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A high yielding, input responsive, non lodging varagu culture TNPsc 176 was developed at the Centre of Excellence in Millets, Athiyandal. It is a pure line selection from DPS 63. It is characterized by tufty and medium tall plant stature, strong and sturdy culm with regular, long panicles. It has 10-15 productive tillers/plant and non-shattering grains on the panicle. It matures in 105-110 days and has recorded 2506 and 4394 kg/ha of grain and straw yield, respectively in a total of 223 trials under rainfed conditions during the past eight years of evaluation at national and state levels. The yield was observed to be 12.5 and 13.8 per cent increase in terms of grain and 15.5 and 13.0 per cent increase in terms of straw over the check varieties, CO3 and TNAU 86, respectively. In view of the superior performance and desirable attributes viz., easy threshability, synchronized maturity, non-lodging growth habit, bold and attractive light brown-coloured grains with good nutritional and cooking qualities, the varagu culture TNPsc 176 was released as ATL 1 during the year 2021, for cultivation in Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Madurai, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Salem, Vellore, Villupuram and Virudhunagar districts of Tamil Nadu.

The field experiments were carried out at the Centre of Excellence in Millets, Athiyandal, Thiruvannamalai, to evaluate different organic sources of nutrients with foliar application over three seasons from kharif 2015 to 2017. The application of Farm Yard Manure (FYM) at a rate of 6.5 t ha-1 along with sunhemp green manuring (SGM) in-situ incorporation on 45 days after sowing (DAS) recorded higher grain and straw yields of 2420 kg ha-1 and 3549 kg ha-1, respectively. The foliar spray of Panchakavya at 3% concentration on 45 DAS enhanced grain yield to 2423 kg ha-1 and straw yield to 3338 kg ha-1. The recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) {60:30:30 kg N, P2O5 K2O kgha-1} resulted in higher gross income (Rs. 84,724 per ha), net income (Rs. 55,372 per ha), and benefit-cost ratio (2.84). However, the application of vermicompost at 5 t ha-1 resulted in a lower gross income. Among the foliar spray treatments, Panchakavya at 3% concentration recorded the highest gross income (Rs. 84,478 per ha), net income (Rs. 43,534 per ha), and benefit-cost ratio (2.36), followed by vermiwash at 3% concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted during the 2019-2020 growing season at the Agricultural College and Research Institute in Thanjavur, India. The effect of plant growth regulators and micronutrients for improving seed germination of rice offsprings (Oryza sativa L.) were investigated. The experiment followed a randomized block design, consisting of twelve treatments and three replications. The predominant rice variety cultivated was ADT 46, known for its long, slender grain but poor germination characteristics. The treatments involved foliar spraying at 60 and 90 days after transplanting (DAT), before panicle emergence. The highest recorded plant height was achieved with the application of Cytokinin @ 50 ppm + ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 60 and 90 DAT during the main crop growth phase. Interestingly, for all other growth and yield parameters, the most favorable results were observed with the application of Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) @ 40 ppm + ZnSO4 @ 0.5%. Notably, this treatment significantly boosted the germination percentage to 98.38% when tested three months after storage, marking a 13.00% increase compared to the control. It also demonstrated the highest seedling vigor indexes I (2996) and II (792). Hence, it is recommended that the application of NAA @ 40 ppm + ZnSO4 @ 0.5% foliar sprays at 60 and 90 DAT to address germination issues in rice and achieve higher yield and profit for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field experiments were conducted during the dry season of 2017 (June-September) and the wet season of 2017-2018 (December-March) at Regional Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vridhachalam, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu to study the pod sowing technique cum priming on the growth and productivity of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). The experiment was conducted in a split-plot design (SPD) with three replications. The main plot treatments consisted of three spacing (30 × 10 cm; 30 × 15 cm and 30 × 20 cm) treatments while the four pod priming subplot treatments were as follows: Control (dry pod), 1% CaCl2; 1% KH2 PO4 and water soaking. It can be concluded that the new and novel method of pod sowing with 30 × 15 cm combined with 1% CaCl2 may be recommended. Hence from this study, it can be concluded that the novel method of pod sowing with 30 × 15 cm combined with 1% CaCl2 with a higher benefit-cost ratio of 2.19 and 2.23 for spacing and pod priming respectively. Hence, it may be recommended in areas across the globe where labor shortage, drudgery reduction, vagaries in monsoon, mechanized cultivation are typical to get assured crop establishment and cultivation of groundnut for getting higher yield and profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]