control and RDF + water spray. N and P uptake by soybean plants was significantly higher in treatment RDF + 2% Urea over RDF + water spray and RDF alone (control).</div>