Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) is an important oil seed crop in the Brassicaceae family. It is widely cultivated in India for its edible leaves, oil and medicinal properties. In January 2022, we noti...

A three-year field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station of Mandor, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, under arid climatic conditions in the rabi season of 2016–2019 with the objectives of evaluating the effect of drip irrigation and fertigation levels on cumin plant growth, yield, oil content, water-use efficiency, and water productivity. The pooled data revealed that the drip irrigation at 0.6 cumulative pan evaporation (CPE) recorded significantly higher plant height (31.4 cm), umbels plant⁻¹ (50.4), umbellates umbel⁻¹ (5.07), seeds umbel⁻¹ (5.34), test weight (4.60 g), seed yield (1063 kg ha⁻¹), gross return (₹ 172,600 ha⁻¹), net return (₹ 113,500 ha⁻¹) and benefit, and cost ratio (2.9) over drip fertigation at 0.4 CPE and surface irrigation with 0.8 CPE. The fertigation with 80% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) being at par with 100% RDF recorded a significantly higher number of umbels plant⁻¹ (50.0), umbellates umbel⁻¹ (5.03), seeds umbellate⁻¹ (5.24), test weight (4.67 g), seed yield (1052 kg ha⁻¹), gross return (₹ 170,900 ha⁻¹), net return (₹ 111,700 ha⁻¹), and benefit cost ratio (2.9) over fertigation with 60% RDF and control. Maximum water-use efficiency (5.7 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹) and water saving (39.04%) was observed under drip irrigation at 0.4 CPE followed by 0.6 CPE (4.8 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹ and 18.86%, respectively).

Development of native microbial consortia is crucial for the sustainable management of plant diseases in modern agriculture. This study aimed to evaluate the antagonistic potential of various microbial isolates against Rhizoctonia bataticola, a significant soil-borne pathogen. A total of 480 bacteria, 283 fungi, and 150 actinomycetes were isolated and screened using in vitro dual plate assays. Among these, isolates 5F, 131B, 223B, and 236B demonstrated the highest antagonistic activity, with inhibition rates of 88.24%, 87.5%, 81.25%, and 81.25%, respectively. The selected isolates were further assessed for abiotic stress tolerance, revealing their ability to thrive under extreme conditions. Characterization of biocontrol and plant growth-promoting activities revealed the production of siderophores, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, chitinase, and indole-3-acetic acid, along with the solubilization of zinc and phosphorus. Compatibility tests confirmed the potential of forming effective microbial consortia, which significantly reduced the percent disease index in cluster bean. The most effective consortium, comprising Trichoderma afroharzianum 5F, Pseudomonas fluorescens 131B, Bacillus licheniformis 223B, and Bacillus subtilis 236B, achieved a 76.5% disease control. Additionally, this consortium enhanced total phenol (92.1%), flavonoids (141.6%), and antioxidant defense enzyme activities including POX (188.5%), PPOX (116.3%), PAL (71.2%), and TAL (129.9%) in cluster bean plants over the infected control, leading to substantial improvements in systemic resistance of plants. This consortium also significantly enhanced plant height, fresh weight, dry weight, number of pods per plant, and seed yield over the infected control as well as mock control. This study underscores the potential of these robust microbial consortia as a sustainable and effective strategy for managing R. bataticola and enhancing crop productivity under extreme environmental conditions.

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of different herbicides for controlling wild onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius) in cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) during the rabi seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020) at Agricultural Research Station, Agriculture University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The experiment comprised eight herbicidal weed management treatments for wild onion applied to cumin in a three-replication randomized block design. Among the herbicidal weed management treatments, early post-emergence (8 DAS) application of oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha resulted in the lowest weed density and dry matter of Asphodilus tenuifolius, with maximum weed (Asphodilus tenuifolius) control efficiency at 40 days after sowing (DAS) during both experimental years. Likewise, the highest total efficiency of weed control was recorded with the application of oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha at 8 DAS. Oxyflourfen 200 g/ha used early post emergence (8 DAS) reduced the weed index more effectively than the other herbicides. It also recorded the highest number of branches/plant, plant height, umbels/plant, umbellates/umbel, seeds/umbellates, and seed yield. However, application of oxyflourfen @ 200 g/ha 8 DAS–early POE and pendimethalin 38.7 CS 500 g/ha + oxyfluorfen @ 150 g/ha 8 DAS–early POE were statistically similar in terms of plant growth, yield, and yield attributes. The net returns (366.49 USD/ha in 2018–2019 and 175.72 USD/ha in 2019–2020) and B:C ratio (1.70 and 1.33 in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, respectively) were also superior, with oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha applied early post emergence.

A pot experiment was conducted during 2013-14 at Chaudhary Charan Singh, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar to evaluate the effect of non-conventional chemical viz., salicylic acid, zinc sulphate, magnesium sulphate, indole acetic acid, indole butyric acid and fungicide viz., carbendazim, on total phenol, flavonol, tannin and electrolyte leakage of red fruits of chilli varieties (susceptible- Pusa Jwala and resistant- Sadabahar) against Colletotrichum capsici the causal agent of fruit rot in chilli. The phenol content was increased significantly in both the varieties (resistant and susceptible) when sprayed with salicylic acid followed by pathogen as compared to other non-conventional chemicals at 24 and 48 hours intervals. The increase in total phenol was more pronounced in resistant variety (7.84 mg/g fresh weight) after 48 hours, when sprayed with salicylic acid at 5mM concentration. Flavonol content was higher in uninoculated red fruits of susceptible variety (1.50 mg/g fresh weight) as compared to resistant (1.37 mg/g fresh weight). Tannin content was higher in resistant (3.71 mg/g fresh weight) as well as susceptible (3.09 mg/g fresh weight) varieties after inoculation than uninoculated varieties (1.38 and 1.02 mg/g fresh weight, respectively) at 5mM concentration. The activity of electrolytes was more pronounced in resistant variety as compared to susceptible variety when sprayed with non-conventional and fungicide in all the concentration. Electrolytes leakage was more when sprayed with fungicide as compared with salicylic acid 5mM concentration after 48 hours of pathogen inoculation.