Search

The present study was carried out to study the variation, broad-sense heritability, and genetic advance, correlation among traits for growth, yield, and its attributing traits in lentil genotypes. Sixty lentil genotypes were evaluated in augmented design in 2020 at Khajura, Banke. The results indicated that the genotypes were significantly different for days to flowering, days to maturity, 500 seed weight and grain yield kg/ha. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was greater than the genotypic coefficient of variance (GCV) for all traits. The 500 seed weight showed the highest PCV (22%) and GCV (21%) whereas days to maturity showed the lowest PCV (5.5%) and GCV (3.2%). The highest value (90%) of heritability (broad sense) was in and lowest (3%) in pods per plant. Genetic Advance Mean 40% was the highest for seed weight but lowest at 1.2% in pods per plant. Grain yield showed a positive and significant correlation in genotypic level with days to maturity (r = 0.7**), plant height (r = 1.66*), pods per plant (r = 1.15**) and seed weight (r = 0.56*). Path analysis found that the seed weight had the most impact on grain yield followed by pod per plant. Thus, selection for yield in lentils through these characteristics would be effective in the varietal developmental program.

A study was carried out to analyze the economics of fish production and marketing in Dang district of Nepal. Structured survey was done with 75 respondents (45 producers, 5 wholesalers, 10 retailers, and 15 consumers) in three different sites of Dang district (viz: Lamahi Municipality, Rapti Rural Municipality and Gadhawa Rural Municipality). The initial investment, cost of production and returns, production function, price spread,and marketing margin, and ranking of production and marketing problems of fish were done by index ranking techniques. Financial analysis showed that the total initial investment per hectare of fishpond was found to be NRs. 9, 68,394 with the annual production cost of NRs. 6, 93,483. The total return was found to be NRs. 932,088 and net profit realized per hectare was NRs. 238,604. Out of total cost, about 73.70% was variable cost and the remaining 26.30% was fixed cost. Of the total variable cost, the cost of feed (58.63%) was significantly higher followed by the cost of fingerlings (12.94%), labor (11.37%), manure and fertilizer cost (8.33%) fuel/ energy (4.46%) and maintenance cost (4.27%) respectively. The benefit cost ratio (B/C ratio) was found to be 1.82 which implies that the fish enterprise was found to be profitable in the study area. The research also revealed that the producer’s share was 78.17% with price spread of 71.57 and marketing efficiency of 90.81%. The value sum of the estimated parameters associated with all the inputs is 0.52 which indicates the decreasing return to scale. Lack of technological know-how and unavailability of inputs on time are the major production problems. Inefficient price information system and competition with the Indian fish are the major marketing problems. Thus, for sustainable production and marketing of fish government should focus primarily on technological dissemination and better pricing policy.

Experiments on maize (Zea mays L.) were carried out aiming to control banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) caused by fungus, Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn with six treatments represented by different fungicides, antagonists and phytoextracts against control receiving no spray with three replicates of each under field conditions during two consecutive years from 2019 to 2020. In 2019, the higher Percent Disease Control (44.85%) and Percent Yield Increase (62.10%) both were estimated in plot treated with SAAF (carbendazim 12% WP + mancozeb 63% WP) followed by the plot where seed was treated with bavistin (carbendazim 50% WP). The grain yield was higher in plots treated with SAAF followed by leaf stripping method. Almost similar trends of disease control were observed in 2020. The lower percent disease index (47.67% PDI) with higher yield (4660 kg/ha) was recorded from the plot sprayed with SAAF@3 g/L during knee high and subsequent spray after 15 days interval followed by leaf stripping technique (lower 3-4 leaves from ground surface) as compared to control plot (PDI- 93.67% and yield-1393.33 kg/ ha). The results showed that, the combined treatment with fungicides i.e. seed treatment with bavistin before sowing and twice spraying of SAAF during knee height stage at 15 days interval followed by leaf stripping technique were effective to control banded leaf and sheath blight disease of maize to increase the yield.

Lentil collar rot disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. is an important disease causing significant yield loss in Nepal. Seven Trichoderma spp. isolates collected from different regions of Nepal were tested for their capacity to inhibit mycelial growth of Sclerotium rolfsii in in-vitro condition. Experiment was conducted in Completely Randomized Design with four replications in the plant pathology laboratory of Grain Legumes Research Program, Khajura, Banke during 2020. Dual culture method was performed to assess the efficacy of Trichoderma isolates. Trichoderma spp. isolates inhibited mycelial growth of S. rolfsii to various degrees ranging from 48.33-72.47% after 120 hours of inoculation. Maximum colony inhibition of S. rolfsii (72.47%) was obtained by Kapilvastu isolate followed by Nepalgunj isolate (67.72%). Minimum colony inhibition of S. rolfsii (48.33%) was obtained by Mangalpur, Chitwan isolate followed by Rampur, Chitwan isolate (49.33%). Among seven Trichoderma isolates, two isolates (Kapilbastu and Nepalgunj) showed good antagonistic activity against S. rolfsii and were also highly competitive in in-vitro condition. These isolates would therefore be useful in biological disease management.

Stem borer (Chilo partellus Swinhoe) is one of the most damaging and yield reducing pest in maize. Field experiments were organized to assess the extent of damage and yield loss due to the infestation of stem borer in maize following two factors randomized complete block design with three replications at National Maize Research Program, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal, during two consecutive spring seasons of 2020 and 2021. Maize varieties; Rampur Hybrid (RH)-8, RH-10, RH-12 (CAH-1715), RH-14 (RML-86/RML-96), RH-16 (RML-95/RML-96), TX-369, Arun-2, ZM-401, ZM-627 and Rampur Composite were used as a test variety (First factor) whereas pest control conditions (spray and non-spray) was considered as the second factor in the experiments. The sprayed plots (protected plots) were kept completely free from stem borer infestation by using three application of standard dose of insecticide (spinosad 45% EC@0.4mL/L) at 10 days interval and non spray (unprotected plots) were selected for natural infestation of stem borers. Standard agronomical practices such as time of planting, row spacing, seed rate, irrigation, weeding and fertilizer application and doses were adopted to raise the crop. Among tested varieties Arun-2 was found most susceptible to stem borer attack in both experimental years resulted in higher % dead hearts (6.04%), higher no of exit hole (4.72), higher % foliage damage at before tasseling stage (12.17%) and higher tunnel length (4.62cm). Quantitative yield loss increased with the increase of the borer's infestation. The yield loss was ranged from 25 to 45% in different maize varieties due to the attack of stem borer. Highest yield loss was quantified for the open pollinated varieties, ZM-401(44.61%) followed by Rampur Composite (41.39%) and Arun-2 (41.22%). Spraying of insecticide enabled the recently introduced maize hybrid RH-14 to produce more yield and to be less vulnerable to stem borer damage.

Rhizoctonia solani and Alternaria citri are major plant pathogens of citrus, causing considerable production losses. Chemical fungicides are widely used for disease control. Using the food poisoning technique under in vitro conditions, an experiment was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of several fungicides against those pathogens. To evaluate the effect on Rhizoctonia solani mycelial growth, five different chemicals, viz. SAAF (Carbendazim 12% WP + Mancozeb 63% WP), Bavistin (Carbendazim 50% WP), VACOMIL PLUS (Metalaxyl 15% WP + Copper oxychloride 35% WP), and Raze (Copper oxychloride 50% WP) were used at 100 ppm and 200 ppm concentration each. Similar chemicals were used for Alternaria citri except for additional Mancozab (Mancozeb 75% WP). Mycelial growth inhibition was measured until the fungus nearly covered the plate in control. All fungicides reduced the fungal growth compared to control. After 96 hours of incubation with Rhizoctonia solani, maximum inhibition (100%) was achieved at both concentrations of Bavistin, followed by SAAF @ 200 ppm (97.59%) and SAAF @ 100 ppm (88.25%), whereas VACOMIL PLUS and Raze had the minimum effect on the mycelial growth. Similarly, after 8 days of incubation of Alternaria citri, SAAF @ 200 ppm showed the highest inhibition (70.86%), followed by SAAF @ 100 ppm (65.11%), Mancozab @ 200 ppm (64.39%), and Mancozab @ 100 ppm (47.48%), but the effect of Bavistin, Raze, and VACOMIL PLUS had the lowest impact. The chemical proven effective against the pathogens should be trialed in pot and field experiments for further verification.

Lack of understanding regarding the choice of chemical fungicides or botanicals with their optimal doze and spraying schedule is one of the major problems concerning mid-hill farmers to control finger millet diseases in Nepal. In order to assess the effectiveness of the four fungicides, namely Bavistin 50 WP (Carbendazim 50%), SAAF (Carbendazim 12% + Mancozeb 63% WP), RIDOMIL-MZ 72 WP (Metalyxl 8% + Mancozeb 64% WP), BAAN 75 WP (Tricyclazole 75%), and two botanicalsermented anaerobically in cattle urine, an artificial epiphytotic field. In the years 2018 and 2019, the experiment was run using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Carbendazim, one of the chosen treatments, had the greatest impact in lowering the AUDPC values for leaf blast (1818, 1191) as well as neck (4,53) and finger blast (10,45) incidence percentage in both 2018 and 2019 years. Tricyclazole, SAAF, RIDOMIL-MZ, and Lantana camara fermented in cow urine were also discovered to be beneficial throughout the year. So it is recommended to deploy fungicides in a controlled manner through rotation and mixed applications, which is advantageous for both grain and seed production even for minor and underutilized crops from an economic aspect.

Proper pinching practice and the optimum rate of nitrogen (N) enhance the production of marigold. An experiment was conducted at a farmer’s field in Gadawa-4, Gangaparaspur, Dang, Nepal from July 2018 to November 2018 to investigate the effects of different rates of nitrogen and pinching on yield and yield attributes of African marigold (cv. Kolkata Local). Two factorial experiment was laid in the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. There were eight treatments, consist of four rates of nitrogen (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg/ha) and two levels of pinching (pinching and non-pinching). The maximum plant height (89.70 cm), the diameter of flower (4.29 cm) and the fresh weight per flower (4.32 g) and early days to 50% flowering (61.58) were obtained at non- pinching. The highest number of flowers (60.66), yield per plant (237.49 g) and yield per hectare (9.89 t/ha) were obtained with pinching. The highest plant height (92.20 cm) was recorded at 150 kg/ha of N but the highest yield per plant (238.18 g) and yield per ha (9.91 t/ha) was obtained at 50 kg/ha of nitrogen application. No significant effect was noted on the days to 50% flowering, number of flowers per plant, fresh weight per flower and diameter of flowers by different rates of nitrogen. The interaction of pinching and different rates of nitrogen showed non- significant effect on yield per plant and yield per ha. But, the combination of pinching and nitrogen rates at 50 kg/ha recorded the maximum yield per plant (249.20 g) and yield per ha (10.36 t/ha). Hence it is suggested to use pinching practice with optimum application of nitrogen @ 50 kg/ha to obtain high yield of marigold.

Wheat is a major staple food crop of Nepal, so it is necessary to increase its productivity. However, the national average wheat productivity of Nepal is low as compared to other neighboring countries. This study employed a Cobb-Douglas stochastic production frontier model to examine the technical efficiency and its determinants using randomly selected household data from 343 wheat farmers from four districts of Nepal. Maximum likelihood estimation results showed that wheat production responded positively to an increase in the quantity of inorganic fertilizer, whereas it was detrimental to seed rate. Likewise, the study found that farmers were not technically efficient with a mean technical efficiency of 81%. The result showed irrigation, herbicides, sowing time, Farm Yard Manure (FYM), and wheat varieties were statistically significant factors that affect the technical efficiency of wheat farmers. Furthermore, to increase wheat productivity, farmers should use better irrigation, appropriate weed management practices, optimum sowing time, and adoption of recent improved varieties. Findings suggest that the technical efficiency of wheat farmers could be enhanced by practicing optimum use of inputs and improving the inefficiency factors

Direct damage due to insect pests is one of the major causes limiting the yield potential of blackgram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) in Nepal. A total of 17 blackgram genotypes were screened for resistance to major insect pests, including aphid (Aphis craccivora Koch.), whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Genn.), hairy caterpillar (Spilosoma obliqua Walker) and pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner) in National Maize Research Program, Rampur, Chitwan during summer season of 2018 and 2019. The design of the experiment was randomized complete block having three replications. Genotypes were sown on first week of August in a unit plot size of 4 rows of 2 m long with 40 cm row to row spacing and continue plant to plant spacing was maintained and net harvested plot was 3.2 square meters. The recommended dose of fertilizer was 20:40:20 N:P2O5:K2O kg/ha and seed rate 25 kg/ha. The package of agronomic practices was followed as per national recommendation. Data on insects were collected by counting the number of insects per plant. The yield and yield components were recorded at harvest. All screened genotypes differed significantly (p

Shisham or sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo) is an important multipurpose tree with great economic importance, but this tree has been infected by various root pathogens. This review article shows the works conducted on root pathogens and die back disease of Shisham and their management. Around seventy-one endophytic fungus has been found in sissoo trees in Nepal. Several fungi, including, Fusarium solani, F. oxysporum, Ganoderma lucidum, Phellinus gilvus, Polypours gilvus, Rhizoctonia solani, Polyporus spongiosum, etc. cause sissoo diseases. Ganoderma Lucidum and F. Solani are two main pathogenic agents in Shisham, all of which causes root rot and vascular wilt diseases, and are the causes for the large-scale death of this tree species. Root rot ganoderma is wide spread in both natural and plant-based forests. Older trees in Shisham are usually attacked by these pathogens and cause large-scale death. However, when sissoo is grown as a re-forested pure plant without the removal of the stumps or root of the initial plant, a serious problem of root rot can develop. Field sanitation and proper management of field are necessary to control the fungal diseases of Shisham. Another deleterious disease of Shisham is dieback disease, where sissoo plantations have been confirmed to this disease when the infected trees begin to get dry from the top. There is no suitable solution for control of dieback of Shisham. There is a need of developing resistant varieties and to improve the quality of seed. This review may be useful tool for Forest Pathologists and other persons who are working in forestry and natural conservation sectors.

The inadequate source of resistance materials in maize against major biotic stresses is one of the main reasons for considerable loss of grain yield in Nepal. Post flowering stalk rot disease caused by Fusarium moniliforme is a serious disease that exposes high incidence at grain filling stage of maize in terai region of Nepal during summer season. This study was done to evaluate level of resistance, or tolerance in selected genotypes against the post flowering stalk rot disease of maize. Accordingly, thirty maize genotypes were tested for maize stalk rot resistance during summer season of 2016 and 2017 at National Maize Research Program, Rampur (NMRP), Chitwan. The experiment was done under natural epiphytotic condition at hot spot of the disease by using Randomized Complete Block design with 2 replications for each treatment. The package of practices was followed as per national recommendation. The summer season of 2016 and 2017 were affable for post flowering stalk rot of maize at NMRP, Rampur. Out of 30 genotypes, most of the tested entries showed susceptible reaction during both the years; however, RML-95/RML-96, Across-9942/Across-9944, ZM-401, Rampur 34, RamS03F08 and TLBRS07F16 showed resistant reaction against the disease and might be useful for the development of post flowering stalk rot resistant maize varieties for terai region of Nepal.

Late the blight of potato is a devastating and one of the economic diseases of potato and other plants belonging to family Solanaceae. Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is one of the most threatening pathogenic diseases which not only results in direct crop losses but also cause farmers to embrace huge monetary expenses for disease control and preventive measure. It was first reported during the Irish Potato Famine, leading to massive starvation in Ireland and other parts of Europe during the middle of 19th century. Phytopthora harms the foliar portion in the field and also the tuber in the storage that can result in complete crop failure in potato. The pathogen has distinct survival mechanisms and two life cycles infection processes. The development of a sexual spore known as oospore includes two types of pairs, A1 and A2. The spores are introduced to good plants by wind and rain. Different methods for prevention of crops from late blight has been developed and used worldwide. An integrated disease management strategy includes successful control of this disease. Cultural control, chemical management, and advanced disease management are the most effective interventions. Integration of late blight control in tropical regions with abundant fungal inoculants in most months of the year was also seen as one of the best choices in disease management. This paper reviews the significance of late blight of potato and controlling strategies adopted for minimizing yield losses incurred by this disease by the application of synthetic fungicides and different organic amendments.

Twelve rice genotypes were evaluated under irrigated lowland and upland rainfed conditions in a randomized complete block design with three replications at Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal in 2019. Data on plant height, panicle length, effective tillers per plant, fertile grain number per panicle and grain yield were taken. The variation was observed for plant height, panicle length, effective tillers per plant, fertile grain number per panicle among the evaluated rice genotypes. The rice genotype NR 11375-B-B-21 produced the highest grain yield (3974.75 kg/ha) followed by NR 11374-B-B-23 (3615.26 kg/ha) and NR 11145-B-B-B-6 (3597.56 kg/ha) under irrigated low land condition. Similarly, the rice genotypes, NR 11375-B-B-21 produced the highest grain yield (3837.15 kg/ha) followed by NR 11321-B-B-7-3 (3588.71 kg/ha) and NR 11305-B-B-1-3 (3292.36 kg/ha) under upland rainfed condition. The combined analysis showed that rice genotype NR 11375-B-B-21 produced the highest grain yield (3905.95 kg/ha) followed by NR 11374-B-B-23 (3494.63 kg/ha), and NR 11321-B-B-7-3 (3409.89 kg/ha) respectively. Thus, after evaluation of yield, two genotypes namely NR 11375-B-B-21, NR 11374-B-B-23, were selected as outstanding genotypes, which can be used as potential breeding materials for upland and low land environments of mid hills of Nepal.

This paper aimed to estimate the technical efficiency of rice production, also identifying the factors affecting technical efficiency. Jhapa, the Terai district of Nepal, having the highest rice production in the country, was purposely selected for the study. The primary information was collected from 100 rice growing farmers, randomly selected from the sampling frame, using the pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule. Also, two Key Informant Surveys were done. Besides, the secondary information was collected by reviewing the related literatures. Descriptive statistics, stochastic frontier model with Cobb-Douglas production function, and tobit model were used for data analysis. The stochastic production frontier model revealed that with the increase in seed, chemical fertilizer, human labor, and tractor power by 1 percent, the rice yield increases by 0.25 (P

Root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita stands out among the most harmful polyphagous endoparasite causing serious harm to plants, and distributed all over the globe. RKN causes reduced growth, quality and yield along with reduced resistance of the host against biotic and abiotic stresses. Infective second stage juvenile enters host roots with the help of the stylet and becomes sedentary getting into the vascular cylinder. Dramatic changes occur in host cells, making a specialized feeding site, induced by the secretion of effector protein by RKN. M. incognita can be controlled by nematicides, biocontrol agents, botanicals essential oils and growing resistant cultivars. Nematicides are no longer allowed to use in many parts of the world because of environmental hazards and toxicity to humans and other organisms. Researchers are concentrating on searching suitable alternatives to nematicides for effective management of M. incognita. This review mainly tries to explain the biology of M. incognita and different management options recommended in recent years. However, an effective and economical management of M. incognita remains an immense challenge.

A study was conducted in Kapilvastu district with an objective to analyze the production economics and resource use efficiency of tomato production under open field condition. Altogether ninety tomato growers were purposely selected for household survey. Primary data were collected using pre-tested interviews and focus group discussion with tomato farmers and stakeholders. Data was analyzed using SPSS and STATA, and socio-demographic characteristics, Cobb-Douglas production function and resource use efficiency of the tomato farmers was studied. The tomato production in the studied site was found to be a labor-intensive venture as cost incurred for labor was about 39 percent of the total cost with gross margin of NRs. 7255.10 per kattha and net profit of NRs. 5464.1 per kattha. Cobb-Douglas production function analysis showed positive and significant relationship of cost on labor, seed, farm yard manure, inorganic fertilizer and micronutrients and other associated expenses with the gross income. The returns to scale of 1.02 indicated increasing returns to scale whereas resource use efficiency values indicated all input resources were underutilized in tomato production.

Alternaria blight in mustard cause heavy damage to the foliar parts resulting into poor growth and development of plants and thereby reduces seed yield. Inorder to manage Alternaria infestation in mustard seed for yield maximization, an experiment was conducted in the plant protection laboratory in Nepal Polytechnic Institute, Bharatpur, Chitwan in 2018, using Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replicates. Five treatments i.e.Uthane M-45 (2g/kg), Neem powder (3 g/kg), Bojho powder (4g/kg), Trichoderma harzianum, (107 Conidia/mL) and control (without treatment) were used for seed treatment of local variety of Mustard. Four hundred seeds for each treatment (25 seeds in each petriplate) were plated using triple layers of moistened blotter paper in petriplate and incubated at (27±20C) for 2 days and followed deep freezing for 24 hrs. Data of disease incidence and seed germination were recorded in 3, 7 and 10 days after incubation (DAI). Seedling vigor and seedling weight were also recorded at 5 DAI. The percentage of Alternaria spp incidence on seeds at different DAI showed highly significant with respect to different treatments. Application of Uthane M-45 and T. harzianum significantly reduced the seed-borne infection of Alternaria spp. as compared to control. At 3 DAI Uthane M-45 completely checked the pathogen however, only 4% and 5% disease incidence was observed in 7 DAI and 10 DAI respectively. Bio control agent Trichoderma harzianum was found next best alternative after Uthane M-45 to control disease. Plant extract Bojho powder and Neem powder were found better than control to check the disease. Furthermore, highest germination (76%) was observed in Trichoderma treatment whereas, lowest germination was found in control.

The use of herbicides in wheat production is increasing in Nepal mainly due to labor shortage and higher wage rates, even if available. However, little information is available on what factors determine the use of herbicides. This study explored the major factors that affect the decision to use herbicide by the wheat farmers. The semi-structured interview schedule was administered to 343 farmers from four major wheat-growing districts. The study employed a probit regression model to identify the factors that influenced the decision to use herbicides. Educations, membership, migration, wheat cultivated area, amount of urea use were identified as the significant factors influencing the decision of farmers to use herbicides. Herbicides user farmers produced 220 kg more wheat grain yield from one hectare of land compared to non-users. This study suggests that the wheat yield of Nepal could be increased through adopting better weed management techniques.

For socio-economic assessment on wheat production, research was conducted from March to June, 2019 in two major wheat growing districts of Nepal, Kailai and sunsari. The primary information was collected by face to face interview using the pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule, two Key Informant Surveys were also done.In addition, the secondary information were collected from the review of related literatures. The survey areas were selected by consultating with Agriculture Knowledge Centre and agricultural officials of the local government; sample were selected by using simple random sampling. All total, 194 samples were selected for this study; the outliers and incomplete responses were omitted. The descriptive statistics revealed that Nepal 297 (66.16 %) has the highest area coverage in Sunsari while Gautam (36.50%) has the highest coverage in Kailali. Multiple regression model revealed that wheat cultivated area (p= 0.000), adoption of NARC released varieties (p= 0.000), gender of the household head (p= 0.017), age of the household head (p= 0.040), membership of organization (p= 0.094) and number of family members between age group 15 to 59 years (p= 0.085) have significant effect on wheat production. Furthermore, the unpaired t-test showed that the mean productivity of wheat in Kailali (2.99 Mt./ha) is significantly higher than that of Sunsari (2.81t./ha) at 5% level of significance. To increase the wheat productivity, the concerned government agricultural institutions should: assure access to NARC released improved varieties, make policy to consolidate the fragmented land, encourage the economically active population and the household heads towards wheat production by providing the efficient technical and financial support.

The research was conducted from March to May 2019 for assessment on adoption of improved wheat varieties in two major wheat growing districts of Nepal, Sunsari, and Kailali; one representing eastern and another western Terai. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect the primary information; in addition, two Key Informant Surveys were performed. Furthermore, relevant literatures were reviewed for secondary information. The simple random method of sampling was used within the selected areas that were identified in consultation with Agriculture Knowledge Centre and agricultural officials of the local government. Altogether, 194 samples were taken for the purpose of the study, omitting the outliers and incomplete responses. Descriptive statistics, probit regression, and indexing were used for data analysis. Probit econometric model revealed that membership dummy (1% level), age (1% level) number of family members involved in agriculture (1% level), subsidy dummy (5% level), number of schooling years (5%) and loan dummy (10% level) significantly determined the adoption of improved wheat varieties developed after NARC establishment. Furthermore, indexing identified- lack of availability of quality improved seeds (I= 0.80) as the major problem associated with the wheat production followed by poor availability of fertilizers (0.77), labour shortage (0.57), lack of proper irrigation (0.46) and lack of agricultural machines (0.39). The government agricultural institutions should assure access to quality seeds and fertilizers to the farmers; in addition, subsidy on irrigation and agricultural machines allied with agricultural loan to the educated youths could be the point of attraction for wheat cultivation which leads to increased wheat productivity.

Maize stem borer (Chilo partellus swinhoe) is one of the major threatening global pests of maize and considered as the national top priority entomological research problem in Nepal. The Life cycle of maize stem borer was studied under laboratory condition at National Maize Research Program (NMRP), Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal during 2018. Development of stem borer undergoes following stages like egg, larvae, pupa and adult. Eggs and different instars of maize stem borer larvae were collected from maize fields were put with host materials (maize leaf and stem) to become different instars of larva, pupae and finally turned to adults. Eggs were harvested from adults and kept on blotting paper which was kept inside petriplates and reared for adults. Their life span in each stage (egg, larva and pupa) and the fecundity of adults recorded. Daily room temperature and relative humidity (RH) in laboratory conditions were recorded. The Egg incubation period ranged from 4-7 days and hatched generally in the early morning (6-8 AM). The complete larvae period ranged from 29 to 36 days while pupal period was ranged from 7 to 12 days. The average male pupal length was found 13 mm and female was 16 mm long. The fecundity of C. partellus Swinhoe was recorded 150-160 eggs per female. The Oviposition period was 4 days and adult male survived for 4-7 days while female for 4-9 days. The average life cycle of C. partellus completed in (44-48) days during summer whereas (60-64) days during winter at average room temperature of (26-27° C) and RH of (70-80%). These results have important implications to know the survival and development of pest including effective pest management strategy.

Potassium is an essential nutrient for potato due to its direct effects on the growth, yield and quality of potato tubers. This study was carried out at Lamahi, Dang Nepal during winter season of 2018. Two potato variety (Local and Cardinal) and five levels of potassium (30, 40, 60, 80 and 100 kg K2O/ha) were evaluated in two factorial randomized block design with three replications. The application of potassium at 100 kg/ha produced significantly highest plant canopy, stem diameter and leaf length for the both varieties. The highest tuber number per plant (10.3 for Local and 17.6 for cardinal) and tuber weight (19.7 g for Local and 49 g for Cardinal) were obtained with the application of 100 kg K2O/ha. The highest gross margin was found with this level of potassium. Therefore, farmers should apply 100 kg K2O to potato to achieve maximum production and benefit.

A study on the economic analysis of fish production using different feed types practiced in Dhanusha district was conducted in 2018. Out of 600 fish farmers, sixty fish farmers(10%) from the Fish Superzone region i.e. Janakpur sub-metropolitan city, Bideh municipality, Sahidnagar municipality, Kamala municipality, Hanspur municipality, Janaknandani rural municipality and Aaurahi rural municipality, selected using simple random sampling, were surveyed using semi-structured questionnaire. The study revealed that locally formulated mash feed was commonly used feed type in which rice bran and mustard oil cake (RB+MOC) was the principle feed ingredient. 55% of the farmers used rice bran and mustard oil cake (RB+MOC), 20% used rice bran, mustard oil cake and soybean (RB+MOC+SOB), 10% used rice bran, mustard oil cake and fish meal (RB+MOC+FM) and 15% farmers mineral and vitamin (RB+MOC+MIN/VIT) in their feed formulation. The productivity of the fish production in feed type RB+MOC+SOB (3.41±1.02) was significantly higher than other feed type. The total variable cost per ha (5.23±2.11) was found significantly(p

Seed priming enhances early seed emergence and proper crop stand establishment which enables the crop to capture more soil moisture, nutrients, and solar radiation. An on-farm experiment was conducted in Okhaldhunga, Nepal to study the effect of six different priming treatments (50 millimoles common salt solution, 200 millimoles urea solution, 1 percent MOP solution, 2.5 times diluted urine, water, and control) on germination and growth of two maize varieties, Manakamana-3 and Nutan-IL60. The experiment was set up in factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. Various germination traits: germination percent, seedling vigour, germination index, mean germination time, and seedling growth traits: shoot length, root length, and dry root weight, were studied. Nitrogen-based (Urea and Urine) priming resulted the most desirable change for the studied traits. Nitrogen-based priming also had significant positive effect on stress tolerance related traits like root length and dry root weight.

A survey has been conducted to assess the diversity and occurrence of major vegetables and fruits cultivated in Aanbukhaireni rural municipality of Tanahun district, Nepal during spring season of 2019.The surveyed areas were Satrasayaphant, Baradiphant and Dumridanda villages of ward no 1, Yeklephant, Markichowk and Pateni villages of ward no2 , Gaadapani village of ward no 3, Saakhar village of ward no 4 and Ghummaune village of ward no. 5. The surveyed area consists of upper tropical and sub tropical climate. The total no of farmers field selected for the survey was 34, 32, 24, 17 and 21 from ward no 1,2,3,4 and 5 respectively.The major vegetables cultivated during survey period in the surveyed area were bean, bitter-gourd, brinjal, chilli, cowpea, cucumber, okra, pumpkin, sponge-gourd, tomato, snake-gourd and bottle-gourd. Similarly, the fruits found in the region were banana, papaya, grapes, mango, litchi, peach, guava, lemon, mandarin orange etc. The major diseases of vegetables noticed were early blight, late blight, cercospora leaf spot, powdery mildew, downey mildew, fruit rot, bacterial wilt, bacterial spot, leaf curl and mosaic. In case of fruits, sigatoka leaf spot, panama wilt, black rot, algal leaf spot, canker, root rot, foot rot, sooty mold, red rust, anthracnose, rust, mosaic, alternaria leaf spot, downey mildew and leaf curl were the major diseases. The higher disease incidence (70%) and severity (48%) in vegetables were recorded in ward no 2 where as the lower incidence (45.2%) and severity (37.71%) were found in ward no 4. Similarly, the higher fruit disease incidence (70.24%) and severity (51.27%) in ward no 1 followed by ward no 2 with disease incidence and severity of 66.79% and 45.14% respectively. The reasons for those results are low educational level, lack of best bet technology, no proper irrigation and fertilizer, unavailability of pesticides for controlling the diseases. This study will be useful to identify the major diseases of vegetables and fruits of terai and inner terai region of Nepal and applying control measure, looking for the best possible solutions.

Agricultural research plays a significant role in increment in productivity and contributes to food security. Very few studies on the impact of public research spending on different sectors and commodities in Nepal has been documented. This study was designed to estimate the adoption lags of improved potato varieties and benefits generated by potato improvement research in Nepal. More specifically, the study answers two basic questions: (i) whether investment in potato research is justifiable? and (ii) how long is it taking to replace old improved varieties? We took public annual potato research investments of Nepal from the Fiscal year 2001 to 2017 from Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). The household survey was carried out to estimate the potato varieties coverage in Nepal in 2017. Other secondary data were sourced from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agricultural and Livestock Development, FAO stat, Nepal Rastra Bank and NARC to complement the analysis. We have used a simple economic framework to estimate the benefits generated from agricultural research. The estimated benefit and cost streams were used to calculate Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) and Net Present Value (NPV). Results showed that the majority of the potato researchers had done research related to crop husbandry (seed production and crop managements); while the limited number of researchers had specialized in breeding activities. The annual growth rate of potato productivity was 214.49 kg per annum per ha which had increased at the rate of 1.76 percent per annum compound growth rate. The results revealed that the average weighted age of improved potato varieties was 21.83 years and each NPR. investment on potato research has given 508 NPR. and NPR. 13760 million NPV at a 12 percent discount factor during the last 17 years. Similarly, the contribution of potato research to GDP and AGDP was found 0.323% and 0.989% respectively. Therefore, future investment and focus should be concentrated on potato research and scaling up activities, and reducing variety adoption lag to obtain additional benefits from potato research investment.

Implementing research and publishing results is a crucial for a professional development, scientific communication and collaboration of any academicians, scholars, and researchers in science around the world. The timely dissemination of knowledge and scientific information in the global scientific community helps the development of science and worldwide recognition. The researchers working on scientific community cannot appreciate the value of evidence generated without publishing their work in right and quality journals. Therefore, authors should be careful about predatory or fake journals/publishers for communicating their scientific works. The objective of this study is to raise awareness on predatory or fake publishers/journals and of their dishonest publishing practices. In general, the predatory journal publishes without peer review and true editorial board, often publish mediocre or even worthless papers on charging high publication cost, citing fake and non-existing impact factors and mostly focused on private business motives. On the other hand, publishing in a high impact quality journals undoubtedly enhances the future career prospects, communication ability of authors and deliver concise research messages in the scientific field. Researcher of various disciplines and academic experience should aware with the lists of predatory journals/publishers which are available on Beall’s list in internet before publishing any research articles. Therefore, publishing in predatory/fake journals not only spoil or degrade academic reputations but also waste the time, resources and research message too.