Category Archives: Agronomy

Weeds are a menace in agriculture and if the weed population is unchecked then they can result in huge economic losses. There are various ways to control weeds but as the weeds are controlled, they may show weed shifts and weed resistances. What is a WEED SHIFT? A weed shift is the change in the composition or relative frequencies of weeds in a weed population or community in response to natural or human-made environmental changes in an agricultural system Here populations refers to all individuals of a single species in a defined area And community refers to all plant populations […]

  Seed treatment Seed treatment refers to the application of 1. fungicide, 2. insecticide or 3. both to the seeds to disinfect and disinfest them from seed borne or soil borne pathogenic organisms and storage insects Disinfection here refers to the deep seated pathogens Disinfestation refers to the pathogens outside the seed coat Seed treatment also includes exposing the seeds to sun or washing or immersing them in water Benefits of seed treatment Prevention of spread of plant diseases – both systemic and non-systemic plant diseases can be prevented by seed treatment Examples – systemic diseases like smut of wheat, […]

  Seed Drying Seed Drying means Lowering down the seed moisture content to safe moisture limits Seed drying is very important in order to maintain seed viability and vigor Moisture in seeds may deteriorate fast due to mold growth and increased micro-organism activity You may also like to read – Crops and recommended seed rates | Agristudent.com Seed Certification Agency | Agristudent.com Brinjal Seed production | Agristudent.com Seed and Seed Industry in india | Agristudent.com Methods of seed drying 1. Sun drying 2. Forced air drying – 1. Natural air drying 2. Drying with supplemental heat 3. Heated Air drying […]

What is Winnowing? Winnowing is the process of separating grain from a mixture of grain, chaff and other impurities in an air stream from a natural or artificial source Where is the winnowing operation generally carried out? It is done on the threshing floor where the entire harvested crop is threshed How many people are required for winnowing operation? Usually more than oone person is required 1. One persoon for pouring the threshed material with a basket from slightly above their own height 2. One person is required to collect the grains and keep the chaff away from mixing with […]

What is water budget of India? | Agristudent.com What is a water resource? Water resource is the entire range of natural waters that occur on the earth regardless of their state (i.e., vapour, liquid, or solid) and that are useful to humans What is the water budget? A water budget is an accounting of the rates of water movement and the change in water storage in all or parts of the atmosphere, land surface, and subsurface It takes into account, the natural water recieved and its distribution into various channels like surface runoff, snow, evaporation etc You may also like to read from this website […]

What is irrigation? | Agristudent.com Definition of Irrigation Application of water to soil for the purpose of supplying the moisture essential for normal plant growth and development What irrigation does? It adds water to the soil for supplying moisture essential for normal plant growth and development It leaches or dilutes excessive salts in the crop root zone creating favourable conditions for absorption of water and nutrients by plants It softens tillage pans to make root growth moee easy It provides moisture for microbial activities in the soil creating favourable microbial enviornment which is beneficial for plant growth It also protects […]

Water table and waterlogging are two very important concepts in Agriculture What is Water table? Water table is the upper level of an underground surface in which the soil or rocks are permanently saturated with water It is also called as Ground water table The water table separates the ground water zone that lies below it from the zone of aeration, that lies above it. The water table fluctuates both with the seasons and from year to year because it is affected by climatic variations and by the amount of precipitation used by vegetation It also is affected by withdrawing […]

Sustainable Agriculture: Definition, Concept, Goals The world has realised shortcomings and ill effects of Modern day agriculture Modern day Agriculture uses intensive methods like use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc to increase the production These intensive methods overlook the need to replenish the natural resources like soil and atmosphere which leads to degradation of the enviornment If we are to conserve our enviornment, then sustainable agriculture is a must What is Sustainable Agriculture? Gracet in 1990 defined Sustainable Agriculture as – A system of agriculture that is committed to maintain and preserve the agriculture base of soil, water , and […]

What is crop water requirement? Crop water requirements (CWR) are defined as the depth of water [mm] needed to meet the water consumed through evapotranspiration (ETc) by a disease-free crop, growing in large fields under non-restricting soil conditions including soil water and fertility, and achieving full production potential under the given growing environment. Water requirements of various crops The water requirements (in mm) of various crops are given below Rice 900-2500 Wheat 450-650 Sorghum 450-650 Maize 500-800 Sugarcane 1500-2500 Groundnut 500-700 Cotton 700-1300 Soybean 450-700 Tobacco 400-600 Tomato 600-800 Potato 500-700 Onion 350-550 Chillies 500 Sunflower 350-500 Castor 500 Bean […]

Mycoherbicides Mycoherbicides infected weeds The fungal pathogens that control specific weeds and continue to survive on the weeds year after year are called Mycoherbicides Fungal pathogens as a bioagent in controlling weeds are more popular than bacterial, viral or nematodes because, most of the plant pathogens are fungi, which are destructive and widely prevalent, and they can be safely used in organic farming. Phytopathogens normally initiate diseases in specific weeds and produce phytotoxins killing the weeds within 3-5 weeks. Characteristics of mycoherbicides They should be culturable in artificial media They should produce abundant spores They should be stable in storage […]