<div>Background: Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the more important cultivated crops in the Mediterranean region, where drought and high temperatures during the grain filling stage are the main abiotic stresses limiting its production. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the spike type on the grain yield, thousand kernels weight and some grain filling parameters. 
 
Methods: The present study was conducted on the experimental site of station ITGC in Setif, Algeria, eight Barley genotypes were tested during two cropping seasons (2017/2018 and 2018/2019) in a randomized block design with 3 replications. 
 
Result: The results proved significant effect of genotypes and spike types on the grain filling parameters, but no significant effect of spike type on the thousand kernels weight during the both cropping seasons. In addition, the spike type registered significant effect just during the second cropping season. Among the genotypes with 6 rows spike type the local genotype Fouarra have high grain yield (97.79 Q/ha) with a deviation of 37.57% from the total mean of the genotypes with 6 row spike type. Many studies proved that in 6-row barleys, the magnitude of contribution of grain number in grain yield was higher than contribution of grain weight. The grain growth of genotypes studied follows a sigmoid curve, during the first season (2017-2018) the duration of grain filling ranged between 24 days for Saida 183 and 28 days for Rihane 03, for the group of genotypes with 6 rows. In addition, the duration of grain filling for the 2 row genotypes varied from 24 days for G4 to 28 days for genotype G2. During the second season (2018-2019) and for the genotypes with 6 rows, the duration of the grain filling varied from 21 days for the Saida 183 and 26 days for the genotype Fouarra, for the genotypes with 2 rows the duration of grain filling ranged from 21 days for the genotype G2 to 26 days for the genotype G3. The correlation analysis between the grain filling parameters, GY and TKW demonstrate a significant and positive correlation between TKW and MGW and GFR (r = 0.82* and r = 0.84*, respectively). Overall, the genotype variation in grain filling velocity and duration was responsible for the difference in grain yield and the improvement in grain yield was achieved by the increasing in velocity or duration of grain filling. &nbsp;</div>

The Effect of Spike Row Type on the Grain Yield and Grain Filling Parameters in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Genotypes under Semi-arid Conditions

Background: India faces a critical shortage of farm labour. Out of basic farming operations, weeding operations are not fully mechanized in India. Traditional weed control methods are tedious, labour-intensive and costly. 
 
Methods: The objective of this study was to develop a prototype of an autonomous weeder for inter and intra-row weeding. The materials were used include a DC motor operating on electric rechargeable batteries, a camera for taking photographs of the intra-row space, an inter-and intra-row weeding tool assembly, a Raspberry Pi to deploy a machine learning object detection model to detect weeds and crops, to control a motor and to control an intra-row weeding tool through the pneumatic actuator. While the intensive image dataset was prepared from a cultivated spring onion farm on a test soil bin over the University campus, moreover the small-sized YOLOv8n model worked accurately on the Raspberry Pi. 
 
Result: YOLOv8n achieved a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.85 at the Intersection of the Union (IoU) threshold of 50%. The results indicated that the prototype removed both types of weeds with an overall weeding efficiency of 86%, crop damage of 4%, a field capacity of 0.023 hectares per hour and a performance index 1726.26 using 0.11 horsepower. It was concluded that the study contributed a spring onion-weed dataset and a Weeding Agrobot prototype to test the described concept, which would help farmers reduce labour dependency and the cost of cultivation. 
&nbsp;

Development of a Weeding Agrobot Prototype for Inter-row and Intra-row Weeding

<div>Background: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most important cereal crop throughout India and other parts of the world. In late sowing conditions the variety selection, seed rate and row spacing is an important factor for a better crop yield. Higher seed rate and narrow row spacing are used in late sowing as compared to normal sowing conditions. 
 
Methods: The present field experiment was conducted at the Students Research Farm, Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India during rabi season of 2020-21. A field experiment was laid out in split-plot design with replicated three times comprising four levels of seed rate viz. (100, 110, 120 and 130 kg/ha) and three-row spacing viz. (12, 15 and 18 cm) of wheat cultivar DBW 187 (Karan Vandana). 
 
Result: The result showed that the number of tiller per meter, spike length, grains per spike, test weight, grain, straw and biological yield were significantly affected by different seed rates and row spacing. The seed rate 120 kg/ha recorded significantly higher grain yield (50.47 q/ha), effective tiller per meter row length (70) and the number of grain per spike (58), whereas 130 kg/ha gave significantly higher straw yield (73.40 q/ha). The crop sown with row spacing 18 cm showed significantly higher grain yield (49.13 q/ha), straw yield (72.70 q/ha), biological yield (121.83 q/ha), effective tiller per meter row length (68), spike length (12.10 cm) and number of grain per spike (56.16).</div>

Effect of Different Seed Rates and Row Spacing on Yield Attributes and Yield of Late Sown Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

<div style="text-align: justify;">A field experiment was conducted during Rabi season of 2015-16 at the Students&rsquo; Research Farm, Khalsa College Amritsar, on sandy loam soil, low in organic carbon and available N, Medium in available P and high in available K. Field experiment was laid out in split plot design comprising four methods of sowing such as (Bed Planting, Zero tillage, Flat drilling, &nbsp;Happy seeder) and two row orientation as (North-South and East-West) replicated four times. Bed planting method produced significantly higher growth characters (i.e. plant height, leaf area index and dry matter accumulation, yield contributing characters effective tillers, grains ear-1, grain and straw yield, harvest index and B C ratio) than happy seeder and zero tillage sowing Bed planting recorded 14% and 10.48% higher grain yield over happy seeder and zero tillage sowing, respectively. Between row orientations, north-south row orientation produced higher growth and yield attributes than east-west whereas grain yield and biological yield was 3.86% and 3.77% higher than east-west sowing direction respectively.</div>

Effect of different methods of sowing and row orientation on growth, yield and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

<div>Background:&nbsp;In Tunisia, chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second major food legume. The development of chickpea production is facing several biotic constraints. Ascochyta blight (ABL) caused by Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Labr. is the most devastating disease and can cause complete yield losses under favorable conditions. In absence of chickpea variety totally resistance to ABL, some methods should be used to control and reduce this disease effects and help for its management. Therefore, this work was undertaken to evaluate the effect of row spacing and seed rate on ABL severity, growth and yield of chickpea.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: A split-plot design with three replicates was adopted to carry out this study during 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons. &lsquo;Beja1&rsquo; chickpea variety was sown at 40 and 60 cm row spacing and at three seed rates (80, 110 and 140 kg ha-1). ABL severity was assessed visually on a 0-9 scale and agro morphological traits were measured. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Correlations between agronomic traits, row spacing, seed rate and ABL severity were investigated. 
 
Result: Results showed that most of the variation in disease severity was associated with seed rate (r=0.61). The highest ABL score severity was noted at 140 kg ha-1 rate. Over both years, wide row spacing and low seed rate reduced ABL severity. Chickpea sown under narrow row spacing (40 cm) produced higher grain yield (1014 and 1099.7 kg ha-1 for 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons, respectively). Grain yield was tending to decrease with increasing sowing rates but at a density higher than optimal, grain yields decrease. In this study, ABL disease severity reached a score of 3.7 and 4.3 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. These disease severities levels had little effect on yield.</div>

Effect of Row Spacing and Seed Rate on Ascochyta Blight Severity and Yield of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Tunisia

<div>Background: With the constant rise of the world population, global food security is progressively under threat. So, there is a need for an effective crop scheme such as intercropping that checks all drawbacks and meets the world&rsquo;s current and future food needs. Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the most important minor oilseed crops of Karnataka and cultivated under rainfed situation. Under dry condition, instead of depending on mono-cropping, intercropping is always a better option. As millets are short duration crops, to make better utilization of resources and space; millets are well suited for intercropping systems. Keeping this in view the research study was carried out. 
 
Methods: A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2018-19 at the KVK farm College of Agriculture, Vijayapur in shallow medium black soils. The experiment was laid out in Randomized complete block design with 13 treatments viz. sesame intercropped with foxtail millet, little millet and proso millet in 1:2, 2:4, 3:3 row proportion and their respective sole crops.&nbsp; 
 
Result: Sole sesame recorded significantly higher grain yield (586 kg ha-1) than the other intercropped sesame. Among intercrops sole foxtail millet recorded higher grain yield (1,435 kg ha-1). Significantly higher (703 kg ha-1) sesame equivalent yield (SEY) was recorded in sesame+foxtail millet in 2:4 row proportions and was on par with sesame + little millet (667 kg ha-1) in 2:4 row proportions. While lowest SEY was observed in sesame + little millet in 3:3 row proportions (631 kg ha-1). Significantly higher land equivalent ratio (LER) and area time equivalent ratio (ATER) were recorded in sesame + foxtail millet in 2:4 row proportions (1.33and 1.28, respectively). Higher dry matter accumulation was noticed in sole sesame (9.70 g plant-1) compared to other intercropped sesame. Significantly higher gross returns (₹ 50,228 ha-1), net returns (₹ 36,875 ha-1) and B: C (3.76) was recorded in sesame + foxtail millet in 2:4 row proportions and this intercropping system is more remunerative over sole crops.</div>

<div>Evaluation of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Based Intercropping Systems with Millets by Varying Row Proportions under Dry Condition</div>

<div>Background: Mustard (Brassica juncea L.)&nbsp; as oilseeds and faba bean (Vicia faba L.)&nbsp; as pulses are very popular and potential crops but there is lack of research work on mustard + faba bean intercropping system. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to study the effect of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) + Faba bean (Vicia faba L.)&nbsp; intercropping system on growth, yield of crops, economics and system productivity. 
 
Methods: The study was carried out for three consecutive years during rabi seasons of 2015-16 to 2017-18 at the Research Farm of Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi under Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar. Treatments comprised of Sole mustard, Sole faba bean, Mustard+Faba bean (1:1), Mustard+Faba bean (1:2), Mustard+Faba bean (1:3), Mustard+Faba bean (1:4), Mustard+Faba bean (1:5), Mustard+Faba bean (2:4), Mustard+Faba bean (2:5) and Mustard+Faba bean (2:6) under replacement series. 
 
Result:&nbsp;This study finds that significantly higher number of branches/plant (5.0), number of pods/plant (30.9), number of grains/pod (2.21), 100-grain weight (28.94 g) of faba bean were recorded in 2:5 row ratio than sole faba bean, sole mustard, intercropping systems of faba bean with mustard in 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 row ratios while plant height (134.4), number of branches/plant (10.93), number of pods/plant (170.6), number of grains/pod (9.95), 100-grain weight (0.49 g) of mustard were also found better in all the row ratios of mustard + Faba bean intercropping system than sole mustard. Maximum faba bean equivalent yield (3802 kg /ha) and net return (Rs. 92470/ha) were recorded under faba bean intercropped with mustard in 2:5 row ratio although it was found at par with mustard+faba bean in (1:5), (2:4) and (2:6) row ratios. Therefore, mustard and faba bean intercropping system in row ratio of 2:5 may be recommended.p</div>

Response of Row Ratio in Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) + Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) Intercropping on Growth, Yield of Crops, System Productivity and Economics

Background: Intercropping and row arrangement represent a dynamic frontier of research and practical application, influencing resource allocation, weed competition and overall crop productivity in a modern agro ecosystem. This study aimed to investigate the impact of row orientation and arrangement on weed competition and crop performance within the Sudan savannah ecology of Nigeria during the 2018 rainy season.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: A field experiment was conducted at BUK (Latitude 11&deg;58&#39;N and Longitude 8&deg;25&#39;E) and Minjibir (Latitude 12.14590N and Longitude 0.866&#39;4850E), utilizing two orientations (East-West and North-South) and seven sorghum: groundnut row arrangements (1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 2:2, 3:3, 2:4 and 4:2). A randomized complete block design with three replications was used, with simultaneous cultivation of SAMSORG 40 sorghum and SAMNUT 24 groundnut varieties. 
 
Result: The 2:1 row arrangement exhibited the lowest weed density (23.2 and 31.1 m-2) and dry weight (408.6 and 438.2 kg ha-1). East-West orientation reduced weed density by 24.5% at BUK and 20.8% at Minjibir. North-South row orientation significantly increased sorghum grain yield by 17.7% and reduced groundnut kernel yield by 9.37%. Higher sorghum yield (699.6 and 773. 7 Kg ha-1) was observed with 2:1 whereas the 1:2 arrangement yielded more groundnut kernels (329.2 and 338.1 kg ha-1). East-West orientation and the 2:1 row arrangement suppressed weed growth and recorded higher yields.

Weed Competition and Performance of Sorghum and Groundnut Intercrop as Influenced by Row Orientation and Arrangement

<div>Rice (Oryza sativa L.)&nbsp; is the world&rsquo;s single most important staple food source for over half of the world&rsquo;s population, whose demand is expected to increase as human population increases almost exponentially every year. There are different kinds of abiotic and biotic stresses that a rice plant endures. Among the different forms of environmental stresses, drought hampers the production of rice grains notably. The reality of climate change is so stark that more and more droughts are expected to be evident in the distant future. Water, being a requisite for rice cultivation, is gradually becoming a highly limited resource across the earth. In comparison to other cereal crops, rice is more sensitive to the soil water content. Decrease of soil water content or the unavailability of water triggers drought stress in rice. Therefore, the management of drought stress for the growth of rice plants is essential as even moderate stress during reproductive growth may result in a drastic reduction of grain yield. The distinct changes brought about by drought stress not only range from morphological to physiological changes but also from biochemical to molecular changes as well. A number of starch synthesis related enzymes like granule bound starch synthase I (GBSSI), soluble starch synthase IIa (SSIIa) play important role in grain filling, which are also affected by limited water under drought environment. Due to water scarcity, the rate of photosynthesis decreases, as a result of which dry matter accumulation decreases, which ultimately affects grain filling in rice. Drought causes delayed flowering as well as spikelet sterility, followed by low grain yield during harvesting. The prevalence of drought over longer periods causes reactive oxygen species to form within the rice plants which subsequently denatures proteins and nucleic acids. In many places where drought continues for longer periods, rice plants die resulting in huge loss of grain yields. The effective strategies that have been adopted involves-the development of stable drought tolerant rice varieties through plant breeding programs, the development of short duration rice cultivars which have short growing cycle and harvesting periods that may help the plant to escape drought, the development of rice plants having deep root system such that it can penetrate the soil to find the available moisture and water required for growth, as well as the development of transgenic drought tolerant rice plants which over express specific genes to withstand drought, are few of the effective management strategies that need special attention. Thus, it can be said that drought management for rice production is a crucial step towards food security and food production in the world. The present discussions will emphasize on the negative impact of drought in rice plants and also discuss possible key management practices that can address the existing and imminent drought related problems on rice plants.</div>

Impact of Drought Stress on Grains Filling in Rice and its Management: A Review

Field experiments were carried out at Lucknow, India to evaluate the optimum plant row arrangement of geranium and to study the effects of different rates of fertilizer N, P and Zn for the yield assessment in a geranium-garlic intercropping system. A paired row arrangement (40/80 cm) of geranium planting significantly increased the herb and essential oil yield over the conventional single row planting method (60x30cm). The former gave 20.6 % more herbage than the geranium single row intercrop system, with a 22.3 % increase in oil yield. Application of N at 160 kg ha-1 significantly increased the herb and oil yields of geranium and bulb yield of garlic over the control and 80 kg N ha-1. Uptake of N by geranium was also significantly higher at 160 kg N ha-1.Application of phosphorus at 40 kg P2O5 ha-1 proved significantly better than the no P control in the production of geranium oil and garlic bulbs. Uptake of Zn increased significantly up to 40 kg P2O5 ha-1. Higher rates of P decreased the Zn uptake by the plants. Application of 30 kg Zn SO4 ha-1 showed a significant response on the herb and oil yields over the no zinc control. The higher growth indices such as monetary equivalent ratio (1.45), area time equivalent ratio (1.44), land use efficiency (144 %) and benefit cost ratio (6.37) were recorded with a geranium paired intercrop system compared to other cropping systems. The geranium paired intercrop system proved advantageous in enhancing the economic returns by 1.73 – a two fold increase over the geranium single row, sole cropping system. It is concluded from this study that intercropping of garlic with a geranium paired row system proved highly beneficial in terms of getting higher economic returns by almost a factor of two over the conventional geranium single row planting method. A fertilizer addition of 160 kg N, 40 kg P2O5 and 30 kg Zn SO4 ha-1 is recommended for achieving the maximum yield advantages in a geranium-garlic intercropping system.