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Field experiments were conducted at Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai during rice fallow season 2013 and 2014 to evaluate the effect of irrigation, varieties and nutrient management for maximizing yield in rice fallow black gram. The experiments were laid out in split plot design with three replications. The main plot treatments comprised of irrigation (one supplemental irrigation at 25 DAS and no irrigation) and black gram varieties (ADT 3 and LBG 752) and nutrient management practices (Foliar spray of 2% DAP on 30 and 45 DAS, Pulse wonder at 5 kg/ha on 35 DAS and 1% 19:19:19 complex on 25 DAS fb 2% urea on 35 DAS, 2% urea phosphate on 35-40 DAS, soil application of DAP at 50 kg/ha to the standing paddy at the time of last irrigation and control) were assigned to sub plots. The results revealed that the rice fallow black gram given with one supplemental irrigation at 25 DAS recorded higher growth, yield attributes, yield, net return and BC ratio than no irrigation. Black gram variety LBG 752 registered higher plant height compared to ADT 3. However, yield attributes and yield were higher with ADT 3 whereas it was comparable with LBG 752. ADT 3 registered the highest net return and BC ratio than LBG 752. Foliar application of various nutrient sources performed similarly with respect to growth, yield attributes and yield of black gram. However, soil application of DAP 50 kg /ha during last irrigation to the standing paddy recorded higher net return and BC ratio followed by foliar application of 2% DAP on 30 and 45 DAS. Hence, black gram variety ADT 3 or LBG 752 given with one supplemental irrigation at 25 DAS followed by foliar application of 2% DAP at 30 and 45 DAS or soil application of DAP at 50 kg/ha to the standing paddy at the time of last irrigation could be recommended for getting higher productivity under rice fallow condition.

Soil fertility is an important factor for plant growth and has a global impact on both developed and developing countries. The present investigation was carried out on soil fertility status of farm in ADAC&RI, Trichy which comes under the Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu. The pH value indicates that ADAC&RI farm soils are very strongly alkaline in nature. The rating of electrical conductivity was normal with values ranging from 0.16 – 0.72 dS m-1. The farm soil was low in available nitrogen, medium to high in available phosphorus and potassium. The average organic carbon content was low in the farm soil with values of 4.09 and 4.33 g kg-1 in A and D block, respectively. The available sulphur content of the farm was recorded as sufficient. This study clearly shows that, most of the soil nutrients in the ADAC&RI, farm was found to be low and need proper management practices to improve the soil quality for better crop production. The present investigation reveals the effect of sodicity on the status of available nutrients in soil.

Teachers are active ingredients of educational system. Pandemic made us aware of online learning. Teachers improvising the learners to add values to educational behavior and attitude. Education never ages, the importance of its lifelong learning everywhere at every time. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad context, helps to develop educational strategies for present day scenario. It allows educators to benchmark and develop critical analysis to redesign educational policies for the implementation of innovative learning and teaching strategies in educational institutions. AI helps in educational transformation and accelerating basic educational skills by introducing software robots implemented in classrooms and other devices to make reminders for essential educational activities and assignments. In European countries they are utilizing teaching assistants as robots paired with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) system and now they are providing MR (Mixed reality) altogether called Immersive Technologies promotes lifelong learning capabilities which makes learners engaged in creation, active learning collaboration, problem solving and makes learning as a real life experience in all educational perspectives.

An investigation was carried out to assess the quality of groundwater in coastal blocks of Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu. Approximately fifty groundwater samples were obtained from the coastline blocks in May 2022, particularly Minjur (25 Nos), Puzhal (7 Nos,) and Gummidipoondi (18 Nos). The groundwater samples were tested for physio-chemical (pH and EC) and chemical characteristics like cations-Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ and anions- CO32-, HCO3-, Cl-, and SO42- ; and the resultant properties were computed (SAR and RSC). The pH of Minjur, Puzhal, Gummidipoondi blocks ranged from 7.66 to 8.78, 7.77 to 8.36 and 7.35 to 8.76 respectively.The EC of Minjur ,Puzhal,Gummidipoondi were 0.3 to 3.56 dS m-1,0.76 to 2.91 dS m-1 and 0.2 to 2.07 dS m-1 respectively. The SAR of Minjur, Puzhal, and Gummidipoondi ranged from 1.60 to 11.73 ,1.67-10.01, 0.6 to 6.87 respectively. . The RSC of Minjur ,Puzhal, Gummidipoondi ranged from -4 to 8.4 meq l -1 ,-0.8 to 3.4 meq l -1, -4.4 to 4.8 meq l -1 respectively. In the Minjur block, the majority quality of groundwater was characterized as good quality water (32 per cent), salty water (24 per cent), and alkali water (36 per cent). While in the Puzhal block, the majority quality of groundwater was characterized as good quality water (28.57 per cent), saline water (14.28 per cent), and alkali water (57.14 per cent). In the Gummidipoondi block, the majority quality of groundwater was assessed as good quality water (38.8 percent), and alkali water (50 per cent).

Aim: To study the Influence of nutrient management on growth, lodging and yield of transplanted rice. Study Design: The study comprised of eight treatments viz.,T1- 100% NPK, T2- 100% NP + 125% K, T3- 75% N + 100% PK, T4- 75% N + 100% P + 125% K, T5- 100% NPK + K2SiO4 at 50 kg ha­-1, T6- 100% NPK + Ca2SiO4 at 50 kg ha­-1, T7- 100% NPK + Na2SiO3 at 50 kg ha­-1 and T8- absolute control in randomized block design. Place and Duration of Study: This research trail was conducted during the late samba (September – February) of 2021-22 at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute. TNAU, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India. Methodology: The study consisted of combination of 8 treatments in RBD which was replicated thrice. The rice variety of IW Ponni was used for this study. The observation have been recorded during the different phases of growth at regular intervals. Results: The results revealed that the application of 100% NPK + K2SiO4 at 50 kg ha­-1 has recorded significantly taller plant height (131.7 cm), higher dry matter production (11360 kgha­-1), grain (4535 kg ha-1) and straw yield (7259 kg ha-1) over absolute control. Minimum bending moment and lodging score were reported with 100% NPK + K2SiO4 at 50 kg ha­-1 and it was on par with 100% NPK + Ca2SiO4 at 50 kg ha­-1.

Weeds are the major biotic constraints in finger millet production and account for 41 to 63% yield loss. Weed management through herbicides plays a major role in increasing productivity. The field experiment was conducted at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tiruchirapalli during Kharif, 2018, to evaluate the weed management practices on the growth and yield of transplanted finger millet under sodic soil conditions. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with ten treatments and three replications. The treatment comprised weed management practices with different herbicides and their combinations. The results revealed that the highest plant height, total number of tillers/m2, dry matter production, leaf area index and crop growth rate were registered in PE application of bensulfuron methyl at 60 g/ha + pretilachlor at 600 g/ha fb EPOE application of bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha. The highest grain and straw yield was also registered in PE application of bensulfuron methyl at 60 g/ha + pretilachlor at 600 g/ha fb EPOE application of bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha, and it was on par with hand weeding at 15 and 30 DAT. Hence, in transplanted finger millet under sodic soil, the application of PE bensulfuron methyl at 60 g ha-1 + pretilachlor at 600 g ha-1 fb EPOE bispyribac sodium at 25 g ha-1 was found to be the most viable option for effective weed control besides increased productivity and profitability.

Financial statements are the pulse of an organization to understand the healthy financial position of an organisation. This Study was taken up in Tamilnadu Industrial Development Cooperative Bank (TAICO), Chennai with the objective to determine the variation in the items of income statement and balance sheet by common size statement, to evaluate the performance of the bank by comparative study and to ascertain the solvency, liquidity and profitability ratios of the bank. For the purpose of the study, last three years financial statements were obtained from the bank.With the help of Common size balance sheet, Comparative Balance sheet and Ratios of Profitability, Solvency and Liquidity the financial status was obtained. The bank has seen a down side during the pandemic period as visible from the analysis. It is also very positive to note that deposits has risen and the bank is close to pre-pandemic status as per 2021 reports. The bank has to concentrate on investing in Fixed assets and also ensure that profits are used in this regard. Other variables indicate a healthy financial statement of the bank.

Palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer L.) is a slow growing, dioecious, drought resistant palm and considered to be native of Tropical Africa. It is cultivated as well as found growing in wild in the Indian subcontinent. It is distributed in India, Burma, Africa and Sri Lanka. Several problems are encountered in germination of seeds in palmyrah such as poor, protracted germination and prolonged nursery period. The main reasons for the failure of seeds to germinate in suitable conditions are either dead or dormant. The delayed germination of palmyrah might be due to the stony endocarp acting as a physical barrier to imbibition or imposing mechanical resistance to embryo enlargement. Against this backdrop, this review focuses on seed dormancy, pre-sowing seed treatment, nursery technology, and seed storage behaviour of palmyrah.Palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer L.) is a slow growing, dioecious, drought resistant palm and considered to be native of Tropical Africa. It is cultivated as well as found growing in wild in the Indian subcontinent. It is distributed in India, Burma, Africa and Sri Lanka. Several problems are encountered in germination of seeds in palmyrah such as poor, protracted germination and prolonged nursery period. The main reasons for the failure of seeds to germinate in suitable conditions are either dead or dormant. The delayed germination of palmyrah might be due to the stony endocarp acting as a physical barrier to imbibition or imposing mechanical resistance to embryo enlargement. Against this backdrop, this review focuses on seed dormancy, pre-sowing seed treatment, nursery technology, and seed storage behaviour of palmyrah.

Background: Foliar spray of nutrients offers a best way to accelerate crop growth and boost up productivity of mungbean under irrigated conditions to meet out the demand raised by ever increasing population of our country. The study was framed to investigate physiochemical and biological properties of fermented fish waste extract (FFWE) and its effects on productivity performance in mungbean. Methods: The organic liquid FFWE was characterized for its physiochemical and biological properties in the laboratory. Field experiments were conducted during Kharif 2019 and 2020 in mungbean to study the effect of FFWE as foliar spray on growth, yield, quality and economics. Treatments consisted of foliar spray of different concentrations of FFWE (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 %) compared with 1% urea and control. The treatments were replicated four times in a randomized block design. Result: Laboratory analysis showed that fermented fish waste extract contains considerable amount of essential nutrients namely nitrogen (1.87%), phosphorus (0.49%), potassium (0.93%), calcium (0.54%), magnesium (0.26%), sulphur (0.04%), copper (3.1 ppm), zinc (38.2 ppm), manganese (4.8 ppm) and iron (118 ppm). The microbial population viz., total bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in FFWE were found to be 196±1.8, 11±0.06 and 203±0.87 (CFU/mL), respectively. Field experiments revealed that 2.0% FFWE foliar spray at flowering stage and 15 days after first spray in mungbean found to improve the plant height, (40.8 cm) dry matter production (1770 kg/ha), leaf chlorophyll (SPAD value 40.0), number of pods per plant (28.3), seeds per pod (9.9), grain yield (665 kg/ha) and grain protein (23.4%). Economics of foliar nutrition showed that foliar spray of 2.0% FFWE gave higher net return of Rs. 24057/- per ha and benefit cost ratio of 2.30. Thus, it could be concluded that foliar spray of 2.0% fermented fish waste extract could be considered as an excellent source of organic liquid manure for enhancing the productivity of mungbean.

In the present study, combustion technique is adopted to study the impact of Mg2+ ion doping on ZnAI2O4 nanoparticles (NPs). L-arginine is used as a fuel component. The Mg2+ ions play a pivotal role in persuading various characteristics of ZnAI2O4 NPs. Various characterization technqiues such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Thermo-gravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) were carried out in order to synthesize the nanoparticles. Single phase cubic spinel structure of ZnAl2O4 (gahnite) formation was confirmed from the XRD characterization process of the nanoparticles. Estimated average crystallite size range of 11.85 nm to 19.02 nm was observed from Debye-Scherrer. Spherical morphology with uniform distributions was observed from HR-SEM characterization images. From the band gap studies, the attained band gap values were found to lie within 5.41 eV–4.66 eV range. The ZnAl2O4 and Mg:ZnAl2O4 NPs exhibited super-paramagnetic nature confirmed by magnetic measurements. The obtained results make ZnAl2O 4and Mg:ZnAl2O4 NPs appropriate for various optical, catalytic, energy and data storage applications.

The continuous intake of a specific antibiotic for diseases is continuously reducing the immunity of the human in course of time, which includes Covid-19 treatment. Recent research on Schiff bases shows the promising biological activities and good antibacterial results. In this study, three Schiff bases with lactam ring using isatin and three different anisidines in presence of acetic acid were synthesized and characterized. Drug likeness was examined using Molsoft and docking against the target proteins such as 5J6R, 3L9L, 5HVY, covid main protease and 3ZBO proteins for drug suitability. The experimental antibacterial activity against Gram-positive strains like Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Among the synthesized compounds, three Schiff bases ortho and meta substituted compounds exhibited good results when compared to para compound, where the methoxyl group position effect was observed.

Hiding data in an image become a very successful technique to communicate with end users, blinding the interpreter’s intention. Various algorithms have been analyzed on the basis of masking the content within the coordinates of the images or in the color of the images used. Few advanced developed complex algorithms to hide the content in the values of the colors to ensure or guarantee robustness of the data hidden. In this research, a simple technique called alpha blending is used to hide the data in an image and its impact is analyzed for different alpha values. The unavoidable impact of noise on the transmitted carrier image was formulated and studied by many researchers using various available algorithms. In this regard: the same is analyzed using alpha blending in thermal images.

Polyvinylpalmitate esters with five different compositions have been prepared with the following ratio of polyvinyl alcohol and palmitic acid, respectively: 1:1 (PVP1), 10:1 (PVP 2), 20:1 (PVP 3), 1:10 (PVP 4) and 1:20 (PVP 5). All these polymers have been characterized by studying their thermal, spectral and morphological properties. These polymers have used as adsorbents for dyes. Eriochrome Black – T is the dye chosen for this study and adsorption characteristics on the five PVPs prepared have been evaluated. The various factors influencing their adsorption such as the initial concentration of the dye, contact time and pH have been varied and the optimum parameters for maximum adsorption have been determined. Almost in all the systems studied, maximum adsorption is observed at pH = 8 for a contact time of about 120 min. Also, kinetically all of them follow second order kinetics, shown by excellent correlation Co-efficient for the plots. The adsorption data fit well in both the Freundlich isotherm and Langmuir adsorption isotherm. From these isotherm profiles, the equilibrium concentration of the dye (corresponding to maximum adsorption) has been evaluated which are in good agreement with those determined experimentally. The desorption studies suggest chemisorption to be responsible for the adsorption of these dyes onto PVPs.

Direct seeding is done by sowing of pre-germinated rice seeds under puddled condition either manually or by drum seeding methods. Direct seeded rice (DSR) cultivation needs only 34 per cent of the total labour requirement and saves 29 per cent of the total cost of the transplanted rice. Weed infestation and competition are severe in direct wet seeded rice as compared to transplanted rice, because of the simultaneous growth of both crops and weeds. Uncontrolled weeds decreased the yield by 96 per cent in dry DSR and 61 per cent in wet DSR. The yield loss due to weeds varies from 40 to 100 per cent in direct seeded rice. Any delay in weeding will lead to increased weed biomass which has a negative correlation with yield. Though manual weeding is considered to be the best, undependable labour availability and escalating labour cost in many cases have given impetus to the development and use of new chemicals for weed control. In contrast to this, chemical weed control offers economic and efficient weed control if applied at proper dose and stage. The combination of chemical, manual and mechanical weed control is an efficient integrated weed management strategy for effective weed control in direct seeded rice.

Finger millet production requires a lot of labour, particularly for weed management practices. Weed spectrum depends on the efficiency of the finger millet ecosystem and control measures practiced. A most possible way for controlling weeds is by manipulating the cropping system and making conditions more favourable for crop growth and unfavourable for weed growth. Weeds belong to various groups viz., grasses, sedges and broad leaved weeds (BLW) are associated in finger millet cultivation. The weed management practices are limited to five options viz., preventive, cultural, mechanical, chemical and biological methods. The common weed control method used is the hand weeding which is time consuming and also difficult to control weeds. Although manual weeding is effective, it is costly, tedious and time consuming. Fischer et al. (2001) reported that the increasing cost of labour have made these methods uneconomical for weed control. Since single method is not able to control all weeds up to desired level, integration of weed management practices can be an effective weed control strategy to achieve greater weed control efficiency and increase overall benefit of finger millet cultivation.

The hydrothermal method was optimized to produce highly efficient, novel MnNiO3/Mn3O4 nanocomposites for water electrolysis. The predominant peak observed at 36.6° corresponds to the X-ray crystal plane orientation of (1−10) and confirmed rhombohedral phase MnNiO3. The other well-resolved peaks were attributed to MnNiO3/Mn3O4 nanocomposites. Vibrational properties and metal oxygen vibrations were revealed in Fourier transform infrared profile around ~570–620 cm−1. The oxygen vacancies and electron trapping mechanism were exposed from photoluminescence spectra. The combined morphology of nanorods and distinguished nanopetals was determined for highly active MnNiO3 nanocatalyst. The band structure and modification was thoroughly studied by employing UV-visible diffuse reflection spectra and the observed band gap was 2.8 eV for MnNiO3/Mn3O4 nanocomposites. Cyclic voltammogram and linear sweep voltammogram study were used to investigate the redox behavior and water oxidation nature of the novel MnNiO3/Mn3O4 nanocomposites. A higher OER activity of 274 mA/g at 10 mV/s was achieved for the electrode loaded with optimized electrocatalysts. The excellent conductivity and ionic mobility were confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectra. The 72-h stability test was carried out and long-time durability was reported for the optimized electrocatalysts. Thus, the present study completely dealt with the preparation of novel combinations of MnNiO3/Mn3O4 nanocomposites by using controlled synthesis techniques and the exploration of optimized candidates for efficient water electrolysis process.

In the present study, combustion technique is adopted to study the impact of Mg

Communication between normal people and people with vocal and hearing troubles is a difficult task. The sign language used by these people is not understandable by the common people, so it creates a communication barrier. People who are paralyzed also require assistance regularly. For such people we have proposed Implementation of IOT based Smart assistance gloves for disabled people. The gloves we designed is very simple yet effective when compared to the existing system. With the help of flex sensors, the finger gesture is detected and the corresponding instructions are displayed in the android app with audio output. The proposed system is implemented by Arduino uno and Raspberry pi, where the communication between these two modules is done by wireless serial port module due to its secured data transmission. An alert message will be sent through the GSM module during emergency situation.

Background: Weeds are the major biotic constraint to reduce the rice productivity in direct wet seeded rice. Weed infestation and competition are severe in direct wet seeded rice as compared to transplanted rice, because of the simultaneous growth of both crops and weeds. The yield loss due to weeds varies from 40 to 100 per cent in direct seeded rice. Use of herbicides either singly or in combination with manual or mechanical weeding in puddled direct seeded rice has been highlighted by several workers. Use of alternative herbicides with wide spectrum control of the weeds in direct seeded puddled rice is the need of the present time. The present study aimed to evaluate different weed management practices in direct wet seeded rice under sodic soil.Methods: A field experiment was conducted during Samba season (Rabi) 2016-17. to evaluate the weed management practices in direct wet seeded rice under sodic soil. The treatments comprised of different combination of weed management practices viz., pre emergence, early post emergence herbicides, mechanical weeding and hand weeding twice were tested. Total weed density and weed dry weight, weed control efficiency, yield parameters and yield of rice were recorded. Result: Among the different weed management practices, the lowest total weed density, total weed dry weight and higher WCE, yield attributes, grain and straw yields were registered under application of PE pyrazosulfuron ethyl 25 g/ha fb EPOE bispyribac sodium 25 g/ha. This was followed by application of PE pretilachlor 0.75 kg/ha fb EPOE bispyribac sodium 25 g/ha.

Polyvinyl palmitates were synthesized by condensing Polyvinyl alcohol with palmitic acid in different ratios and characterized. Intrinsic viscosity and their Molecular weights were found using Mark-Houwnik equation. Viscosity index of diesel oil doped with the prepared polymers were determined and compared. From the results it was observed that there will be slight increase in the viscosity index of the diesel oil at different ratios of additives. From these results it was confirmed that these additives can be used as viscosity index improvers.

Background and Objectives Recent studies have implicated adipokines in the pathogenesis of the immune-mediated inflammatory disease, psoriasis and its associated comorbidities. Hence, we undertook to study adipokine levels and indices of insulin resistance and sensitivity in patients with psoriasis vulgaris, in comparison with controls and their association with disease severity and response to therapy. Methods Sixty cases of psoriasis vulgaris and 60 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included in this study. Severity grading according to psoriasis area severity index scoring was done in all psoriatics. Serum levels of adipokines [leptin, adiponectin, resistin and interleukin-6 (IL-6)] and insulin were estimated in all psoriatics at baseline and at 12 weeks on follow-up and in controls. Results Baseline levels of the inflammatory adipokines (leptin, resistin and IL-6) and insulin resistance indices were significantly higher in psoriatics, as compared to controls, while that of the anti-inflammatory adipokine, adiponectin and insulin sensitivity indices were significantly lower in psoriatics, as compared with controls. Baseline inflammatory adipokines, serum insulin level and insulin resistance indices demonstrated a significant positive correlation with the severity of psoriasis, while the anti-inflammatory adipokine, adiponectin and insulin sensitivity indices demonstrated a significant negative correlation with the disease severity. After 12 weeks of therapy (both topical and systemic), there was a significant reduction in the levels of inflammatory adipokines and a significant increase in the levels of anti-inflammatory adipokine-adiponectin. However, a significant decrease in insulin levels and insulin resistance indices were observed only with systemic therapy with methotrexate. Conclusion The present results implicate that adipokines are significantly associated with pathogenesis of psoriasis and hence adequate and early control of psoriasis may contribute to the decreased development of metabolic syndrome, including the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Synthetic fertilizers are commonly used for growing all crops, with application rates depending on the soil fertility. Urea is an example of a synthetic organic fertilizer, an organic substance manufactured from inorganic materials. Organic fertilizers have been known to improve biodiversity, and long term productivity of soil, and may prove a large depository for excess carbon dioxide. Urea fertilizer provides nitrogen, which promotes green leafy growth. Urea has the highest nitrogen content, equal to 46% and it can be used for all types of crops and soils 1 . The investigation based on the behavior of propagation of ultrasonic waves in fertilizer system are now rather well established as an effective means for examine certain physical properties of the materials. Ultrasonic velocity, density and viscosity values for the fertilizer urea are found in the concentration range of 0.3m to 2.1m at various temperatures from 308˚K to 323˚K. The values of acoustical and thermodynamical parameters such as adiabatic compressibility, acoustic impedance, relaxation time, molal hydration number, free length, apparent molal volume, and apparent molal compressibility are determined. Their variation with concentration is useful in understanding the nature of molecular interaction in terms of physical parameters. These results were confirmed by soil test. A soil test gives the information about the availability and lack of nutrients in the soil. The quantity of available nutrients in the sample determines the amount of fertilizers that is recommended for a particular crop. This is also confirmed by the values of 3-4 . The ultrasonic velocity and density of urea fertilizer at different temperatures have been reported in the present paper. From these experimental data, the number of acoustical and thermodynamic parameters like specific acoustic impedance (z), intermolecular free length (Lf), relaxation time ( τ ) hydration number (nh) , apparent molal compressibility (φk), apparent molal volume (φv), have been calculated. The values of the parameters have been used to interpret various molecular interactions occurring in the solutions at different temperatures and concentrations of urea.

The solution behaviour of sodium dodecyl sulphate have been investigated by measuring velocity, density and viscosity at different temperatures in the range 308°K323°K at an interval of 5°K. The interaction between ion and water molecules can be described using hydration number values for aqueous solutions of electrolyte. Adiabatic compressibility, apparent molal volume and apparent molal compressibility for the above electrolyte SDS are determined using the theoretical formulations. Using the assumption that compressibility of the solution is mainly due to the contribution of free solvent molecules, a new methodology for finding the hydration number has been developed by Kalyanasundaram et al. Based on that method, hydration number for sodium dodecyl sulphate is calculated. From the calculated values of hydration number, molar solvated volume is determined using different formulae and found to be in agreement.

Field experiments were conducted during summer (April to June), 2010 and 2011 to study the effect of post-emergence herbicides in irrigated blackgram (ADT 5). Treatments comprising of three levels (50, 75 and 100 g /ha) of the post- emergence herbicides viz., Imazethapyr 10% SL and Quizalofop ethyl 5% EC were tested alone and in combination and compared with hand weeding twice on 15 and 30 DAS(farmers’ practice). Herbicides were sprayed on 15 DAS when the weeds were 2-4 leaves stage using flat-fan nozzle as per treatment schedule. The results revealed that minimum total weed density (8.44) and weed dry weight ( 27.2 g/m2) and higher weed control efficiency (84.4%) were obtained under combined application of imazethapyr and quizalofop ethyl as tank mix at 100 g /ha. However, this was comparable with application of both the herbicides at 75g /ha. Application of imazethapyr + quizalofop ethyl each at 75 g/ha registered significantly taller plants, higher dry matter production, more number of pods per plant, seeds per pod and higher grain yield (826 kg/ha), net returns (Rs.26621/ha) and benefit cost ratio (2.76). Thus, application of post- emergence herbicides imazethapyr + quizalofop ethyl each at 75 g /ha as tank mix on 15 DAS could be recommended for controlling of emerged weeds in irrigated blackgram.

Field experiment was conducted during rice fallow season (January-March), 2011 and 2012 to study the effect of DAP application to preceding rice in last irrigation and foliar nutrition to black gram on the productivity and profitability of black gram(ADT 3) under rice fallow condition. The results indicated that application of DAP at 50 kg/ha to preceding rice in last irrigation and foliar spray of DAP (2 per cent) and KCl (1 per cent) at 30 and 45 days after sowing to black gram registered higher plant height (24.6 cm) at 20 DOS number of pods per plant (18.4), grain yield (639 kg/ha), net returns (Rs.22290/ha) and additional income (Rs. 7563/ha). Application of DAP at 50 kg/ha in last irrigation to preceding rice produced significantly higher grain yield of succeeding black gram (613 kg/ha.) over control (488 kg/ha) which was comparable with foliar application of 2 per cent DAP and 1 per cent KCl to black gram. With reference to return per rupee invested, application of DAP at 50 kg/ha to preceding rice in last irrigation registered higher benefit cost ratio of 3.56 in black gram.