Central Horticultural Experiment Station(CHES), Bhubaneswar
Dr. H.S. Singh
Principal Scientist & Head
The Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES), Bhubaneswar, a regional station of Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore was established on November 6, 1992 to conduct research on applied and strategic aspects of horticultural crops and develop sustainable technologies suitable for the farmers of eastern region of the country in general and the state of Orissa in particular.
The Station is located at Aiginia in the south of the Khandagiri and Udayagiri hills in Bhubaneswar. The station has been striving hard to meet the research and developmental needs of the region. The station has 40 hectares of land provided by the Govt. of Orissa situated at 20o 15’ N latitudes and 85o 15’ E longitudes and 25.5 m above MSL. The topography of the area in general is high lands with gentle slopes towards south-east. The farm area comes under Gondawana formation with sand stones exposed at some places. The entire area has laterite capping. The soil depth is variable ranging from 15 cm to 85 cm and the pH is acidic ranging from 5.5 to 6.2. The average rainfall of the area is approximately 1500 mm per year. The average temperature is around 40o C and 15o C during summer and winter, respectively. The relative humidity ranges between 60-85% during the year. By and large, the climate of the area is closed to mid-wet and dry (hot and humid) with a typical effect of humid coastal belt.
During the initial year of establishment of the station, work was concentrated on transfer of land and establishment, land clearance and development. Survey was conducted in and around Bhubaneswar to identify potential horticultural crops suitable to the region and their major limitations to take up research work at the station. Based on the survey report and further discussions with State Agricultural University and State Department of Horticulture, the most potential fruit and vegetable crops suitable for the region were identified and accordingly the plan and layout of the station was developed. The clearing of the existing cashew plantation was taken up in phased manner and simultaneously new plantings were taken up as per the lay out and plan. Later, the mandate and objective of the station was delineated and the actual research projects were initiated during 1998 to accomplish the mandate and objectives of the station.
Research Achievements
The Station has been playing a pivotal role in developing improved technologies of horticultural crops especially fruits and vegetables to maximize profit of the farmers’ in the region. The Station is now poignantly poised to usher in a rainbow revolution in this part of the country. The actual and effective research at the station started from 1998-99 on wards, prior to which work pertaining to collection and evaluation of germplasms to identify potential varieties of fruits and vegetables and to asses their suitability to this region was under taken. At present, the station has approximately 35.00 hectare area planted with various varieties/hybrids/elite clones of mango, guava, sapota, pine apple, banana, lime, litchi, jackfruit, custard apple, bael, aonla and under utilized fruit crops and various vegetables. Collection, conservation, evaluations and utilization of germplasm of fruits and vegetables now has become an important and on going research activity of the station. Added to this, the station also initiated four major research projects mainly on integrated nutrient and water management in fruit crops, improvement breeding for higher yields in solanaceous vegetable crops and integrated pest and disease management in fruit and vegetable crops up to 2003-04. There after, all the ongoing research projects of the station were reoriented on theme basis with mission oriented research activities on a time scale with target fixed on activity milestones. Presently, the station is conducting research in 15 research activities on the theme areas like plant genetic resouce management, increasing productivity in horticultural crops, food safety and nutritional security, export promotion and import restriction and transfer of technology with applied and strategic research approach. Apart from this, the station is also working on many externally aided projects on ad-hoc basis to bridge the identified gap in achieving the objectives of the station. The major achievements of the station so far have been enumerated in brief.
Fruit crops
Among fruit crops mango, guava, sapota, banana, papaya, pine apple, lime has been identified as major and aonla, bael, jackfruit, jamun, phalsa, karonda, tamarind, lasora, rose apple, jamrol, chalta, karambola, khirini, mulberry, wood apple, etc. as minor fruit crops for the region . Areas in the region having mild climate, litchi and other citrus spp can also be grown commercially. Presently, the station is maintaining a total collection of 326 germplasms comprising of 116 mango, 16 guava, 17 sapota, 40 banana, 10 anola, 46 pine apple, 11 custard apple, 13 papaya, 9 bael, 20 jackfruit, 3 litchi, 5 cashew nut and 20 others fruit crops.
Mango
Station has identified an extra early maturing mango clone CHM 7 with regular bearing and good quality fruits. It is a clonal variant of Gulabkhas collected from Ghatakia orchard of Khurda. The clone matures by 15th of March under Bhubaneswar condition. It has a red blush on solders and TSS ranges between 18-200 Brix. The fruit has medium fiber in pulp. The yield varies between 80-100 kg per tree and has been found potential to fetch early market in the season particularly in northen part. Gulabkhas and Dasheri have been identified as an early maturing variety and found most suitable for the region to tap the early market. Amrapalli, Mallika and Banganpali have been identified as best mango variety for over all fruit quality. Varieties Manjeera and Totapari have shown better yield potential and high pulp recovery (more than 80%) and are being further accessed for their suitability to processing industry. The other varieties identifid with positive characters are Himsagar for TSS (28%), Neeleshan and Kesar for fruit quality, Lat Sndari for fruit colour and Mahamood Bahar for dwarf stature plants.
To maximize economic returns from young mango orchards, inter cropping modules has been developed. Sweet potato- cowpea –Amaranth and Cowpea-Tomato- Okra combinations as intercrop were found to be the best in terms of economic returns. A part from return in terms of money (Rs. 60,000/ha/year, approximately) inter cropping has been found useful for soil fertility built up in terms of NPK and other available micro nutrients. These inter cropping modules are being recommended to the farmers during the initial 7-10 years of establishment of mango orchards as the available soil nutrient status would be improved which ultimately improves the productivity of mango orchard. However, the incidence of mango hopper and mealy bugs have been recorded more in intercropped mango than sole crop. Miniature fruit crops like pine apple grown in 50-60% inter space in young mango orchard has been found more remunerative.
In the rice based farming system, mango, guava, papaya, banana among fruits and yam, tomato, beans among vegetables have been found to be the best option for crop diversification particularly in the medium and up land rice ecology. Preliminary observations on rainwater management has indicated suitability of mango based multi-tire cropping model in the waste land water/shed. The major sub components of the module are guava, pine apple and some fast growing timber species.
Daily drip irrigation at 75% Pan Evaporation Replenishment per rate, improves the tree growth, fruiting, yield and fruit quality of mango. Organic mulch coupled with daily drip irrigation at 50% PER has been found more useful for soil health, plant growth, fruiting, fruit yield (86.40 kg/tree) and quality in mango. Application of organic mulch in plant basin delays the termite infestation by 50 days. Mulch of the basin if supplemented with Chlorpyriphos (0.02%) and pasting on tree trunk with coal tar further delays termite infestation by 64 days in addition to restricting the infestation and mounding of termite on tree trunk.
Insect pest management in mango:
Constraints of mango growers in Orissa and conducted survey on Mango decline in Bihar and Orissa were analyzed. 11 insect pests identified in newly established mango orchard in coastal Orissa. varietal reaction of 13 mango varieties was worked out against thrips and spider mite. Organic mulch and paste barrier based termite management method in young mango orchard was generated and evaluation of insecticides and some alternatives against mango leaf cutting weevil was done.
Influence of Soaking Time and Soakate concentration on Methyl Eugenol Blocks: The influence on the size and persistence of attraction of fruit flies to wooden MAT blocks was assessed by hanging in orchards near Bhubaneswar traps containing a variety of blocks, of the same size but soaked for different periods of time and in soakate solutions of different strengths - five periods between 5 seconds and 6 days, and three concentrations of between 5% and 35% lure, as a total of fifteen combinations in all - and counting fly catches weekly for ten weeks throughout the growing season of 2003 (N=5). In terms of total catch, numbers increased with increasing time and concentration. There were no significant differences among treatments {P=0.3817} in the persistence of effects.
Catch, Persistence and Rain-Fastness of Methyl Eugenol Fruit Fly Traps: The performance of different insecticides as the killing component in soaked MAT blocks was assessed by the use of malathion and DDVP with methyl-eugenol in blocks in traps under three simulated rainfall regimes - dry, “light” and “heavy” .In total catch while dry the two insecticides did not differ (DDVP killed 25 flies, malathion 30, for the difference between them P=0.3313). In persistence (half-lives in days) overall the duration was cut short by rain (from dry 17 days to lightly-wetted 13 days to heavily-wetted 11 days: P=0.0440); insecticides did not significantly differ (malathion 13 days, DDVP 15 days: P=0.2519) though they did significantly interact with wetting regimes (interaction P=0.0211). The implication was that the decline with increasing wetting heaviness in half-lives was steeper for DDVP (23..12..11) than for malathion (12..14.12).
Assessment of Bait and Lure control of fruit flies in mango: The infestation of mango by fruit flies was assessed on a large farm in an area near Rayagada where fly infestation is very serious. Treatments were MAT by soaked blocks, PCI traps and ocimum traps, and three food baits soaked into hessian gunny bags and hung in trees. Relative to the unprotected infestation level of 30%, inferred percentage reductions were minimal by ocimum and PCI protections (both <2% improvement), but better by methyl-eugenol (ME) alone (34%), ME with protein hydrolysate (38%), ME with banana (56) and ME with jaggery (60).The farmer considered these levels of protection greatly inferior to that obtained by ME with jaggery bait sprays (0-3%) the previous year, and attributed this to the inadequacy of the gunny-bag application. It was concluded that, when fly attack is severe, MAT alone may not provide satisfactory control and reinforcement by BAT sprays be required.
Influence of MAT and BAT application on frit fly infestation in mango: In a comparison of BAT and MAT in isolation and combination for fruit fly protection of mangoes near Ranchi, (N=4), inferred reductions in infestation were 31% by MAT, 38% by protein hydrolysate BAT and 49% by jaggery BAT; there were significant effects attributed to BAT (P=0.0043) and MAT (P=0.0191) but not to interaction between them (P=0.8454). The slight superiority of jaggery to protein hydrolysate BAT was not significant (P=0.3793).
Methyl-Eugenol in Wicks and Blocks in Fruit Fly Traps: A study was conducted to assess the cost-effectiveness of catches of fruit flies by methyl-eugenol in blocks, wicks and water in traps over eleven weeks among orchards outside Bhubaneswar (N=4). Traps contained lure and insecticide soaked into plywood blocks, and not replenished, or cotton-wool wicks or water, replenished every week, with “low” or “high” doses - 0.1 or 1.0ml/block. Catches by traps using water as a carrier were 89% larger (P<0.0001) than by those using the same methyl-eugenol load in cotton-wool wicks, which may be important in the light of their similar costs.
Use of Artificial Soaking Substrates for MAT Control of Orchard Fruit Flies: Methyl-eugenol MAT in mango orchards outside Bhubaneswar were compared using soaking/dripping substrates of plywood, strawboard (fibreboard), softboard, cotton wool and water. The wood substrates were substantially superior to the cotton wool.
Killing of Fruit Flies by MAT Blocks of Different Sizes and Lure : The ability of square plywood MAT blocks, soaked in lure, solvent and insecticide, to attract and kill fruit flies, was assessed in a series of traps in six complete randomised blocks in mango orchards. Trap blocks were of 2, 4, 5 and 6cm along the side, and soaked in liquid of 24, 37 and 55% methyl-eugenol. Smaller and weaker blocks killed more flies per unit load of lure than larger and stronger ones, and the power of blocks was more substantially increased by increasing the size than by increasing the soakate concentration. There was an indication that larger blocks persisted in their effectiveness a shorter time than smaller ones.
Developing Bait And Lure Based IPM Module For Mango Fruit Fly Management In Orissa : To develop an alternative IPM module for fruit fly in mango, experiments were conducted for four years in high density mango orchards in Orissa. Jaggery was found better food and ply wood block was observed to be better carrier of methyl eugenol . The control and cost effectiveness of MAT and BAT together, supplemented with field sanitation was compared with the insecticide spray in the orchard. Results indicated that MAT and BAT together utilized 33.33 times less insecticide and 1.40 times less cost but resulted in nearly double protection (93.08%) as well as double cost benefit ratio (1: 23.04) than that of cover spray (53.24 and 1:10.99, respectively). Pesticide: produce ratio in MAT and BAT was 19.02 kg fruit per ml of insecticide where as only 0.38 in cover spray. As such, the IPM modules prepared using MAT and BAT, were field tested at constant level of MAT (2 rounds) and variable level of BAT (8, 6 and 4 rounds at 6, 8 and 12 days interval, respectively) on large area mango plantation. The IPM modules were found to provide 95.71, 87.40 and 68.33 percent fruit protection, respectively.
Disease management in mango:
Powdery mildew, anthracnose, bacterial canker and red rust are some important foliar diseases whereas powdery mildew and anthracnose are important diseases of panicle and young developing fruits of mango in the region.
Mango varieties Amrapali, Langra and Lat Sundari have been found moderately resistant against anthracnose under coastal condition of Bhubaneswar.
Trichoderma viride was found most effective in controlling Colletotrichum gleoesporioides (causal organism of mango anthracnose) in vitro.
To control the blossom blight of mango, 3 sprays of Qutintal @ 0.2%, at 7 days interval starting from flower bud initiation stage has been found to be the best fungicidal treatment. This chemical treatment reduces blossom blight infection to the tune of 75% and enhances the mango yield by approximately 50 per cent.
Arka Aruna, Langra, Himsagar and Banganpalli showed highly resistant reaction against powdery mildew, whereas Arka Puneet, Arka Neelkiran, Arka Anmol, Lat Sundari and Swarna Rekha showed moderately resistant reaction under field condition.
Himsagar has been found highly resistant to bacterial black spot and Lat Sundari, Dashehari, Arka Puneet, Mallika and Amrapali showed moderately resistant reaction.
Red rust has been found to be a great problem in mango under high humidity and all the mango varieties/hybrids have been found susceptible to this disease.
An unidentified disease has been detected only on fruits of Arka Puneet, Arka Neelkiran and Arka Anmol when the fruit advances towards maturity.
Guava
Varieties Sardar, Allahabad Safeda, Arka Amulya, Arka Mridula, Lalit, Hisar Surkha, Hisar Safeda and Pant Prabhat have been identified for commercial in eastren sides of India. Sardar and Arka Amulya have been producing the highest yield whereas Hisar Safeda, Pant Prabhat, Arka Mridula and Allahabad Safeda producing the best quality fruits in term of TSS, vitamin C and fruit weight, shape, size and physiological loss in weight (PLW) during storage. Cultivar Lalit and Hisar Surkha produced pink flesh with soft seed. Varieties Sardar and Arka Mridula registered the highest yield (52 kg and 25.6kg /plant, respectively) after 7 years of planting. Maximum fruit weight was observed in Hissar Safeda (145g) and Sardar (104.9g/fruit).
Application of 600 g of N, 300g P2O5 and 600g of K2O/tree have been adjudged the appropriate nutrient dose for best growth and fruit yield of guava carAllahabad Safeda after 7th year of planting.
High density plant of cultivar Sardar guava accomodatly 3200 plants/ha in signal hedge system (2.5 X1.25m) produced highest yield (12.7t/ha) after one year of planting.
Arka Amulya recorded the lowest (15.75%) infestation of bark eating caterpillar with 0.68 colonies/plant.
Sapota
Kalipatti produced the maximum fruit yield (13.5kg/plant and 281.3 fruits/tree) after 8 years of planting and adjudged as the best variety for the area. Other promising varieties of sapota for the region are Cricket Ball, PKM 1 and DSH 2.
Bud borer (Anarsia sp) and leaf webber (Nephopteryx eugraphella R.) infestation on sapota was recorded from October onwards with a highest incidence during the month of November. Reaction of nine varieties against bud borer indicated highest incidence on Kalipatti and the lowest on Cricket Ball.
Banana
Rasthali ‘Pathkapoora’ (AAA) among table tapes and Banthal (ABB) among vegetable typesare the most promising varieties of banana for the region. The other promising varieties of for the region are Dwarf Cavendish and Chini Champa among table and variants of Banthal among vegetable type.
With the increasing planting density (4444 plant/ha), the fruit yield of banana cultivar pathkapoora increased significantly without affecting the quality
Application of 75% recommended dose of fertilizer (200:80:220gNPK) in the ratio of 3:2:1 at vegetative growth, 1:3:2 at flowering stage and 2:1:3 at fruit maturation stage through fertigation produced maximum bunch weight (11.62kg) fruit yield (29.05 t/ha) TSS (24.61oB), total sugars (19.05%) and reducing sugar (16.3%) in cultivar Pathkapoora.
Custard apple
Custard apple varieties Washington and Balanagar along with some local collection performed better under humid conditions of Eastern India.
Arka Sahan, a hybrid between Island gem and Pink’s mammoth. recorded the maximum pulp recovery (56%) and TSS (28%) however, the variety needs hand pollination for higher fruit set and yield.
Application of 750g nitrogen, 250g phosporus and 750g potasium tree produced 10.25 kg fruit per tree in hybrid Arka Sahan at 5th year of imposition of treatment.
Aonla
Aonla is a new crop for the region. Its performance in humid climate has been found satisfactory. During initial years cultivar NA -7 recorded the maximum yield. Growth performance of Kanchan, Krishna, Chakaiya and NA-9 has also been found satisfactory
Papaya
Pusa Dwarfa disoceous variety has been found to be the best variety of papaya in the region with respect to bearing and yield under appropriate management.
Papaya ring spot virus (PRSV) is the major problem in papaya. The rate of infection of PRSV increased very fast after July. No significant impact of treatment was observed on complete eradication of virus. However, treatment with neem soap and endosulfan delays infection upto 180 days after transplanting. This treatment along with heavey initial nutrition found to escape the disease at least in the first crop cycle.
Bael
Varieties of bael from various sources like NB-7, NB-5, NB-9, CISHB-1, CISHB-2, Pant Shivani, Pant Urvashi, Pant Sujata and Pant Aparna have been collected. Twenty four variable genotypes have been identified form out of orissa which 10 have shown promise with respect to less number of seed, fibre and skull thickness.
Lasora
A promising genotype of lasora CHL-1, has been identified with larger fruit size and acceptable pulp quality at ripening.
The damage caused by Compressus sp and Solenopsis geminata on losora and phalsa has been recorded for the first time this region. Both these ants together resulted in 16.5% fruit drop in losora. On Phalsa, S geminata scrapped up to half of the fruit surface in irregular manner and make up to 6.5% of fruits unfit for consumption.
Phalsa
Middle of December has been found to be the best time for prunning of phalsa bushes where, 50-75 per cent removal of previous season’s growth produced high fruit yield
Lime
Seedless lime has been found commercially successful crop in the region.
Pomegranate
Vegetative growth of pomegranate in the region has been found optimum where as the fruiting and quality was not satisfactory.
Carambola
Air layered plants of carambola starts fruiting within three years of planting under hot and humid conditions of Eastern India.
Tamarind
PKM - 1 has been found to perform well in the region and the grafted plant of variety starts bearing by 5th year of planting.
Litchi
Under hot and humid coastal agro climatic condition, the vegetative growth of litchi varieties (Shashi, China, Swarna Roopa) has been found satisfactory where as due to continuous flushing under high temperature prevailing under Bhubaneswar condition (November - January), the flowering and fruiting is erratic. At higher altitudes in the region litchi can be a successful crop.
Vegetable crops
Principal vegetable crops of the region are brinjal, tomato and chilli among solanaceous vegetables, cabbage and cauliflowar among cole crops, radish and carrot among root crops amaranth and basella among leaf vegetables, spine gourd , kakad, pointed gourd, ivy gourd , ridge gourd, bitter gourd and pumpkin among cucurbits; beans and peas among legumes, sweet potato, potato and yam among tuber crops and okra, onion, garlic etc. among other vegetables. The station has set its mandate on some of the leading vegetables of the region. Accordingly, the germplasm repository of selected vegetables are being maintained. This includes 440 chilli, 210 brinjal, 20 tomato, 50 spine gourd, 23 ive gourd, 35 pointed gourd, 4 sweet gourd, 4 teasle gourd (kakad), 4 melothria, 4 french bean, 2 amarantah and seven other local vegetables. presently; the station has all together 775 germplasms/ lines/ varieties /hybrids of different vegetables.
Chilli
A highly pungent peprica type chilli has been identified with capsaicin content of 1, 82,500 Scoville heat units which is the second hottest chilli in the country.
CHCL-127 has been identified for high yield at green stage. The line has spreading branches solitary fruiting and drooping fruits covered with foliage. It produces more than 325 number of green fruit/plant and the highest yield/plant (751.3 g)at green . It is found resistant to leaf curl syndrome and having mild resistance against thrips. It is also suitable for dry chilli.
Among the line/varieties screened against thrips, Pusa Jwala and Utkal Ava have been found to be tolerant whereas, three chilli lines have been found resistant to leaf curl syndrome.
Spray schedule for safer control of chilli pest has been standardized. Acephate at 10 days interval was found to reduce the thrips and aphids population by 65 and 96%, respectively. When pongamia oil and multineem were alternated with acephate, the reduction in thrips and aphid population was equal to acephate alone at 10 days interval.
Brinjal
More than 200 brinjal genotypes are being maintained. A wide variation has been observed among the brinjal genotypes. with respect to plant characters flowering and fruit characters and yield. The days to initiate flowering ranged from 27 to 66 days and the plant height from 45.19 cm to 87.56cm. Variation with respect to fruit shape, size, colour, seed content and consumer preference have been noticed tremendously among brinjal genotypes.
Three promising lines viz. CHB 415, CHB 499 and CHB 233 of brinjal have been identified and further evaluation is in progress. Apart from high yield and consumer preference, CHB 415 and CHB 499 have been found to be tolerant against shoot and fruit borer also.
Insect pest management in brinjal:
Alternative measures such as egg parasite, Trichogramma chilonis, neem cake, multineem, Neem Seed Kernel Extract and physical barrier against brinjal shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis Guen.) were evaluated.
Evaluation of different pheromone dispensers: Rubber septa were observed to be superior to plastic vial or plastic septa in trapping BSFB moths. In the trials conducted at IIHR, Bangalore and CHES, Bhubaneshwar, the Bio pest managementâ septa trapped maximum BSFB moths in comparison to other septa. The significant variability in the trap catches across septa indicates that in addition to synthetic pheromone, the use of appropriate septa is most important for the success of mass trapping. The number of moths trapped in Bangalore (69) as against Bhubaneshwar (107) indicates that pest density and weather parameters influence trap catches in different regions.
Evaluation of IICT synthesized pheromone in locally available dispensers with commercial lures :IICT synthesized pheromone stored for 3 months in refrigerator at Oo C trapped relatively less number of moths as compared to PCI trap Release rate studies of two pheromone components of BSFB are reported by NRI. Our study indicated that effectiveness of BSFB pheromone decline with storage.
Effect of mass trapping on the BSFB incidence: Pest Control India pheromone lures recorded significantly higher number of moths as compared to rest of the treatments including control. There was no significant difference in trap catches among three types of dispensers loaded with IICT pheromone. However, number of bored fruits in all treatments except control was not significantly different. Percent borer damage was significantly more in catches where pheromone traps were used.
Effect of pheromone trap distance and direction in trapping of male BSFB (Leucinodes orbonalis) moths: In order to ascertain the presence of male BSFB in non brinjal area and to work out the appropriate direction of trap placement, a study was conducted using four milligram of lure in rubber septa placed in water traps at 0 , 50, 100, 150 and 350 meters away from brinjal field in all the four directions for 61 days. Catch data indicated that the trapped population in distantly located trap (350 m from brinjal field) was at par with main field (brinjal field) trap population Study revealed that the moths were active not only in host area but also in non-host area .Results favoured the hypothesis that the trapping of males of monophagus pests like BSFB is required in both brinjal as well as non brinjal area and BSFB male trapping using pheromone does not necessarily require the presence of host. There was no significant impact of trap direction on trap catch; however, wind direction influenced the trap population of BSFB.
Survey on status of brinjal shoot and fruit borer in coastal Orissa : Survey results indicated that like other brinjal growing areas the pest is maintaining severe status at most of the farmers fields (63.33 %) in coastal areas also. Latest methods of Leucinodes management has not yet reached the farmers and most of them follow blanket spray of one or another insecticide on initiation of pest damage mostly carbaryl (76.67%) at 6-7 days interval. However, in nursery, most of the farmers (81.37%) do not apply any control measure. A shift in insecticide use pattern from carbaryl to other insecticides like cypermethrin has been observed in areas nearer to road / city where pesticide dealers are having more contact with farmers. Farmers have very low awareness of bio control tools however 35% of brinjal growers invariably follow removal and destruction of the affected shoots and fruits. The major constraints perceived by farmers in Leucinode management are lack of knowledge on effective control tools (51.66%), lack of knowledge on appropriate insecticide, dose and frequency of application (38.33%), non-effectiveness of insecticides (23.33%), high cost of control and control not being followed on community basis.
On farm trial on management of brinjal shoot and fruit borer Experiment was carried out at two locations for two consecutive years using netting, clipping insecticide and pheromone. Each treatment was repeated 5 times at each location. Observations on fruit damage were worked out at the time of each harvesting and cumulative incidence was recorded. Results indicated that damage of the pest varied from14.31 to 41.26 percent on shoot basis. Damages on fruit basis were high and ranged between 29.97 and 69.88 per cent. No treatment was found to be effective to control the pests except cypermethrin to some extent.
Disease management in brinjal:
For integrated disease management against Phomopsis blight in brinjal, combining the incorporation of cabbage residues, along with spraying of culture filtrate of T. viride and carbendazim (0.3%) in the soil found to be the best treatment. The integrated approach reduced fruit rot from 47.13% to 13.67%, and increased the fruit yield from 86.88 q/ha to 124.99 q/ha.
Tomato
Insect pest management in tomato:
IPM trial was conducted with Utkal Madhuri (Bt -10), a bacterial wilt resistant variety. African marigold nursery was raised 20 days before tomato nursery. Tomato nursery area was solarized using black polythene mulch, raised and added with Trichoderma enriched FYM, one week before sowing. Nursery was sprayed with imidacloprid (0.3 ml/l) at 15 days after sowing (DAS) and again treated by root dipping for 5 minutes before planting. Fields were prepared using standard Agronomic practices. One tone of FYM was enriched with Trichoderma, 15 days prior to field application as per standard methodology. At the time of last ploughing this enriched FYM was mixed with the rest quantity of FYM and applied in the field. Twenty five days old tomato and 50 days old marigold seedlings were transplanted simultaneously in a pattern of one row of marigold after every 16 rows of tomato. At 15 DAP, imidachloprid (0.3 ml/L) was sprayed and leaf curl and other virus affected plants were destroyed with the appearance of the symptoms. At 20 DAP, neem cake @ 250 kg/ha was applied in furrows. NPV (250 LE/ha) was sprayed at 28 DAP and thereafter repeated twice at one week interval.
In order to overcome the cut worm problem, poison bait was applied. Poison bait was prepared by using jaggery, rice bran and monocrotophos. The bait prepared in the morning was sprinkled in tomato field uniformly in the evening for cut worm management.
Disease management in tomato:
An economically feasible and non-polluting method for management of bacterial wilt, a major disease problem in tomato in the region has been devised. The method involves recycling of cabbage residues (500g/ plant) and agro-waste in soil. The decaying agro wastes further help release of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates in the soil which might be responsible for suppression of disease. The disease incidence was significantly reduced to 17.23% as compared to control which had 53.63% incidence due to treatment. This method also resulted in higher fruit yield of 297.52q/ha. as compared to 164.19 q/ha yield under control.
Hairy roots have been successfully developed by infection of Agrobacterium rhizogenes from leaf-, hypocotyl- and cotyledon explants. These transformed hairy roots can be used for plant-pathogen interaction study.
Spine gourd (Momordica dioica)
Ten elite lines have been identified from the germplasm repository of spine gourd. Interesting variations were noticed in fruit shape (round to oval), fruit length (2.2 - 4.5cm), fruit girth (7.2-9.1 cm), skin color (light green to dark green), fruit weight (5.4-21.7 g), leaf shape (rounded to almost divided) and type of leaf lobes (no lateral lobes to very deep lobes). The genotypes CHSG 28, CHSG 4, CHSG 8 have been identified for higher yield.
Teasle gourd (Momodica subangulata ssp renigera)
Two high yielding lines of kakad, one with oval fruit, excellent texture of pulp and soft seed and the other with elongated oval fruits with prominent styler end and hard seed have been identified
Sweet gourd (Momordica cochinchinensis)
Two genotypes, one with orange fruit and the other with green fruit after the set have been identified. The former has prominent protuberances in form of spines while the later has smaller spines. After maturity these has deep red and orange colour. The aril of ripe fruit contains high quantity of lycopine and carotinoids and has high value as fortified food products.
Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis)
CHIG 15 has been identified as a promising line of ivy gourd. The variety has sequential fruiting, long fruits, soft texture, good appearance and high yield. It has shown wider adoptability and fairly long fruiting period. The other potential accessions of ivy gourd identified are CHIG 33 and CHIG 25 for high yield (>50 kg/plant) and CHIG -28 for less susceptibility to leaf minor, thrips and mite pest.
Pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica)
CHPG-15 has been identified as most promising line of pointed gourd. The genotype has dark green fruit colour with 5-8 fragmented creamish stripes, which has high market preference. The fruits are long, elongated, spindle shaped with solid core and soft seed. The fruit weight is 45-50 g at appropriate harvesting stage and one plant produces more than 28 kg fruits in one season of 10-11 months. With better management practices, 50-60 t/ha fruit yield (2500 plants/ha) can be obtained from CHPG-15 under upland conditions. It is a dioceous line which requires sufficient (10%) male plants for fruit set and proper fruit growth. The plants are vigorous with dark green foliage. Plants start flowering after 60 days of planting and fruits are generally harvested at weekly interval. Plant shows moderate susceptibility to red mite on foliage particularly during high humidity period. The variety has been found tolerant to powdery mildew and Fusarium wilt under field condition.
CHPG - 11, Swarna Alaukik, CHPG, - 16, Narendra parwal 702 and Rajendra Parwal are among the other promising genotypes / varieties of pointed gourd for eastern region.
Nature of damage and identification marks of the Cucurbit longicorn or pointed gourd vine borer (Apomecyna saltator) was recorded and 25 accession/varieties of pointed gourd. Evaluation of accessions against this pest reveal that accessions namely NP-702, NP-709, NP-751, CHPG-1, CHPG-2, CHPG-4, CHPG-15 and CHPG-16 were found to be the moderately susceptible against vine borer. No correlation of pest incidence with number of vine or nodes of pointed gourd could be established.
Bitter gourd
Insect pest management:
Single killing point studies on fruit fly: 14 sets of comparisons, consisting of banana, jaggery, protein hydrolysate ,fish and insecticides were made in choice chamber under lab condition against fruit fly. A systematic programme of comparisons of fruit fly baits was conducted using local populations of Bactrocera cucurbitae. Banana and jaggery performed as well as protein hydrolysate. Baits generally performed better as sprays than in traps. Baits did not proportionally increase their attraction with increases in dose, a doubling in dose producing increased attraction less then doubled. Mixtures of banana and jaggery did not enhance performance over either bait used alone. The addition of tinned tuna fish obtained mixed results
Colour balls and food bait attraction studies on fruit flies: Flies near Bhubaneswar were attracted to green (1.75 flies), pink (1.75) but not to orange (0), but this difference was not significant (P=0.0870). The attraction to fruit flies of different food baits was assessed in traps, containing 50g or 50ml of each, in a field of bitter gourd. Numbers of flies attracted were highest to banana (mean catch of 5.0 flies), then jaggery (4.6), mashed bitter gourd (2.5) and protein hydrolysate, water and a mixture of sugar and yeast (all <1.0). The relative attraction of 100% protein hydrolysate was five times greater than that of a solution 33 times weaker, implying diminishing returns to stronger doses of protein traps.
Effectiveness of Commercial and Home-Made Baits Applied in Sprays and Traps: The infestation of fruit flies in bitter gourd was assessed by two two-way factorial comparisons of protection by three different baits applied in two different ways but at the same dose per unit area, conducted outside Bhubaneswar .Among baits, the mean percentage protection obtained was by banana 41%, by jaggery 38% and by protein hydrolysate 33%, but these differences were not significant (P=0.1290); among application methods, that by sprays was significantly superior to that by traps (respectively 51 and 19%; P<0.0001; for interaction between the two factors P=0.2570). Banana was significantly more effective as a spray than trap.
Farm-Level Comparison of Bait and Cover Controls in Bitter Gourd: The protection of bitter gourd against melon flies by cover sprays, cue-lure MAT, protein hydrolysate cover BAT and banana bait traps, relative to an untreated stand, was assessed in farmers’ fields outside Bhubaneswar. The inferred percentage reductions in infestation were for cover spray 31, for banana traps 26, for BAT 23 and for MAT 27, though these did not significantly differ.
The influence of wood and soaking time on the control effectiveness of MAT blocks : Blocks of four woods - acacia, mango and “local” and “Delhi” plywoods - were soaked in a cue-lure MAT mixture for periods of five seconds, five minutes and two days, before being hung in fields outside Bhubaneswar to assess their power to attract and kill melonflies. Blocks soaked for longer times absorbed significantly more soakate mixture, although those soaked for five seconds caught more flies than those soaked for five seconds. Acacia wood absorbed significantly less than the others, and caught fewer flies, although this was not significant (P=0.6414). There were no significant differences in size or persistence of catches .
Farm-And Village Level Assessment Of Bait Fruit Fly Control : Assessment of village level control of melon fly in bitter gourd using BAT (3%PH) indicated that the infestation of bitter gourd was 19.37% when unprotected, 7.15% when protected at farm level, 0.16% when at village level and .07% at farm and village level.
Wide-Area Fruit Fly Suppression: BAT and MAT at Farm Level and Village Level : The benefit of the coordinated wide-area control of agricultural pests is not always dependent on the use of very large areas, or of eradicative, high-technology applications. A study of the ecological and social implications of village-level fruit fly management found five keys necessities for sustainability. (1) Farm size, if large, reduces the number of farmers needed to obtain cooperative control but, if small, stimulates cooperation as individual-farm-level control may be ineffective. (2) The problem of the pest must be perceived as serious, and this seriousness apply for as many residents as possible. (3) Sustainable cooperative control is enhanced when it can be “grafted” or “piggybacked” onto other cooperative activities - such as marketing – rather than begun from scratch. (4) A level of social cohesion and mutual trust is important. (5) “Forgivingness” of incomplete application of area-wide controls, so their effect is not destroyed by a few isolated untreated areas, is important where there are truculent individuals who will not cooperate with a group effort.
Population Dynamics, damage and management of D. indica: D. indica larval population varied from 0.03 to 4.30 numbers of larvae/ fruits. Pest population was lower at vegetative stage which increased with increase in temperature and commencement of reproductive phase. Early instar of Pumpkin caterpillar fed on tender leaves and flower buds and then moved to fruit. On fruit, they scrapped the skin and then bore into the fruit. Larvae damaged 6.95 to 44.6% fruit during the course of investigation in the farmers’ field with covered pandal structure. Like wise they caused 5.03 to 42.73 percent weight loss. Epilachna infestation was recorded during early stage while ahpids in mid stage and jassids in tail part of the crop. Nine treatments along with untreated control were evaluated at farmer’s field in the month of February -March against fruit borer of bitter gourd. Neem cake extract 4% , Neem soap 1%, Bt(halt) 1 gm/l alternate with Neem cake extract 4% and Multineem 1% at 10 days interval were ineffective against fruit borer. Lamda-cyhalothrin (1 ml/lit.) was found to be the best insecticide. Cypermethrin 1ml/l, Indoxacarb(0.6 ml/lit) and Carbaryl (3gm/lit) were equally effective but were on par with Bt (Halt) 1 gm/l at 10 days interval. Results indicated that the Bt can be used as alternative to insecticides against this pest. All the treatments were more effective in line pandal than covered pandal.
Studies on host plants and natural enemies of D. indica: Host plant studies revealed that the pest could complete its larval stage on bitter gourd, spine gourd, pointed gourd, watermelon sweet gourd, ridge gourd snake gourd, raw pumpkin fruit and bottle gourd were found as host for D. indica as they completed their larval stage on that particular host plant . Wild sponge gourd and an unknown wee were also tested but were not fit for this pest. Apantales taragamae Viereck, Perilampus sp., Trathala flavoorbitalis (Cameron), Aphanogmus sp nr. figiensis(Ferriere), Phanerotoma hendecasisella (Cameron),and an known parasitoids were recovered from field collected larvae of D.indica. One pupal parasitoid (unidentified), NPV (?), and an unidentified fungus were collected from field population. These two microbes were tested under lab condition against the D.indica, which resulted in mortality in D.indica larvae. Virus infected larvae had 66 per cent morality and fungus infected 69 per cent .Untreated control larvae were also recorded to die upto 31 percent. The sample was taken to insect pathologist NCIPM, New Delhi who confirmed it to be NPV after observing it under phase contrast microscope where as in division of plant pathology, it was said to be bacterial contamination after observing under electron microscope. The virus is yet to be identified.
Developing trellis system for efficient pest control in bitter gourd under coastal Ago- ecosystem of Orissa: Three trellis systems, viz. single line trellis, double line trellis and; bower system, having uniform height of 165cm with row spacing of 1.2m and 1.5m, were laid out in Two Factor Randomized Block Design with a plant spacing of 1.5m. These three trellis systems were evaluated for two years in participatory mode at three locations. Micro-climatic conditions in side the trellises, fruit yield, fruit loss due to borer and fruit fly, larval population of pumpkin caterpillar and incidence of downy mildew in each trellis system were recorded. Perception of farmers regarding the modified trailing system was also recorded.
Observations revealed that unit fruit weight of bitter gourd remained same but fruit number and yield were influenced significantly due to different trellis systems. Significantly higher fruit yield was recorded in single line followed by double line and lowest in covered bower trellis system during both the years. Fruit loss in terms of number and weight during both the years due to fruit borer and fruit fly infestation were significantly higher in bower system followed by double line and lowest in single line trellis system. The population of fruit borer and intensity downy mildew infection were significantly higher in covered pandal followed by double line and lowest in single line trellis system. Due to ease in manual irrigation, fertilizer application, pesticide application, pest monitoring and weeding; drudgery was reduced and efficiency increased in single line trellis system. Greater benefit was realized in terms of pesticide application as the target area could be fully accessed with least body exposure of the worker to pesticide drift. Observations clearly indicated that the incidence of pest was less naturally in single line trellis system when compared to farmers practice. Cost of trellis in single line system was also less as against the farmers’ practice of bower system.
Surveillance and demonstrations of eco-friendly Integrated Management technologies for pests and diseases of fruit and vegetable crops Disease and pest surveillance was carried out regularly and advice given on prophylactic and control measures in fruit and vegetable crops during 2001-2004 in two locations.
Vegetable insect pests and their management practices in coastal Orissa: Survey indicated diamond back moth (Plutella xylostella L.),aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) and leaf webber (Crocidolomia binotalis Zeller) in cruciferous vegetables; shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis G.), hadda beetle (Heinosepilachna vigintioctopunctata) and stem borer ( Euzophora perticella Rag.) in brinjal; fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner) in tomato; shoot and fruit borer (Earias sp.) in okra and thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood) in chilli as important insect pests. Though the losses by insect pests are high, farmers use insecticides once or twice in the entire cropping season. The sources for plant protection advisement are scarce and area is lacking organized IPM network which clearly indicates low priority of IPM. Lack of information, poor economic condition and less awareness for commercial vegetable cultivation are major constraints in the adoption of IPM practices.
Okra
Maximum incidence of jassids was recorded on the crop sown on 31st May. With the advancement in sowing date after 31st May, jassids population decreased and fruit borer damage increased. Based on findings it has been recommended to sow the Okra between 31st May to 15th June
Bt 2g/l followed by multineem 3ml/l at 5 days interval has been found effective against borer. Cypermethrin 1ml/l + multineem 3 ml/l was found effective against both mite and jassids.
Transfer of Technology
The transfer of technology component at the station is looked after by the subject matter specialists. Both on farm and off campus technology dissemination tools are being adopted for effective communication among the target groups. This includes publication of extension and technical bulletins in local language, mass communication through TV and AIR programs, on farm training, conducting field demonstrations of promising technology, organizing awareness camp, training program, field days and conducting visits of the beneficiaries at the stations. The station has been able to make available quality seeds, disease free planting materials and knowledge to the farmers in the region.
Analysis of constraints in Tomato cultivation
Constraints in tomato cultivation were analyzed and prioritized by the farmers. Increased severity of pests with special reference to fruit borer, leaf miner and cut worm and, diseases with special reference to leaf curl and early and late blight was one of the most important problems that farmers were facing in the area. Poor knowledge of pest and disease, IPM practices and non-availability of pest and disease resistant varieties led to higher losses. Although bacterial wilt was a major problem but now with the availability of bacterial wilt resistant varieties, the problem is solved to a great extent. Cost of inputs such as labour, fertilizer, seed and pesticides is high and many times there becomes the shortage of fund but sources of finance are meager.
Varietal Trial on tomato
While selecting a suitable variety out of many varieties of tomato available with the shopkeepers, farmers’ choice either depend mainly on shopkeepers’ advice or sometimes fellow farmers’ suggestion. Therefore, to identify a suitable variety for the region, a farmer’s participatory varietal evaluation trial was conducted including the varieties popular among farmers. Eleven Varieties/ Hybrids were evaluated for performance. All varieties were grown following uniform agronomic and cultural practices. The varietal selection parameters were identified in consultation with the growers. Growers ranked the tomato varieties on 5 parameters i.e resistance to bacterial wilt, fruit shape, fruit size, firmness and yield on a three point weighted scale i.e Most preferred (3), Preferred (2) and Not preferred. Observations on Arka Saurabh and Swarana Vaibhav varieties were not recorded in the evaluation trial at farmers’ field due to heavy mortality caused by bacterial wilt. Thus the performance of the only nine varieties was ranked based on the five parameters. On the basis of performance with special reference to fruit shape, fruit size, fruit firmness, fruit yield and wilt resistance, the variety “Best of All” was found to be the best followed by “F1 Hybrid 7610”.
Impact of demonstration
It was evident from the quantitative data on impact of IPM that there was considerable reduction in the usage of insecticides and fungicides in the IPM plots when compared with non-IPM plots. The frequency of pesticide application was reduced to two or three times from seven or eight applications of insecticide and four or five applications of fungicide. The reduced need for pesticide application, in itself, was observed to be a good achievement as it may directly address the residue problem and enhance the activities of natural predators, making the IPM intervention more sustainable in the long run. There was reduction in the incidence of diseases like damping off , bacterial wilt and blight in IPM plots when compared to non -IPM plots. Seed as an input is very costly therefore, each seedling is costly. Mortality due to damping-off in nursery can severely affect their cost of production and reduce the acreage. There was considerable decrease in the incidence of leaf miner and fruit borer in IPM plots when compared with non-IPM plots. Results revealed that staking and application of poison bait reduced cutworm damage in IPM plots when compared with Non- IPM plots (which was also evident from the visual impact on dead larvae in the field after two to three days of bait application. As a result of all IPM intervention packages put together the estimated marketable fruit yield in IPM plots was increased over non- IPM plots by 4.00 t/ha in 2004 and 6.10 t/h in 2005.
The economic analysis for cost and monetary return of IPM over non IPM indicated that IPM components led to the increase in the production cost to the tune of Rs.10,527/ha. Monetary benefits due to saving on pesticide and additional yield in IPM plot was Rs.4900 and Rs. 11125, respectively. Thus, there was direct benefit of Rs.5498 due to adoption of IPM in addition to indirect benefits due to non application of pesticides.
Analysis of constraints in cabbage cultivation:
A list of constraints faced by tomato growers was prepared during village meetings and on the basis of group consensus data 10 constraints were short-listed for further analysis. The constraints were ranked using Rank Based Quotient (RBQ). Constraints in tomato cultivation was prioritized by the farmers. Constraints in cabbage cultivation as perceived and prioritized by the farmers are presented in Table -2. Intensification of pest problems like diamond back moth cutworm and diseases like damping off and alternaria was one of the most important problems that farmers were facing in the area. Poor knowledge of pest and disease and their IPM practices and non-availability of pest and disease resistant varieties led to the higher losses in cabbage farming. Cost of inputs such as labour, fertilizer, seed and pesticides are high and many times there becomes the shortage of fund but sources of finance are meager.
IPM trial in cabbage
The trial was conducted for in a compact patch of nearly 1 ha. in village Mamalda. All the participants raised nursery jointly at one place. Raised beds were made and seeds of variety Royal Challenger were sown in line. Fields were prepared using standard Agronomic practices. Seedlings were transplanted at 50X 50 cm apart.
Trichoderma @ 50g/sq. metre was added one week before sowing. Nursery was sprayed with Bt (1g/litre) at 10 days after germination and again one day before transplanting. Seedlings were sprayed with copper oxychloride @ 3 g/l on 15th and 30th days after sowing .One day before transplanting the nursery was sprayed with metaxyl-mancozeb @2 g/l. One tone of FYM, was enriched with Trichoderma, 15 days prior to field application and at the time of last ploughing this enriched FYM was shared by farmers and mixed with the rest of FYM and applied in the field. Black mustard seeds and cabbage seedlings were sown in a pattern of one row of mustard for every 25 rows of cabbage. First and last row in the field were mustard. After 20 DAP neem soap (1%) and Bt 1g/l were sprayed at 10 days interval alternatively for 3 times. Cutworm eggs and gregarious young larvae were collected mechanically and destroyed. Periodically lower leaves were removed and diseased leaves were destroyed.Mustard was sprayed with DDVP @1 ml/l for three times and two spray of dimethoate @0.5ml/l were also done. To control cut worm, poison bait was applied once by using jaggery, rice bran and monocrotophos. Need based application of mancozeb 0.25 % was done. Side by side non IPM plots were maintained and all the plant protection practices adopted by farmers were recorded. Incidence of diseases, insect pests, number of sprays and yield were recorded in both the plots.
Impact of Demonstration
The quantities data on impact of IPM indicated that there was considerable reduction in the usage of insecticides and fungicides in the IPM plots compared to non-IPM plots. The frequency of pesticide use reduced and this was itself a good achievement as it directly addresses the residue and activities of natural predators, making the IPM intervention more sustainable in the long run. There was reduction in the disease incidence like damping off, and blight in IPM plots like damping off and blight . Seed as an input is very costly; therefore, each seedling is costly. Damping off can severely affect their cost of production and reduce the acreage. Present intervention reduced damping off which enabled the farmers to sell the additional seedling to other needy farmers thus earning extra income.
Cut worm (Spodoptera) to hide it to avoid the spray. In turn even frequent spray becomes ineffective and damage by the cutworm goes very high. In order to overcome the problem, poison bait was used. This resulted in reduction in cutworm damage and two to three days after the treatment there was visual impact of dead larvae in the field. Incidence of other insect pests like DBM, aphid and leaf webber 4.34 from 10.81 % in IPM plots was also reduced in comparison to non IPM plots
IPM of Fruit Flies in Mango
In Orissa para pheromone catches have indicated the prevalence of B.zonata, ,B.dorsalis, and B.correctas. Farmers’ knowledge and control practice of fruit fly include cover spray, and rarely bait placement.In 2000 and 2001 the farmer carried out local practices of one or two cover sprays of carbaryl insecticide. In due course of time the Fruit fly management technique using MAT + BAT and sanitation was introduced evaluated and demonstrated.
MAT
Ordinary ply wood of 12 mm thickness was cut into 50mm x 50 mm size pieces .A mixture of ethanol, methyl eugenol and malathion (6:4:1-V/V) was prepared. Ply wood blocks were soaked in this solution for 48 hours . The soaked blocks were hung on mango trees at a density of 10/ha at about 1.5m above the ground level below the branches, 45 days before mango fruit maturity. In order to prevent the weakening of MAT blocks due to wetting by rain, these were put in bottle trap. The bottle traps were made locally.
BAT
A liquid mixture of 2 g carbaryl and 100 g jaggery in one litre water was prepared for spot application in mango orchard as poison bait (200 spots/ha). This liquid mixture was applied six times @ 40ml /spot (10 l/ha) at weekly interval starting 40 days before the fruit maturity. The bushes and wild plants surrounding the orchard were also sprayed at sporadic spots. The bait was sprayed with calibrated knap sack sprayer to undersides of leaves, at 1.5m above the ground level in orchard to coat leaf surfaces smoothly.
The work started in 2002 and continuing till date. In sixth year the IPM was demonstrated on 35 ha in mango providing mango protection to a tune of Rs. 6 Lakh.
Impact of Demonstration
Estimates of fruit fly infestation in mango over the years are summarised in Table 1. Before application of treatment(in2000 and 2001) the incidence of fly was high (up to 40 percent fruit damage) and unfortunately farmers were ignorant about fly control except application of one or two cover spray with carbaryl. During 2002, 2003 and 2004 it was found that MAT and BAT were quite effective in reducing the fly infestation.In 2006 ,6 rounds of BAT at 8 days interval gave 87.40 per cent protection. Further it was also clear that BAT plays a vital role in fruit fly management and MAT alone may not be of great use. The results were promising in the sense that MAT and BAT utilised very low quantity of insecticide in comparison to cover spray and provided high level of fruit protection.The sum of MAT and BAT as an IPM package was 610+816=Rs.1426. The total cost of cover spray was Rs.1998 (three times sprayed @ Rs.666/spray). The cost of fruit fly management was 1.40 times less than that of cover spray giving cost benefit ratio of 1:23.04 which was two times of cover spray (1:10.99).
So far the station has conducted 279 training programs, 8 awareness camps and 3 field days on various aspects of horticultural crops and more than 5000 farmers and other stake holders have been given training at various places in the region. Till date 5 technical bulletins, 15 extension, 25 popular articles and fairly good member of research papers have been published at the station.
Services available to the farming community
- Farm advisory services
- Consultancy services on horticulture
- Supply of nucleus seeds and planting materials
