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A field experiment was conducted in popular carrot cultivar Nepa Dream using randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications for evaluating the effects of ten different treatments of soil conditioner in combination with organic and inorganic fertilizers on root growth and soil productivity. Soil samples from each microplot were also analyzed for soil texture, pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, total phosphorus and total potassium before sowing and after harvest. Effects on soil was not significant in the single season experiment but effects of the treatments on the carrot root growth and production was significant. For higher root yield and biological yield, treatments Soil Conditioner +Micronutrient (Double Dose)+1/2 Recommended Dose of Fertilizer +1/2 Farm Yard Manure (T10) followed by Soil Conditioner +Micronutrient (Normal)+1/2Recommended Dose of Fertilizer +1/2 Farm Yard Manure (T7), and Recommended Dose of Fertilizer Full (T2) were found better whereas treatment T10 was found closer to T2 and Soil Conditioner +Micronutrient (Double Dose)+Farm Yard Manure Full (T9) which showed higher mean performances for root diameter, cortex diameter and root length of carrot. In contrast, total soluble sugar as % brix was found less in the treatments involving one or more combinations of conditioner whereas highest for Farm Yard Manure and Recommended Dose of Fertilizer treatments either alone or in combination. Thus, use of normal dose of GMT™ soil conditioner along with ½ Recommended Dose of Fertilizer and ½ Farm Yard Manure (T7) can be used as an alternative to T2 for higher carrot production which also can reduce the use of commercial inorganic fertilizers for improving soil fertility status. For organic carrot production at low cost, T9 can also be used as an alternative to other combinations of chemical fertilizers.

A field experiment was conducted, to evaluate the yield and yield attributes of drought tolerant rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties under different planting geometry in Narayani-7, Nawalparasi, Nepal from May to November, 2014. The experiment was carried out in two factor Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications consisting three rice varieties (Sukhadhan-4, Sukhadhan-5 and Radha-4) and four planting geometry (15 cm × 10 cm, 15 cm × 15 cm, 20 cm × 15 cm and 20 cm × 20 cm). The results revealed that the highest grain yield (6.5 t ha-1) was obtained from planting geometry 20 cm ×15 cm with highest number of effective tillers m-2 (342.6) and highest harvest index (44.8%) while, number of filled grains panicle-1 and panicle length was found statistically at par with 20 cm × 20 cm and 20 cm × 15 cm planting geometry. However, the straw yield and test weight were non-significant with different planting geometry. Regarding tested varieties, Sukhadhan-5 produced highest grain yield (6.1 t ha-1) with highest number of effective tillers (337 m-2), more number of filled grain panicle-1 (144) and more harvest index (44%) compared to other tested varieties in the experiment. The Sukhadhan-4 recorded the longest panicle (28.5 cm) while Radha-4 produced significantly highest straw yield (8.1 t ha-1). Thus, Sukhadhan-5 with planting geometry 20 cm × 15 cm found more economical and profitable to grow in rainfed lowland ecosystem in Terai and inner Terai areas of Nepal.

A field experiment was conducted at Chitwan, Nepal to evaluate the effects of manure and irrigation application on soil nutrients content, water use efficiency and maize productivity. The experiment was laid out in a factorial complete randomized block design with three replications. The treatments were consisted of two manure levels: no manure and manure with fertilizer based on 120 kg ha-1 nitrogen recommended. Similarly, another factor was irrigation water application with five levels which were control (no irrigation) and irrigation applications of 300, 600, 900 and 1200 mm during growing period. The manure application significantly affected the total nitrogen (0.13%) and available phosphorus (37.5 kg ha-1) content in the soil. Interestingly, different irrigation treatments enhanced soil nutrient content differently except soil nitrogen. Similarly, the highest grain yield was observed on 1200 mm irrigation which corresponded to 169% increment over control irrigation treatment but not significant with 600 and 900mm irrigation. The 1200 mm irrigation showed the lowest irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) (5.96 kg ha-1 mm-1), while 300 mm irrigation showed maximum (18.37 kg ha-1 mm-1) followed by 600 mm irrigation (7.04 kg ha-1 mm-1) based on grain yield. In conclusion, it seems that 600 mm irrigation treatments are quite suitable for the maize production in spring season with benefits of increasing IWUE and saving water around 50% of water which will help in growing more areas and in managing the limited water resources in Chitwan, Nepal.

Maintenance of organic carbon in soil (SOC) is critically important for sustained agricultural productivity and environmental quality. This paper presents SOC resulting from differences in tillage types and demonstrates how mulch and nitrogen (N) application can mediate the tillage functions on SOC and crop productivities. The results are derived from a 4-year field-scale study carried out in a low-land under sub-tropical hot and humid environment of Nepal. It compared eight treatment combinations, viz., tillage (no-tillage and conventional tillage), mulch (no-mulch and 12 Mg ha−1 year−1 of mulch), and N application (recommended versus leaf color chart method) under rice–wheat cropping system. Seasonal grain and biomass yields of these crops were recorded and at the end of the 4-year study, quantified the organic carbon stock of soil; Within 15 cm of surface soil, SOC stock (Mg C ha−1) was statistically (p

Drawing results from multi-scale studies, this paper addresses the important coexistence between the Chitwan National Park and buffer-zone farmers’ communities in the East Rapti River basin of Nepal. The relationship between the two is discussed using results of land use change (1978–2010) and water availability analysis (1976–2010). At basin level, though there are indications of losses of the government forest, the utilizable outflow of water in the river is still abundant because the process of depletion of water is very low. Scaling down to local level, irrigation systems originating in the river were evaluated and farmers interviewed across locations. There were statistical differences in irrigation system performance affecting water availability for crop production in the buffer zone. Because irrigation plays a disproportionately greater role in farm income and economic water scarcity could be removed, improvement in access to irrigation could effectively help improve food sufficiency and reduce income disparity in this basin. In the forest of the national park, encroachment seems to be low but frequencies of rhino poaching and timber pilferage have remained relatively high. As the buffer zone is the gateway to the park, and subsistence farm families live on the fringes of the park, helping irrigation development would strengthen farmers’ cooperation in enhancing resource conservation of the park. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. RESUME Base sur les resultats de plusieurs etudes a differentes echelles, ce document traite de l'importance de la coexistence entre le parc national de Chitwan et les communautes d'agriculteurs de la zone tampon, dans le bassin de la riviere Rapti a l'est du Nepal. La relation entre les deux est discutee a partir des resultats de changements de l'utilisation des terres (1978–2010) et de l'analyse de la disponibilite en eau (1976–2010). Au niveau du bassin, bien qu'il y ait des signes de deprise des forets d'etat, le prelevement potentiel d'eau dans la riviere est encore important, car le processus d'epuisement de l'eau est tres faible. Au niveau local, les systemes d'irrigation alimentes par la riviere ont ete evalues, et les agriculteurs ont ete interroges par zone geographique. Il y avait des differences statistiques dans les performances des systemes d'irrigation qui affectent la disponibilite de l'eau pour la production agricole dans la zone tampon. Parce que l'irrigation joue un role proportionnellement plus fort dans le revenu agricole, l'irrigation pourrait supprimer la penurie economique liee au manque d'eau. L'amelioration de l'acces a l'irrigation pourrait contribuer efficacement a ameliorer l'autosuffisance alimentaire et a reduire la disparite des revenus dans ce bassin. Dans la foret du parc national, l'empietement semble faible, mais les frequences de braconnage de rhinoceros et de vols de bois ont garde un niveau relativement eleve. Comme la zone tampon est la porte d'entree du parc, et que l'agriculture vivriere retient les familles d'agriculteurs dans la peripherie du parc, aider le developpement de l'irrigation permettrait de renforcer la cooperation des agriculteurs dans la conservation des ressources et l'amelioration du parc. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A field experiment was conducted at Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal at farmer's field in 2011 winter season to evaluate the nitrogen efficiency of cattle urine and FYM on soil properties, nitrogen uptake and yield of broccoli cv. Calabrese. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with eight treatments: N0, N100kg/ha by urine with soil application, N150kg/ha by urine by soil application, N100kg/ha by FYM, N150kg/ha by FYM, N50kg/ha by urine by foliar application, N100kg/ha by urine by foliar application and N150kg/ha by foliar application with three replications. The results of the field experiment revealed that the highest pH (6.1) was given by N150kg/ha Urine by soil application. The treatment N50kg/ha by urine by foliar application gave the highest potassium 242 kg/ha which was significantly higher than the lowest 187 kg/ha from N0. N150kg/ha by foliar application gave the highest soil organic matter 5.43%, the nitrogen 0.31% significantly higher to the lowest 0.07% from N and phosphorus 147kg/ha 0 significantly higher than the lowest. N150 kg/ha through urine by foliar application also gave the biological yield 36.7 t/ha which was significantly higher than the lowest 25.5t/ha from N0 and significantly higher curd yield 19.05 t/ha to the lowest 11.2 t/ha.

A 2-yr pot experiment conducted on an upland sandy clay loam soil in National Taiwan University, Taipei evaluated crop yields and mineral nitrogen (N min ) leaching as affected by fertilizer application strategy, viz., inorganic (100% N from urea), organic (100% N from compost), combined (compost plus urea) and a zero control (Ctrl) treatments. Cabbage ( Brassica oleracea L.) and corn ( Zea mays L.) were grown in annual rotation under simulated high rainfall conditions. The N min leaching was monitored adding 83 and 62 mm of water fortnightly to cabbage and corn respectively for a total of 28 times. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the statistical significance of treatment effect and Tukey test for means comparisons ( p = 0.05). Treatment differences were subtle for dry matter yields (DMY) but the treatments were strikingly different for 2-yr cumulative N min leaching (6.66% in organic, 30.6% in inorganic and 8.10% in combined treatments). This difference was largely related to the ability of soil to an increased retention of added N under organic and combined fertilization treatments. Unlike reported elsewhere, N recoveries were relatively high in compost applied soils, with or without urea fertilizer application. It is concluded that framers’ practices of fertilization that has inherent problem of excessive N leaching in high rainfall areas of Taiwan could be improved by proper compost and urea combinations within agronomically recommended rate of N application. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njst.v12i0.6472 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 12 (2011) 7-16

Despite being a major domain of global food supply, rice–wheat cropping system is questioned for its contribution to carbon flux. Enhancing the organic carbon pool in this system is therefore necessary to reduce environmental degradation and maintain agricultural productivity. A field experiment (November 2002–March 2006) evaluated the effects of soil management practices such as tillage, crop residue, and timing of nitrogen (N) application on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in the lowland of Chitwan Valley of Nepal. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were grown in rotation adding 12 Mg ha−1 y−1 of field-dried residue. Mung-bean (Vigna radiata L.) was grown as a cover crop between the wheat and the rice. Timing of N application based on leaf color chart method was compared with recommended method of N application. At the end of the experiment SOC sequestration was quantified for five depths within 50 cm of soil profile. The difference in SOC sequestration between methods of N application was not apparent. However, soils sequestered significantly higher amount of SOC in the whole profile (0–50 cm soil depth) with more pronounced effect seen at 0–15 cm soil depth under no-tillage as compared with the SOC under conventional tillage. Crop residues added to no-tillage soils outperformed other treatment interactions. It is concluded that a rice–wheat system would serve as a greater sink of organic carbon with residue application under no-tillage system than with or without residue application when compared to the conventional tillage system in this condition.

Technical interventions have not always led to expected outcomes when attempting to achieve a balanced growth between natural resource development and food production, particularly in the context of Third World countries. In Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) buffer zone, Nepal, farmers' perceptions were used to evaluate how irrigation resource development and the method of water sharing have increased household food security and reduced pressure on natural resources of the park. The findings indicate that with some variations between communities, increased water availability and reliability through irrigation development have improved crop diversity, cropping intensity, food sufficiency, and economic return to farmers. Community attributes such as leadership and dynamics were, among others, the decisive factors that determined the degree of success of the government development intervention programme in the buffer zone. Small landholders and low-income groups in dry areas perceived that they received greater benefits from micro-groundwater pumping schemes. However, many rural poor inhabitants in the area still lack access to these resource opportunities. We observed that Park and People, a government programme, successfully improved public relations and helped create awareness in this buffer zone. However, grievances persist among other water user groups in the upstream part of the Rapti River where a water-sharing mechanism needs to be defined between water user associations for crop production and maintenance of biodiversity of the national park. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An on-farm irrigation trial conducted on the upland of Chitwan valley of Nepal evaluated the amount and frequency of irrigation as well as the effect of nitrogen fertilizer and straw mulch applications on the performance of bottle gourd and okra vegetables. The experiment was laid out on split-split-plot design with fertilizer as main-plot factor, frequencies of irrigation as sub-plot factor, and amount of irrigation as sub-sub-plot factor. Data analysis revealed that frequency and amount of irrigation had a significant interaction effect on the number of nodes that emerge before the opening of the first flower in bottle gourd. Likewise, a significant effect of mulching was observed on the number of primary branches (P = 0.05). Number of nodes and primary branches both contributed to higher production of bottle gourd. Results also indicated that frequent application of higher amount of irrigation to bottle gourd could lead to reduced water productivity and suffer from yield losses. In the case of okra, low level of nitrogen application (30 kg N ha−1) with low but daily watering had significantly higher yield (1,365 g plot−1) than from higher level of nitrogen application (90 kg ha−1) (P = 0.01). Interaction effect of all factors was also significant (P = 0.05) on the fruit yield of okra which implied greater value of smaller irrigation to contribute to increased returns to farmers by improving production level of okra in this area of Nepal

This paper presents a historical account of Taiwan's irrigated agriculture in the face of the nation's changing water resource policy and developing economy. The pre-World War II era marked the beginning of water resource development on a scientific basis, particularly during the Japanese colonial era. Building on previous developments, the modern era brought policies for improved access to production resources in the interests of interdisciplinary society. Water resources took a sharp turn from supply to demand management in order to respond to the industrial and domestic sectors. The farmers who were once the major beneficiary of irrigated agriculture were unable to sustain their agricultural economy. As an alternative to water resource production, rainwater harvesting by so-called “water-planting” on paddy fields evolved, among others, as a major policy drive to curb the water supply problem. Calculations show that this would leave more than 200 000 ha of fallowed paddy fields each year, and management must be aware of unforeseen negative externalities due to such practices. Despite the reduced share of water in irrigated agriculture, import and export transactions from agricultural commodities even after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not discouraging. Efficient use and water saving appear to be the keys to balancing supply and demand to help secure the water economy, increase domestic food reserves, and contribute to social justice. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study analyzes forest change in an area of Nepal that signifies a delicate balance between sustaining the needs and livelihood of a sizable human population dependent on forest products, and an effort to protect important wildlife and other natural resources. The study area, a portion of the Chitwan valley district of Nepal, represents what may be becoming a common institutional mosaic in many countries of the world who have a population reliant on forest products for their livelihood: (1) a national park; (2) a designated park buffer involving participatory forest management programs; (3) scattered patches of designated community forest; and (4) large areas of adjacent landscape made up of mostly private landholdings under agricultural practices. Utilizing Landsat images from 1989 and 2000, we analyze land cover change in each of these management zones using landscape ecology metrics and quantifying proportional distributions of land cover categories. Our results show significant differences in terms of land cover dynamics and landscape spatial pattern between these land ownership classes. These findings indicate that community-based institutions (participatory management programs in the park buffer and the designated community forests) are capable of halting or even reversing trends in deforestation and forest fragmentation.

Land-cover change was studied in two adjacent sub-basins of the Kair Khola watershed in the Chitwan District of Nepal using air photographs and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It was determined that between 1978 and 1992 dramatic forest conversion occurred in both sub-basins. However, the form of conversion differed significantly. In one sub-basin dense forest was most often converted to maize-based agriculture, while in the other dense forest most often became degraded forest. A village-level investigation of forest governance was undertaken to determine whether community and institutional arrangements explain the differences in land-cover change or whether they are the result of human response to physical and topographic influences alone. It was found that in both sub-basins there are similar institutional structures that are inadequate to control the overexploitation of forest resources and this common attribute, coupled with topographic differences, is responsible for the different forms of land-cover change in the area. Some policy recommendations based on these findings are presented.