The French Bean is one of the important cash crops for the Mizo farmers of Lusei Hill Region of Mizoram. Considering its importance for the economic wellbeing of the Mizo farmers, the ICAR-Research Complex for North-Eastern Hills Region, Mizoram introduced the several high yielding released determinate type French Bean varieties in 2016-17. These include Contender, PusaParvati from ICAR-IARI and ArkaKomal & ArkaSarathfrom ICAR-IIHR in summer Jhum agro-ecosystem and winter cultivation in the low-lying rice fallows of Kolasib District under the Tribal Sub Plan. Field demonstration and release of Zorin bean through SVRC by Pu C. Lalrinsanga       The introduced French Bean varieties’ net average productivity was comparatively lower (4.04 to 5.21 t ha-1) under the Jhum cultivation in comparison to the traditional trailing type French Bean which allowed multiple pod harvesting preferred by the Mizo farmers (4.91 to 6.24tha-1). The high...

The Salvinia molesta, commonly known as “Water Fern” is an aggressive and a fast growing Alien Invasive Aquatic Weed of the South-Eastern Brazil origin. During the past 60 Years, it has been spread widely throughout the world and recently added on to the list of the World’s 100 Most Invasive Species. Earlier, it was reported as problematic aquatic weed in Kerala and the other parts of South India, besides the stray occurrence in Odisha, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. Recently, the Weed’s severe infestation was found in Satpura Reservoir in Sarni Town of Betul and 3 to 4 Villages of Jabalpur and Katni Districts of Madhya Pradesh adversely affecting the irrigation, hydroelectric generation, water availability and navigation besides drastic reduction in production of fish and aquatic crops (chestnut).   The Weed may turn out to be a menace in the aquatic bodies of the Central and North India.  The non-availability of the label-claim herbicides for aquatic...

The Sprouting Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Italica L.) is a native of Eastern Mediterranean Region that is derived from the ancient forms of Brassica oleracea. Its cultivation is very popular in the developed nations and in the recent years, is gaining popularity in the State of Mizoram as a commercial crop owing to its remunerative, nutritional and medicinal properties. The average productivity of Cauliflower and Broccoli in the State is 7.65 Mt/ha only and national average is 17.34 Mt/ha. The lack of technological know-how, non-availability of suitable variety (high yielding or hybrid), do-how, interventions, imbalanced and non-judicious uses of critical inputs, etc., are among the number of fallback reasons. There was an urgent need to adopt high yielding variety and an Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) system for promoting efficient and balanced use of plant nutrients.   The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Aizawl organized the Cluster Front Line...

The salt-induced land degradation adversely affects the productivity of ~7.0 Million ha area in India. The sodicity, salinity and related problems have diminished the economic value of ~1.4 Million ha area in Uttar Pradesh alone, posing serious risks to the ecosystem services and farmers’ livelihoods. Bringing such salt-impaired lands under the crop production can greatly contribute to the national efforts towards doubling the farmers’ income and achieving the land degradation neutrality. The salt-tolerant crops and cultivars are increasingly gaining the attention as a reliable and sustainable means to revive the salt-affected soils; given the high and often recurring costs of removing the salt from soil through chemical amendment-based and fresh water-intensive practices. This study was conducted with 21 farmers in five purposively selected Villages (Lazipar, Bibipur, Hasanpur, Chakwa and Bhakura) of Jaunpur District, Uttar Pradesh (2016-2018) with overall aim of empowering the...

The South-Western part of Punjab, India is critically affected by twin menaces of salinity and waterlogging. Furthermore, steadily declining groundwater quality, erratic canal water supply and climate change impacts are seemingly hitting the local livelihoods and natural resources. Alarming increase in irrigation-induced salinity over the past few decades has left a trail of destruction: such as traditional and highly remunerative Kinnow mandarin and cotton-based farming systems in the region have virtually come to a standstill. This has compelled the local farmers to switch over to other land-use systems. This study was conducted over the years 2016-2018 with 34 farmers from 9 salt-affected villages of Fazilka [Mamu Kheda, Kikar Kheda and Kandwalla (Abohar developmental block) and Alamgarh, Saidawali and Saidawali (Baluana developmental block)] and Sri Muktsar Sahib [Panniwala, Bodiwala, Sheranwala and Pind (Malout developmental block)] districts to understand some feasible and...