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Background: Enriched composts supply the plant nutrients and add a sufficient amount of organic matter to the soil, which helps in improving the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. It helps to maintain and sustain soil fertility for enhancing crop productivity and also acts as a recess for microbes and enriches the soil with a variety of the indigenous micro-flora and fauna. Hence, the present investigation was carried out to study the effect of fertility levels and enriched compost on productivity, quality and profitability of soybean (Glycine max L.) in sub-humid southern plain and Aravalli hills region of Rajasthan. Methods: The experiment was undertaken during kharif 2018 at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur (Rajasthan) in a factorial randomized block design with three replications. The treatments were comprised of three levels of recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) (control, 50% RDF and 100% RDF) and four levels of enriched compost (control, 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0 t ha-1). Result: The increasing fertility levels upto 100% RDF and enriched compost upto 4 t ha-1, significantly increased (P=0.05) the plant height, dry matter accumulation, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, seed yield, haulm yield and protein and oil content in seed of soybean. However, the combined application of 100% RDF along with 6 t ha-1 enriched compost recorded higher seed and haulm yield. The results further revealed that the application of 100% RDF and 4 t ha-1 enriched compost significantly improved the productivity, quality and profitability of soybean under Typic Haplustepts soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research was performed to assess the effect of weather parameters along with different date of sowing. Disease progress was influenced by different weather factors viz., temperature, relative humidity, sunshine and rainfall. For powdery mildew and Alternaria blight, maximum AUDPC (Area under disease progress curve) value were 333.9 and 378.3, respectively in the plants sown on 1st July and the lowest 191.4 and 205.1 in plants sown on 21st July 2014, respectively. However, effect of weather parameters on development of bacterial leaf blight resulted in abrupt increase in AUDPC from 289.4 to 444.5 in 4th to 5th week of inoculation, reaching its maximum 455.3 in 6th week of inoculation, due to fluctuating in rainfall and relative humidity. Lowest AUDPC 82.6 was observed in last sowing done on 21st July. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustained source-activity is imperative for vigor plant growth and yield. In present study, physio-biochemical responses of wheat plant contributing to source-activity were measured after application of salicylic acid-chitosan nanoparticles (SA-CS NPs). SA-CS NPs slowly release SA for sustained availability to plant. In seedling bioassay, as compared with salicylic acid (SA), SA-CS NPs incurred up to ~1.5 folds increased activities of seed reserve food remobilizing enzymes for substantial mobilization of reserve food to growing seedlings and enhanced seedling vigor index (SVI) by 1.6 folds. At booting stage, foliar application of SA-CS NPs (0.01–0.08%; w/v) enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase (1.94 folds), catalase (1.33 folds), peroxidase (1.99 folds) and polyphenol oxidase (1.04 folds) in flag leaf. SA-CS NPs further contrived cellular homeostasis by comforting reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline contents in flag leaf. SA-CS NPs (0.08%; w/v) significantly increased chlorophylls (a-b) contents (1.46 folds), spike length without awns, spike lets per spike and grain weight per pot as compared with SA. Study categorically explicates that slow release of SA from SA-CS NPs could exert significant effect on source-activity by maneuvering various physio-biochemical responses of wheat plant. [Display omitted] • Food remobilization promoted by SA-CS NPs. • Antioxidant status and photosynthesis improved by SA-CS NPs. • SA-CS NPs manage ROS and lipid peroxidation. • SA-CS NPs enhanced wheat grain weight. • Slow release of salicylic acid by SA-CS NPs enhanced the source activity in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]