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Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important kharif cereal crop with huge irrigation water demand. Over the years, several water saving technologies have been developed, tested and disseminated among farming community for enhancing irrigation water productivity in rice. The present study, compared continuous flooding (T1), alternate wetting and drying in which irrigation is done 2 days after seepage (AWD; T2), soil matric potential (ψm;tensiometer guided) based irrigation scheduling at ψm=15kPa (T3) and ψm=20kPa (T4) using PAU tensiometer on basmati rice (var. Pusa Basamti-1121) productivity and water use efficiency (WUE). The results revealed significantly (p

district of Punjab state. Objective of the study was to study the economic performance of migratory apiary units. Total 45 respondents were selected for the purpose of the study. The analysis of the personal characteristics of the respondents revealed that migratory apiary units were adopted by unemployed rural youth from all the sections of the rural society. Bee keepers from the district migrate to adjoining Haryana and Rajasthan states during the dearth of flora in district Sri Muktsar Sahib of Punjab. The study revealed that mainly three routes were followed by beekeepers of Sri Muktsar Sahib district Punjab. The average number of honey harvests varied from 8.5-11.0 year with average honey production of 29-45kg hive. It was maximum in case of bee keepers migrating to Kota district of Rajasthan (Group II) in winter period. The average number of honey harvests was 9 year with average honey production of 35 kg hive in case of bee keepers migrating to Ganga Nagar district of Rajasthan (Group I) in winter period. Total income per hive was maximum in Group II (Rs. 3812.8) followed by Group I (2946.2) and Group III (2406.8).

The structural and magnetic properties of magnesium substituted cobalt nano ferrites CoxMg1-xFe2O4 (x= 0.2, 0.4 and 1.0) have been investigated. The structural characterization has been done by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The magnetic studies indicate that the samples show ferromagnetic behaviour at room temperature as well as at low temperature. The magnetization decreases with Mg content in both the cases due to the less magnetic nature of Mg ions than that of the Co ions.

A survey was conducted in different blocks of Sri Muktsar Sahib District of Punjab, to assess the area under recommended varieties, to generate information of fertilizer use and yield of wheat. A total of 198 farmers were interviewed personally. It was found that between 90 to 96 per cent of total wheat area was under recommended varieties, while 10 per cent under un-recommended varieties. The maximum area 62–82 per cent was under HD 2967, with average productivity 5.2 t/ha followed by 4.0–17.6 per cent area under HD 3086 variety. Among un-recommended wheat varieties, Barbet was the most popular variety in the district. It was observed that area under un-recommended varieties decreased by 20 per cent during the year 201516 compared to 2013–14. It was further revealed 18 per cent of the farmers were applying fertilizer-N at recommended rate, while 82 per cent were applying at higher rate. On the other hand, only 2 per cent of the farmers were applying fertilizer-P higher than recommended by the Punjab Agricultural University. About 93 per cent of the farmers did not applied potash to wheat, because of high available K content in the soils. Similarly, 90 per cent of the farmers did not apply zinc (Zn) to wheat, because famers are applying Zn to rice grown in rice-wheat cropping system. In areas where, wheat was sown on light textured soils under rice-wheat cropping system, about 50 per cent of the farmers were applying manganese (Mn) to wheat.

Zinc substituted magnesium ferrites Zn0.2Mg0.8Fe2O4 and Zn0.4Mg0.6Fe2O4 were prepared by sol-gel auto combustion method. Rietveld profile refinement of the XRD patterns confirms the formation of a cubic spinel structure in single phase. The dielectric properties viz. dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent tanδ increase with increasing temperature. The dielectric behavior is explained by using the mechanism of polarization process, which is correlated to that of electron exchange interaction. The saturation magnetization, coercivity and remanent magnetization decreases appreciably with increase in Zn which could be attributed to change in cation distribution.

Dielectric properties such as dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor tan δ are reported for Ni substituted Cu ferrite having formula Cu1-xNixFe2O4 prepared by sol-gel auto combustion method. The variation of real part of dielectric constant and dielectric loss tan δ with frequency are measured in the frequency range 1000 Hz to 120 MHz at room temperature. The real part of dielectric constant (e') decreases with the increase in frequency. The relation of tan δ with frequency shows relaxation spectra. Dielectric constant as a function of temperature is studied at different temperatures ranging from 303 K to 623 K.

Nanocystalline Cu0.2Ni0.8Fe2O4 of average particle size 3 nm was synthesized through chemical coprecipitation method followed by annealing at various temperatures. The formation of cubic spinel structure in single phase and the crystallite growth was confirmed using XRD. The dielectric behavior as a function of frequency in the range 75 kHz to 10 MHz was studied at room temperature. Both dielectric constant (e′) and the loss factor (tanδ) decreases with frequency for all samples. This decrease in the values could be explained on the basis of available ferrous, i.e. Fe2+, ions at octahedral sites such that beyond a certain frequency of applied electric field the electronic exchange between the ferrous and ferric ions i.e. Fe2+↔Fe3+ cannot follow the applied alternating electric field.

We have investigated correlation between magnetization and electronic structure in Zn0.98Mn0.02O nano-rods. Rietveld analysis of XRD patterns confirms that Mn ions incorporate at the Zn2+ sites. SQUID measurements confirm that Mn doping induces room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in nano-rods and the induced magnetization is an order of magnitude higher than that in the bulk Zn0.98Mn0.02O. The XPS results show that Mn ions are in mixed valent state. Our findings show that bivalence of Mn ions and the oxygen vacancies are responsible for the observed RTFM.