Central Agricultural University

About: Central Agricultural University is a education organization based out in Imphal, Manipur, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Agriculture. The organization has 1116 authors who have published 1157 publications receiving 9217 citations.

Agricultural Production performance on Small farm holdings: Some Empirical Evidences from Bihar, India

Abstract: Immediately after the green revolution period, there was an intense debate on the observed inverse relationship between farm size and per hectare agricultural productivity in India. It was subsequently argued that the higher productivity of small holdings would disappear with the adoption of superior technology, modernisation and growth in general. Recently, National Sample Survey data show that small holdings in Indian agriculture still exhibit a higher productivity than large holdings. This article contributes to the limited literature on farm size and productivity in small land holder's agriculture in Bihar, India. Plot wise panel data of VDSA project are used to reach at precise conclusion. The results provide evidence for a positive relationship between farm size and productivity in case of small land holders’ agriculture and hence, an inverse relationship does not seem to apply within small landholders’ agriculture. A strong positive relationship between farm size and output per hectare is a result of higher use of fertilizer, modern seeds and irrigation sources on comparatively larger land holders than small land holders in Bihar, India. It is mainly due to more uneconomic land holdings of sub-marginal and marginal farmers to have limited access to water resources, quality input and credit. Access to resources and technology must be considered together for any agricultural development programmes for small land holder's agriculture. It is therefore needed to look for ways of improving their access to resources for farming through increased opportunities for earning off farms and off season income or through improved credit market. Hence, small size and land fragmentation are key bottlenecks for the growth of agriculture in Bihar, India. The crop productivity of tiny landholders can be increased through improving their access to institutional financing system, agricultural extension network and farm technology centres. However, promotion of non-farm rural employment seems to be the most appropriate option for increasing crop productivity and improving livelihoods of small landholders in Bihar.

Economic Analysis of Growth, Instability and Resource Use Efficiency of Sugarcane Cultivation in India:An Econometric Approach

Abstract: Objectives : To find out the growth, as well as instability in area, production and productivity of sugarcane farming and to assess the resource use efficiency in major sugarcane growing states of India and trade performance of sugar. Methods/Statistical Analysis : Investigation is based on secondary data of area, production and productivity of sugarcane in major sugarcane growing states of India for the period from 2000-01 to 2015-16. Efficiency of sugarcane production was estimated using plot level data obtained from website of Cost of Cultivation Scheme, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India for the year, 2014-15. Compound growth rates, instability indices using formula suggested by Cuddy- Della Valle, and resource use efficiency using Data Envelopment approach (DEA) were computed. Findings : At national level area, production and productivity of sugarcane went up during the period of investigation. Similar result was also observed in case of growth rates of sugarcane crop which were found positive and encouraging. The area under sugarcane was found stable in the states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Gujarat on the other hand the yield of sugarcane recorded almost stable in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Tamil Nadu. Technical efficiency at national level in sugarcane production was found to be 66% which indicated that the production of crop may further be raised by 34% with the available technology. Allocative mean efficiencies indicated that costs may be reduced by 40% through using optimum combination of inputs keeping in mind their prices while selecting their quantities. The cost efficiency (CE) asserted that farmers may potentially reduce their overall cost of sugarcane production, upto 60% to harvest the existing level of output at least cost. Undoubtedly, the export of sugar from India has increased during the period of investigation. Applications/Improvements: State government initiatives were found appreciable making sugarcane cultivation more remunerative. Proper use of scarce resources may make it more productive and profitable and realizing the objective of doubling income and uplifting standard of cultivators.

Relationship between lenticel discoloration and biochemical and quality attributes in mango ( Mangifera indica L.) fruit

Abstract: Postharvest lenticel discoloration (LD) deteriorates the external appearance of mango fruit and is supposed to be associated with biochemical changes in fruit peel. Hence, an experiment was executed to ascertain the relationship between biochemical parameters such as polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), lipoxygenase (LOX), total phenol content (TPC) and fruit quality parameters i.e., external appeal of fruit (EAF), total soluble solids (TSS), total carotenoids (TC) to the incidence of LD. 30 (20 indigenous and 10 exotic) commercial mango varieties of India grown at ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, were harvested at full maturity and stored at ambient conditions (24 ± 4 oC, 75 ± 5% RH) for 10 days. During the storage duration, fruit analyzed for LD (%), biochemical and quality parameters. Results revealed significant correlations existed between LD % and biochemical parameters as LD vs PPO (r2 = + 0.98), LD vs POD (r2 = + 0.79), LD vs LOX (r2 = + 0.70) were found to be positively correlated, while LD vs TPC was negatively correlated. Similarly, among the quality parameters, LD found to have no relation with internal quality i.e., TSS (r2 = + 0.08) and TC (r2 = + 0.2), whereas negatively correlated with external quality i.e., EAF (r2 = − 0.71). Our findings suggest that monitory loss of mango growers because of LD is solely due to deterioration of external quality. LD does not have any impact on internal/nutritional quality. Furthermore, the positive relationship of LD % with enzymes suggests their role and biochemical basis in causation and control of LD.

Hydraulics of a Drainage Well Fully Penetrating a Leaky Aquifer through a Multisection Screen

Abstract: The authors develop a transient semianalytical solution for evaluating the hydraulic head distribution in a leaky aquifer under constant surface-ponding conditions while draining through a fully penetrating multisection screen of an injection well. The authors use integral transform techniques such as Laplace and finite Fourier cosine for solving the said problem analytically. The solution in the Laplace domain is inverted to the time domain numerically. The authors test the performance of the derived semianalytical solution by comparing its results with field data. Subsequently, they use the solution to evaluate the hydraulic head distribution within the flow medium for a drainage event. Analyses show that the hydraulic head distribution within the radius of partial screening influence (Rps) in the aquifer is controlled by both the radial distance from the well and the monitoring depth but only by the radial distance beyond Rps. Further, the Rps does not depend on the screen sections’ lengths and...

Impact of Weave on Physico-Comfort Properties of Eri/Modal Union Fabric

Abstract: The present work investigates the effect of weave structure on physico-comfort properties of eri silk–modal union fabrics. Three different weaves viz. twill, herringbone, and diamond were prepared ...