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Deep tillage, is performing tillage operations below 20 cm depth, has countless benefits in rainfed areas but the recent problem in the deep tillage is the loss of nutrients. Various techniques have been studied for declining the loss of nutrients. Therefore, this research was carried out in the University Research Farm, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan to find the effect of raised seed bed dimensions and integrated nutrient management on the yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivar (Pirsabak 2015) under deep tillage in silt clay loam (Pedocals) soil during 2019. The levels of planting technique factor were; 0 m high raised seed bed (P1), 10 cm high raised seed bed (P2) and 20 cm high raised seed bed (P3). Compost from domestic residues (C2), a combination of urea with compost (C3), and urea (C4) were compared with control, no N-fertilizer (C1) in integrated nutrient management factor. The result showed that the treatments had a significant effect on the plant height, spike m-2, grains spike-1, grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index. The highest plant height (0.44 m) and spike m-2 (88) were found in the combination of P3 with C2. The highest grain yield (3298 kg ha-1) was recorded in the combination of P2 and C3. The highest biological yield (9144 kg ha-1) was found in P1 with C3. Though the highest grains spike-1 (89), thousand-grain weight (45 g) and harvest index (39.91%) were calculated in the combination of P1 and C4. Almost all the parameters gave the lowest recorded value in the combination of P1 with C1. The research concluded that the combination of compost with urea and raised seed bed are the better option for enhancing the wheat yield under deep tillage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, the traditional method for planting pea seeds is manual because of the scarcity of planting machines. Therefore, this study aims to provide and evaluate a new seed drill for planting pea seeds on a raised bed in silt-clay loam soil. This seed drill consists of the frame, seeds hopper, seed metering device, transmission system, and covering unit. Laboratory tests on pea seeds were conducted to determine the seeds' physical and mechanical properties. Field trials were carried out under the following parameters; four forward speeds (0.79, 0.98, 1.28, and 1.64 m s-1), three disc cell capacities (1, 2, and 3 seeds per cell), two different cells shapes (circular, and a rectangle with semicircle end), and three distances between rows (7.5, 10, and 15 cm) to assess the performance of the seed drill on fuel consumption, specific energy, slip ratio, seeds damaged, germination ratio, plants number per hill, longitudinal scattering, and pea pods yield. The results revealed that the optimum performance of the seed drill was achieved at a forward speed ranging from 0.79 to 0.98 m s-1, using a disc cell capacity of 2 seeds, a circular cell shape, and a distance between rows of 10 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of acetochlor on the growth of 16 rice varieties were investigated. In addition, the sensitivity of different rice variety to acetochlor and the relationship between sensitivity and variety type were also studied. The effects of acetochlor on the germination of rice were determined in Petri dishes. The inhibitory effects of acetochlor on the seedling height, root length, seedling weight, root weight and other indicators of rice varieties were determined by agar method. The result showed the acetochlor had a certain inhibitory effect on the germination of rice. The low-concentration acetochlor would increase the seedling height and root number. However, when the concentration of acetochlor reached a certain value, its inhibitory effects became obvious. The inhibitory effect of acetochlor on rice roots was stronger than that on rice stems. Among the rice varieties, Sidao had the highest acetochlor tolerance, and Tianyou 3301 had the highest sensitivity to acetochlor. The average inhibition rates of seedling height, fresh seeding weight, root length, fresh plant weight and root number of Sidao in agar culture medium with 0.02 mg/L of acetochlor were 1.46%, 6.42%, 51.06%, 60.87% and -6.45%, respectively, while of Tianyou 3301 were 21.62%, 22.62%, 63.16%, 74.76% and 3.89%, respectively. The sensitivity to acetochlor differed significantly among different rice variety. However, this difference had no significant relationship with variety type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planting rhizoma peanut (Arachis glabrata Benth.; RP) in strips into bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) pastures can reduce establishment cost relative to conventional techniques, but research is needed to determine the best seedbed preparation methods. The objectives were to quantify the effects of four seedbed preparation techniques: glyphosate + tillage, tillage only, glyphosate + no-till, and sod removal; and four postemergence weed control strategies: control (no herbicides, no mowing), mowing (every 28 d to 10-cm stubble height), imazapic (0.29 L ha-1), and imazapic + 2,4-D amine (0.29 and 0.58 L ha-1, respectively). Sprout emergence ranged from 90 to 119 m² in treatments where tillage occurred compared with 54 to 58 m-2 in no-till and sod removal. Nevertheless, by season end RP canopy cover and frequency of occurrence favored no-till (21% cover and 70% frequency) compared with the other treatments (≤14% cover and 53% frequency). Weed control strategy after planting had a greater effect on establishment success than seedbed preparation. By season end, RP cover and frequency were greater for imazapic (25 and 64%, respectively) and imazapic + 2,4-D (23 and 64%, respectively) than for the control (10 and 42%, respectively) and mowing treatments (7 and 36%, respectively). Glyphosate followed by no-till planting and postemergence use of imazapic with or without 2,4-D is a viable option for reduced-cost establishment of RP in strips into bahiagrass pastures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seedling vigor is the basic component of the transplanted rice, which depends on its growing environment and proper age. Thus the influence of nursery management and seedling age was evaluated after transplanting 10, 20, 30, and 40-days older seedlings raised by using seed rate (high and low) and nitrogen (N) (with and without) in rice growing season 2008 and 2009. Study revealed that 10-days older nursery seedlings, irrespective to nursery-bed treatments, showed accelerated growth start after transplanting in main field while at later stages significant interaction was observed. Transplanting of 20-days older fertilized seedlings grown at low seeding density at nursery-bed resulted in similar growth performance as in younger. Maximum net-benefit (45111, 44402 Rs. ha−1) was recorded with transplanting 10-days older nursery seedlings while the fertilized seedlings grown at lower seeding density recorded highest net-benefit (37908, 36780 Rs. ha−1) in both the years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study was conducted to monitor the dynamics of most problematic weeds of wheat influenced by planting dates and planting methods, little seed canary grass and lambsquarters in a two years field experiment conducted at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Wheat was sown through drilling in lines, broadcasting and on raised beds at November 15, November 30 and December 15 during 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. Planting methods and planting times significantly influenced the abundance of these two challenging weeds. Wheat planted on raised beds at December 15 suffered least with these two weed species. Therefore, to avoid the damage caused by little seed canary grass and lambsquarters wheat should be planted on raised beds, while delay in sowing cause substantial reduction in the occurrence of these weeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]