Directorate of Research (Agriculture)

Agriculture in Assam is considered as the most valued enterprise
playing a pivotal role state’s economy contributing about 19% to the
Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) during 2016-17 engaging about 70% of
the population directly or indirectly. Assam Agricultural University
(AAU), being the premier institution of North Eastern India has been
targeting to produce globally competitive human resources along with
pursuing agricultural researches in frontier areas and disseminating
generated technologies to the deepest corners of the state to bring
sustainability in farming and food security to the ever-growing
populations. Emphasis on agricultural development in Assam was also put
forwarded during pre-independence era through establishment of Upper
Shillong Experimental Farm (now in Meghalaya) during 1897, however, real
progress in terms of agricultural research in Assam was took place
through Rice Experimental Stations at Karimganj and Titabar during 1913
and 1923, respectively. With subsequent establishment of research
stations in each of the agro-ecological situations, now on, six Regional
Agricultural Research Stations (RARS) viz., Titabor, Karimganj,
Diphu, Gossaigaon, Shillongoni and North Lakhimpur were under operation
till date to conduct research on important crops, more specifically,
jute, pulses, oilseeds etc.along with five Commodity Research Stations
(CRS) viz. Buralikson, Tinsukia, Kahikuchi, Byrnihat and Mandira
were functioning under AAU. The University follows a well defined
Research Management System to carryout need based, demand driven,
situation specific and problem oriented research based on information
collected by the scientists from the farmers’ fields and also on the
basis of the feedback received from the line departments of the state
government. Apart from several state funded research projects, more than
three hundred externally funded competitive research projects have been
successfully completed so far and 117 competitive agricultural research
projects begged from different organizations and institutes like
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology
(DST), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Board of Research
in Nuclear Science (BRNS), etc. are in operation till date including 44
numbers of All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) / All India
Network Projects (AINP) on different agricultural subject matter areas
under Directorate of Research (Agri.), AAU, Jorhat. Recently, the
University has been associated as one of the implementing agencies of Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART) aiming to add
value and improve resilience of selected agriculture value chains,
focusing on smallholder farmers and agro-entrepreneurs in targeted
districts of the State of Assam in collaboration with several state and
international agencies and institutes like IRRI, CIP, World Vegetable
Centre, World Fish Centre, etc. with the financial assistance from Govt. of Assam and World
Bank. AAU has also been successfully implementing Schedule Tribe
Community Project (earlier Tribal Sub-Plan) to improve livelihood of the
tribal peoples of Assam. The AAU under the aegis of Oil India Limited
(OIL) has been implementing a project on Augmentation of agriculture
through efficient resource utilization with participatory approach since
2017 in addition to couple of projects on marketing and post harvest
loss management of medicinal plants with the financial assistance from
Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India. Recently, AAU has been implementing
an collaborative research and developmental research programme in
collaboration with Norway Government for the livelihood upliftment of
small and marginal rice farmers of Assam. Through this strong research
network across the state of Assam, a good number of modern agricultural
technologies has been developed, recommended and included in package of
practices for the farmers to uplift the agricultural crop production in
Assam and rural livelihood in particular. Significant research
achievements so far achieved in different fields of agriculture sciences
has been discussed below.

Rice
being the staple crop, much emphasis was given to meet up the
technological gap in rice cultivation in Assam during last five decades
and through extensive research on plant breeding and genetics, AAU could
able to developed altogether 113 numbers of crop varieties along with 2
numbers of animal varieties and 1 number of poultry breed with
desirable traits catering the needs of diverse farming communities and
was well adopted in six agro-climatic situations of the state and
several were in pipeline for their release or notification. Out of the
total AAU bred crop varieties, 55 varieties belongs to rice, 7 green
gram, 7 black gram, 2 lentil, 8 toria, 2 sesame, 8 sugarcane, 2 jute, 2
forage and 20 vegetables.

Amongst the AAU bred rice varieties, the most promising were the Sali or winter rice varieties like Ranjit and Bahadur and Ahu
or autumn rice varieties like Lachit, Luit and Chilarai, which were not
only extensively grown in Assam but also become popular in neighboring
states. AAU has also developed Boro or summer rice varieties like
Jaymoti, Bishnuprasad, Jyotiprasad, Dinanath, Swarnabh and Kanaklata,
which replaced the traditional rice varieties to a great extent.
Varieties like Joymati and Kanaklata are also well known for their cold
tolerance ability. Moreover, several bao or deep water rice varieties like Padmapani, Padmanath and Panindra have also been released along with some other varieties viz.
Jalashree, Jalkunwari and Plaban that are suitable for growing in flash
flood situation and can withstand submergence up to 15 days. The
submergence tolerance gene of rice called Sub-1 has also been
identified and has been incorporated in some high yielding rice
varieties that had led to development of varieties like Ranjit Sub-1and
Swarna Sub-1, which were now becoming popular amongst the farming
communities with a potential yield ranging from 6.5 to 7.0 t/ha. In
addition, AAU has developed rice varieties like Gitesh and Prafulla,
which were recommended for staggered planting up to 60 days. Recently,
three new rice varieties viz. Dehangi, Rongkhang and Inglonkiri
were been notified in Indian Gazette and recommended for growing in hill
regions of Assam under direct seeding stress condition. A high yielding
Bora or glutinous rice variety called Aghoni was also developed
by the University along with an improved premium or scented rice variety
called Ketekijoha, which got popularity in the export market of the
nation. Another three high yielding varieties of rice namely Disang,
Dikhow and Kolong has been recommended for growing under the pre and
post flood situations, so as to combat the heavy loss to rice crop grown
during Kharif season caused by recurrent flood every
year. Amongst the 8 newly developed rice varieties two viz., Shraboni
and Mulagabhoru are high yielding (4500-5000 kg/ha) and multiple
resistant medium duration varieties and another 4 varieties viz.,
Chakra lahi, Diphalu, Dhansiri and Manah are high yielding long
duration varieties suitable for growing in waterlogged situation.
Moreover, Panchanan has been developed as a deepwater variety and Haccha
has been recommended as a short duration variety suitable for growing
both as direct seeded upland and transplanted crop during ahu
season. Apart from AAU bred rice varieties like TTB-404 and Gitesh with
high Zn of as high as 45 ppm, a few promising cultures with high Zn and
Fe content in brown rice have also been identified.

Besides
rice, achievements in terms of development of new crop varieties of
national importance have been made, especially, development of two
varieties of wheat namely DBW -14 and HUW- 468 with shorter crop
duration that could able to escape pre-monsoon rain at the time of
harvest. Moreover, six varieties of rapeseed has so far been developed
amongst which TS-36, TS -38, TS-46 and TS-67 and gaining popularity in
the entire North Eastern region. Rapeseed variety TS-67 could be sown
upto 2^nd week of December without any significant decrease in
yield and hence could be best fitted in Rice-Toria cropping sequence.
Recently released varieties namely Jeuti and TS 67 are suitable for
delayed sowing in rice fallow. Recently AAU has developed 11 pulse
varieties through its strong research mechanisms including 3 greengram, 6
blackgram and 2 are lentil varieties. The greengram variety SGC 16 was
recommended for both summer and kharif season, while SGC 20 and Sonai were recommended for kharif
season endowed with Cercospora Leaf Spot (CLS) and Yellow Mosaic Virus
(YMV) resistance capacity. The blackgram varieties Beki and Kolong are
recommended for late sown condition, while varieties like Sonkush,
Manas, SBC 40 and SBC 47 are recommended for normal sowing. Besides, AAU
has developed for the first time two lentil varieties viz., Axom
Masur 1 and Axom Masur 2 and recommended for growing in Assam with an
potential yield of 10.0 q/ha and duration of 115-120 days. Moreover, two
local collections of pigeon pea genotypes - BAC 1 and BAC 2 have shown
significant promise with an yield record of 2015.40 and 1985.30 kg/ha,
respectively. AAU bred Sesame variety - AST-1 has been getting
popularity amongst the farmers with a potential yield of 8-10 q/ha and
80-90 days to maturity.

 Furthermore, transgenic chickpea lines resistant to pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera
have been developed in collaboration with international agencies and
steps towards evaluation and commercialization in India has been
initiated through a private seed company ( M/s. Sungro Seeds, India)
through a nonexclusive license and also to public organizations such as,
ICRISAT IIPR, PAU, UAS, Dharwad through MTAs for further evaluation and
introgression breeding. Additionally, research on development of
transgenic bruchid resistant chickpea lines is also in progress.
Research efforts are also on to develop transgenic Bt-Pigeon Pea and
Bt-Blackgram lines.

Seeing
the prospect of jute cultivation in special pockets of Assam, newly
released varieties like Tarun and Apeswaree developed by AAU has been
recognized nationally and recommended at national level for all the jute
growing states of the country. AAU bred jute variety, Apeswaree is
having yield potentials of 25.0 q/ha and is resistance to stem rot and
root rot. In sugarcane, AAU could able to develop 8 sugarcane varieties
and identified several clones with desired characteristics, which were
deposited at SBI, Coimbatore. The most prominent ones were Nambor,
Kapilipar and Doiyang. Recently, AAU bred variety CoBln-04174 was
released and recommended for North Eastern Zone. Moreover, Sett
preservation and quality jaggery making techniques have also been
developed and recommended for the farmers of Assam. AAU bred lathyrus
variety – Madhuri was also recently recommended for its cultivation in
Assam. Another AAU bred forage ricebean variety - Shyamalima had been
recommended by the State Seed Sub-committee for its rerelease in Assam.

In
horticultural crop science, “low cost polyhouse” technology has been
developed and perfected with packages for off-season vegetables and
flower production. Moreover, packaging technologies for long distance
transport of pineapple, orange and tomato have been developed to extend
shelf-life of perishable vegetables, which is also applicable for
commercial floriculture and transferred to private entrepreneurs and
commercial firms for its larger use. An evaporative cooling cum storage
structure for fruits and vegetables was developed by AAU showing wide
acceptability by the farming community of the state. Three coconut
varieties viz. Kamrupa, Assam Green Tall and Kahikuchi Hybrid-1, two ginger varieties viz. Nadia and Moran, four tuberose varieties viz. Shringer, Prajwal, Suhashini and Vaibhav, two gerbera varieties viz, Red Gem and Red Monarch and six banana types viz.
Kanaibachi, Bhatratmuni, Hatidat, Therek Kanch, Garomaina and Honda,
have been recommended for commercial cultivation in Assam through
extensive research and development activities. AAU had also developed
two HYVs of brinjal viz., JC-1, JC-2 of brinjal along with two ridge gourd varieties AAUJ-2 and AAUJ-3 for the farmers of Assam.

Two AAU bred varieties of amaranth viz., Jor Am1 (Shyamali) and Jor Am 2 (Rodali) were also recommended for Assam condition.

 AAU
has been always engaged in supply of quality planting material of
horticultural crops and had able to establish a protocol for mass
multiplication of tissue culture banana planting materials through
setting up of a tissue culture planting material production unit. In
Khasi mandarin, twelve elite genotypes were identified amongst which
CRS-4 has been found to be promising. Moreover, AAU has developed a
rejuvenation package for citrus decline disease in Khasi mandarin, which
led boosted production orange in Assam.

In
the area of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), proper nutrient
scheduling against major and important crops has been formulated and
recommended in the form of package of practices. Researches on natural
resource management at AAU had also led to identification of 3
indigenous microbial strains of Azospirillium (Az71), Azotobacter
(Azo52) and PSB (5W) and handed over to several commercial firms for
large scale production and supply of bio-fertilizers to meet the demand
under organic agriculture. In the light of promoting organic
agriculture, AAU has been constantly engaged in development and
production of liquid bio-formulations like Org-Trichojal, Org-Vertijal,
Org-Beauverijal and Metajal and solid bio-formulations like Biofor-PF
and Biozin-PTB commonly known as Jaiva Kiran to control not only several
dreaded diseases in vegetables including wilt disease of tomato,
potato, brinjal, chilli, ginger, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. but also
insect pests attacking several crops. The liquid bio-formulation
technologies have already been handed over to M/s. Green Biotech
Eco-solution Pvt. Ltd. for their commercialization and become popular
amongst the agricultural farmers of Assam and North Eastern India. A
talc-based formulation of a mutant isolate of Trichoderma viride has been developed for managing white rot disease of vegetables caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. A local strain of Beauveria bassiana was isolated from rice hispa, Dicladispa armigera
and a low cost mass production technique in solid medium was developed.
Through an extensive research at AAU, several bio-control agents like Trichogramma joaponicum and T. chilinis against rice pests and Neochetina eichhorniae and N. bruchi
against water hyacinth weed have been recommended. AAU has also been
constantly engaged in large scale mass production and timely supply of Trichogramma joaponicum and T. chilinis for successful for control of rice insect pests.

Precise
schedules of cultural practices like time of sowing and methods of
planting, optimum seed rate, plant population and planting geometry,
irrigation schedules, weed management practices and nutrient management
technologies like fertilizer doses, time and methods of application,
integration of organics and inorganics etc. have been formulated
for all the major field crops including forages and recommended. The
recommendations are documented and publicized for the farming community
as well as for the extension personnel in the form booklets - ‘Packages
of Practices of Kharif Crops’ and ‘Packages of Practices of Rabi Crops’.

AAU
in the field of community science had generated several techniques, of
which, the most significant one is the cereal based weaning food called
“Assam mix”, which has been found to practices by the resource poor
farm households. AAU has already handed over the technology to many
commercial firms to make it available to all the needy people of the
region. Nitrification of traditional food item viz. “Bhurbhuria pitha
and “Pat pitha” have been done and popularized. Technologies in terms of
extraction and utilization of natural dyes from indigenous plants viz.,
Tepor tenga, Arjun goch, Bohot goch, Achu tree and Titaphul has also
been developed to make the textile industry more ecofriendly. In terms
of post harvest technology development, use of “Mat nursery” and a grain
spreading tool – “Lakhimi” developed by AAU had enhance the efficiency
of the farm women and reduced drudgery to a greater extent. A banana
fibre extraction technique has been standardized, so that the fibres
extracted from banana could be blended with other natural fibres and
proper byproduct management could be achieved. Women-friendly farm-tool
"Kuhuna" for drudgery reduction was developed and a tea plucking basket
was improvised. Moreover, smoke free cooking burner called “Smokeless
chullah” was also developed and validated for the resource poor farm
families of Assam.

Due
to constant and dedicated research, 11 integrated farming systems
models through suitable integration of crop, fish, and livestock
components have been developed in fishery science and recommended for
the farmers of Assam. The Fishery Research Centre at AAU, Jorhat is
supporting the farmers of Assam by providing quality cultivable fish
seeds. A low cost fish feed named “Sushama” has been developed
and in use to promote fish farming in Assam. Another notable achievement
in this line is the technological development in seed production of
Cat-Fish, “Magur” (Clarias batrachus) through induced breeding.

Salient research Achievements, 2021-22

Rice

·        
High
yielding black rice genotypes developed at RARS, AAU, Titabar having
intermediate amylase content, high HRR percentage, low GI, High in antioxidant
and other nutrients were tested at farmers’ field in Merapani and Titabar.  

·        
RARS,
AAU, Titabar contributed 6 advance breeding line viz., TTB
1048-60-9, TTB 1040-218-2-2, IR 87144-CR4-2-1-1-TTB-1-2, TTB 1058-408, TTB 1384
and TTB 1209-4-1into AICRIP trials for
the year 2021-22.

·        
High yielding varieties viz.,
Dholi, Haccha,
Langpi, Diyung, and Surma
Dhan were recommended by the SVRC, Assam during 2021.

·        
Direct seeded rice variety ‘Dehangi’ registered under PPVFRA with
registration No. REG/2018/319

·        
Altogether ninety six (96) DWR germplasm has been genotyped
(sequenced) and data were submitted to
National Centre for Biotechnological Information (NCBI), USA and will be
conserved and maintained at the station for future biological assets of the
state/country.

·        
Application of Azospirillum and PSB @ 4 kg/ ha + RP @
10 kg/ ha + RD of K) along with urea based on Leaf Colour Chart 4 (LCC 4)
increased the yield of paddy.

·        
Consortia of potash solubilizing bacteria PSB @3.5kg with NPK@60:20:20(kg/ha)
for transplanted Sali rice can reduce the K fertilizer requirement by
20kg/ha

·        
Azospirillum based microbial consortia was developed maintaining a concentration of 8.20 log cfu/ mL
during the storage period 210 days after inoculation.

·        
Azotobacter based microbial consortia was developed and maintained with values >8.00
log cfu mL^-1 after 210 days of storage.

·        
Field trial of nutrient management in rice-rajmah cropping
sequence revealed highest yield of rajmah at 75% RDF with Rhizobium &
PSB biofertilizers.

·        
Field trial on boron fertilization @ 0.25% B as Foliar Spray in PI
& milk stage on rice resulted the highest yield of rice

·        
Significant increase in early seed vigour was observed
on hydro-primed
(30h @ 25^OC) seed coating with Trichoderma harzianum in
rice variety Luit.

 ·        
Treatments of Dry
Bulk ZnO₄ @ 500 ppm
and Nano SiO2 @500ppm exhibited higher yield increase over control in
direct seeded rice varieties.

·        
Application of Pseudomonas
fluorescens (2x10⁸cfu/g) 
@10 kg/ha  at sowing was the best
in reducing  FNP (soil:21.54%,
root:27.63%) in rice against Meloidogyne graminicola

·        
Nursery treatment either with Pseudomonus
flourescens or Bacillus subtilis@ 10 kg/ha significantly increases
seedling height of rice (16 & 14%), and reduces nematode galls in seedlings
(44 & 38%), nematode population in soil (41 & 37%) and root (28 &
17%) and increase in crop yield (27 & 24%)

·        
Application of flubendiamide 39.35% SC or Pongamia oil @ 5ml/l was found
most effective in controlling rice stem borer and leaf folder.

·        
BIPM package and
farmer’s practice (Chemical control) were at
par in respect of the population build-up of rice stem borer and leaf
folder in rice.

·        
Seed
treatment with organic Trichojal@5ml/kg seed/lit exhibited 93.75% yield
increase over control in Keteki Joha.

Maize

·        
The QPM line K-20-IQPMH-2011 showed the highest yield (3.73 t/ha)
followed by K-20-IQPMH-19-2 (3.52t/ha).

·        
Experimentation on OPV Maize genotypes under varying planting
density and nutrient revealed that L316 showed superior performance over the
check varieties of Hemant (C), and Vijay (C) under higher nutrient application
(150% RDF) over the normal.

·        
Demonstration of BIPM module against fall army worm, Spodoptera furgiperda on rabi maize revealed that the BIPM module
was found significantly superior (15.30%) over farmers practice (22.83%).

Finger
millet

·        
Finger millet variety Gossaigaon MaruaDhan-1 was released through
State Variety Release Committee. 
Moreover, a Foxtail millet variety Gossaigaon Local (Yellow seeded) was
recommended for the state of Assam.

Rapeseed and mustard

·        
Higher profit could be obtained with seed coating with
hydro primed (16h @
20^OC) seeds with Bio-phos as compared to dry seeding with
B:C 9.52 in Mustard (variety TS 38).

·        
Application of Tebuconazole50%+trifloxistrobin 25% WG-FS @ 0.5g/l
showed the lowest disease severity (15.3 and 11.3 % respectively) of Alternaria blight in mustard variety
‘Varuna’ under zero till condition.

·        
Epidemiology of Alternaria
blight showed that the disease symptom starts from lower leaves and progresses
upward, and disease severity is directly correlated with temperature. It was
found that as the disease symptom starts appearing from second week of
December, the management practices should be started from first week of
December before the build-up of the inocula.

FLax

·        
Intercropping of flax with smother
crop for enhancing productivity and suppressing the weeds revealed that Flax +Chenopodium (2:1) yielded
highest seed yield of 7.76 q/ha followed by Control of
sole flax yielding seed yield 5.89 q/ha & Flax + Spinach (2:1) yielding
seed yield of 5.10 q/ha.

 Jute

·        
A number of successful crosses were made viz. Tarun X OIN 147,
Tarun X OIN 149, Tarun X OIN 163, Tarun X JROBA-3 for pest and disease
resistance.

·        
The successful crosses made were Tarun X JROG-1, Tarun X JRO-2407,
Tarun X JBO-1 for fibre fineness, while crosses like Khyati X CIN 172, Khyati X
CIN 173, JRC 532 X CIN 172 and JRC 532 X CIN 173 for better fibre strength.

·        
Soil test-based fertilizer
application in Jute based cropping system for improved nutrient management
trial revealed that treatment with150%
NPK on ST-TY yielded highest capsularis fibre yield of 27.05 q/ha
followed by Control of 21.9 q/ha fibre yield & 100% NPK on ST-TY +
lime/dolomite application on 25% LR of 20.17 q/ha fibre yield respectively.

·        
Pre emergence spraying of Ipfencarbazone (22.8%)@ 90
g a.i./ha (0.66 ml/l) + one hand weeding (HW) at 15 DAS resulted highest fibre
yield of 25.44 q/ha.

·        
A tachinid fly was observed to parasitize Bihar hairy caterpillar larva up to 32%
during 1^st fortnight of July.

·        
Seed treatment with carbendazim @ 0.1% + foliar spray of
azoxystrobin @ 0.1% at 45 DAS (PDI
1.74) was found superior in managing jute diseases

·        
Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 EC @ 0.3
ml/l water, Lamda Cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 0.6 ml/l water and Spinosand 45 SC @ 0.3
ml/l water were found best in management of lepidopteran pests in jute.

Green Gram

·        
One new green gram entry, viz., Pusa M 2131 gave an exceptionally
high grain yield of 14.86 q/ha in comparison to the check variety IPM 02-3
(14.09 q/ha) during summer, 2021. The variety also showed maximum synchronous
maturity and resistance to all important disease and pests.

·        
One new high yielding green gram variety viz., SGC 25,
which is found to be having the characteristics of synchronous maturity up to
95.0% will be included in AICRP trials and MLT during kharif,2022. An average
yield of 13.78 q/ha was obtained for the variety for consecutive 4 years in
station trials.

·        
One new high yielding black gram variety viz., SBC 51,
found to be having erect plant type with shining medium bold grains, will be
included in AICRP trials and MLT during kharif,2022. An average yield of 14.38
q/ha was obtained for the variety for consecutive 4 years in station trials.

·        
The highest grain yield was recorded
under the treatment combination involving seed inoculation with Rhizobium and PSB, weed management using
post-emergence herbicide propaquizafop 2.5 % + imazethapyr 3.75 %ME @ 125 g/ha
at 15-20 DAS and foliar sprays of 
complex NPK (19:19:19) at flower initiation and pod formation stages of spring mung bean.

·        
The trial on
fortification of zinc and iron through foliar spray in mung bean revealed that
the treatment, 0.5 % ZnSO₄
spray at flower initiation and pod initiation yielded significantly higher (1,533.33 kg/ha).

·        
An IPM module with integration of practices like two lines of
sesame as barrier crop, installation of yellow sticky trap (1mx1m) coated with
white grease @15/ha at 30 DAS, spraying with Azadiractin 1500ppm @ 3ml/l of
water at 30 DAS and need based spray of Spiromesifen 22.9 SC @ 1.25ml/l of
water or Chlorantraliprole 18.5 SC @ 0.30 ml/l of water in effectively reduces
the pest population with 21.43% increase in yield over farmers^,
practice.

·        
Two sprays of a new insecticide molecule, Diafenthiuron50WP @
1.25G/l of water at vegetative and reproductive stages of mungbean against
sucking pests (white flies, aphids) was found most effective to reduce the pest
population level.

Black gram

·        
Propaquizafop 2.5% + Imazethapyr 3.75 %
(ready mix) @ 125 g/ha at 20 DAS yielded significantly higher yield (1,016.67 & 1,506.95 kg/ha
respectively).

·        
Effect
of seed solarization on bruchids (pulse beetle) infestation of black gram seed
variety PU-31 packed in clear polythene in clear 700 gauges polythene revealed
that the germination was above the IMSCS up to six months of storage.

·        
Neemazol TS and Neemoz Gold @ 50 and 75 ppm recorded germination
percentage above IMSCS up to 9 months of storage along with good control over
storage insect pests.

Chickpea

·        
Chlorantriniliprole 18.5SC @ 0.3 ml/lit of water or spinosad 45SC
@ 0.3 ml/lit of water can effectively manage Pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera
in chickpea crop just after appearance of the pest during reproductive stage.

Pigeon pea

·        
 Hydro-priming
for 6 hours significant increases the seed vigour along with 72.97%
yield increase in pigeon pea varieties Pusa 191.       

Lentil

·        
Lentil varieties recorded with germination more than IMSCS
(>75%) after 6 months of storage in HDPE and Jute bag under ambient storage
condition.

Potato

·        
Three number of spray of Dimethamorph 50%WP @1.5g/litre OR
Mandipropamid 25% SC @ 1ml/litre at 10 days interval after the initiation of
disease successfully manage the late blight disease in potato.

Sugarcane

·        
Three sugarcane lines viz., CoBln 4174, CoBln 16502 and CoBln17502
are in the pipeline for recommendation of Assam showing higher CCS, Cane yield,
and sucrose content (%).

·        
Nutrient management under organic cultivation of sugarcane
revealed that the crop growth increases with higher level of compost
application.  Brix and pol reading under
various organic treatments were similar.

Integrated
Farming System (IFS)

·        
While evaluating IFS
module/strengthening traditional rainfed IFS for small and marginal farm
holdings, it was found that the average yield of 56.95 q/ha in Ranjit and 45.40 q/ha in Numoli with B:C ratio of 2.57 and 2.24,
respectively was observed under Crop and INM module. Under Farming System with
Horticulture (CHLR) module, Rice-Potato cropping sequence, RIFs farmers (rice -
potato - Turmeric) obtain   1168.21qha^-1 MCEY.

 ·        
IFS
models under rainfed condition with Crop (Field & Horticultural) + Cattle +
Fishery + Apiary (along with complementary and supplementary units) have been
developed for the marginal farmers of Assam.

·        
Raised
and sunken bed module has been standardized for the wet land areas under
rainfed situations of Assam and found that a raised and sunken bed module of
1.0 ha wet land area could produce a net return of Rs. 46,117.00 along with a
B:C ratio of 2.15.

·        
Application
of stale seedbed technique + reduced spacing (25%) + mulching with previous
crop mulch + 1 hand weeding in case of rice-toria-rice sequence was found to be
the best organic weed management practice in terms of weed control with reduced
weed density and weed dry weight, REY (7.5 t/ha) and B:C ratio (1.48 with 25%
premium price).

·        
The
IFS model under AICRP on IFS at AAU, Jorhat is a carbon-positive model. Out of
total GHG emissions from the cropping sequences (302.57 kg CO₂ equivalent), the emission contribution
was highest (108.36 kg CO₂ equivalent)
from winter rice – Toria – Cowpea
(fodder) sequence.

Vegetables

·        
Intercropping of black gram with okra
(as 1:1 in additive series) is found to be the best with economic yield of
259.88 q ha^-1, B:C ratio of 4.65 with LER 1.59 and 36.91 % of land
is saved.

·        
Ridge Gourd (Luffa acutangula L.)
cultivated by using Enriched compost 2.5 t ha ^-1 showed the highest economic yield and B:C ratio of 3.07.

·        
Intercropping of radish with lentil is
found to be the best treatment with economic yield of 210.75 q ha^-1,
BC ratio of 5.65 with LER 1.65 and 32.16 % of land is saved.

·        
Application of Rock Phosphate + Enriched
Compost (2.5 tha^-1) + Azotobacter + PSB (as root dip treatment) is
found to be the best organic treatment in Broccoli with economic yield of 185.2
q ha^-1.

·        
Evaluation of entomopathogenic biopesticide against Aphis craccivora in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) revealed that
application of Verticilium lecanii (1×10⁸cfu/ml@5gm/lit)
showed minimum number of A. craccivora(10.83/ terminal shoots).

·        
6 numbers of alternate sprays of insecticides at fortnightly
intervals contributed maximum protection from infestation of borer larvae per
five plants and per cent fruit damage of 1.68 and 7.33 %, respectively as
against 2.02 and 8.15 % in BIPM plot.

·        
Spraying of L. lecanii (V1-8 isolate) @ 5 ml/litre was proven to be the best in
reducing cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne
brassicae and diamond back moth, Plutella
xyllostella in cabbage.

·        
The BIPM plot against fruit flies Deccaus bactrocera against cucumber registered
16.81% fruit damage which was significantly different from chemical control
with 28.41% after 65 Days after treatment.

Coconut

·        
Studies on collection, conservation and
evaluation of local germplasm of coconut in Assam revealed a significantly the highest nut
yield of 85.7 nuts/palm/year in IC 610357.

·        
With regard to evaluation of five new coconut hybrids of location
specific cross combinations, significantly the highest nut yield (81.5
nuts/palm/year) was recorded in AGT x PHOT. The cross combination AGT x PHOT
also recorded highest number of inflorescences (11.6) per palm per year as well
highest number of female flowers (26.5) per inflorescence as compared to other
crosses.

Cocoa

·        
Multilocation trial (MLT) of 16 cocoa clones under palms revealed
that the highest plant height, stem girth, 
jorquette height, plant spread (E-W and N-S) and canopy area (8.95 m²)
were recorded in VTLC-20. Cocoa clone VTLC-20 also registered maximum no. of
pod/tree (39.0), no. of bean/pod (41.8) and dry bean yield/tree/year (2.28 kg)
as against the lowest under YET.

orchids

·        
Amongst the evaluated genera under terrestrial group, Cymbidium aloifolium registered maximum
number of vegetative shoots (19.54), number of flowers (42.78) and
inflorescence length (62.45cm). However, Spathoglottis
plicata registered maximum flower duration (65.80 days).

Tuberose

·        
The varieties Arka Prajwal registered maximum plant height (87.64
cm), flowering duration (19.63 days), rachis length (29.31cm), florets number
(46.43), diameter of florets (4.23 cm), weight of individual florets (1.06 g),
weight of florets per spike (49.16 g) and florets yield (28.29 q/ha).

·        
Bidhan Rajani -19 recorded maximum days of flowering duration
(32.50 days) and was closely followed by Bidhan Rajani-24 (31.22 days), Vaibhav
(31.12 days) and Suhasini (30.22 days).  The
variety Bidhan Rajani H-19 recorded maximum duration of flowering (34.99 days)
and number of florets in an individual spike (46.49 Nos./spike), number of
flower spikes per clump (2.38), spike yield (2.47 Lakh/ha), loose flower yield
(19.01 t/ha/year) ,bulb yield (138.61 Nos./clump) and B:C ratio (4.42).

·        
Tuberose spikes treated with 2% Orange dye combined with   Sucrose 2% and HQS (200ppm) showed maximum colour retention (5.50 days)
and vase life (7.20 days). Highest freshness index and shelf life
extension were recorded in flowers treated with Boric acid 2 % (61.03% and
59.67 hrs respectively).

·        
The incidences o

Sl.
No. Crop Name of the variety Year of release or notification

1 Rice Manohar Sali
February 20, 1970

2 Rice Lachit
November 04, 1992

3 Rice Chilarai
November 04, 1992

4 Rice Lakhimi
November 04, 1992

5 Rice Luit May 15,
1998

6 Rice Keteki Joha
September 20, 2006

7 Rice Jalkuwari
March 30, 2017

8 Rice Jalashree
March 30, 2017

9 Rice Kanaklata
March 30, 2017

10 Rice Gitesh March
30, 2017

11 Jute Khyati March
30, 2017

12 Rice Dehangi
August 25, 2017

13 Rice Inglongkiri
August 25, 2017

14 Rice Rongkhang
August 25, 2017

15 Rice Numoli
October 07, 2020

16 Toria Jeuti
October 07, 2020

17 Sesame AST-1
(AAUDR9304-14-4-1) October 07, 2020

18 Brinjal ABU
(GB-09-12) April 07, 2021

19 Coconut Kamrupa
(Assam Green Tall) April 07, 2021

20 Toria AAU TS 38
January 03, 2022

21 Mungbean Rupohi
(AAU SGC 16) August 31, 2022

22 Urd bean Shyamal
(AAU SBC 40) August 31, 2022

23 Rice Haccha
(AAAUDPU Dhan 04) August 31, 2022

24 Rice Langpi
(AAUDPU Dhan 05) August 31, 2022

25 Rice Diyung
(AAUDPU Dhan 06) August 31, 2022

26 Rice
AAU-TTB-Dhan-40 (Dholi) August 31, 2022

27 Rice
AAU-KMJ-Dhan-46 (Surma Dhan) August 31, 2022

28 Finger millet
Gossaigaon Marua Dhan August 31, 2022

29 Sesame
AAU-SHL-Til-1 August 31, 2022

30 Rice Prachur September 25, 2023

3  Rice Shatabdi September
25, 2023

32  Rice Patkai September 25, 2023

33  Mungbean SGC 20 (Buroi) September
25, 2023

34  Urdbean SBC 47 (Pabhoi) September
25, 2023

35  Field pea AAU SPC 101
(Xeuti) September 25, 2023

36   Rice Amreng (AAU DPU
Dhan 07) March 27, 2024

37   Foxtail Millet
AAU-GSG-Cawn 1 (Gossaigaon Cawn March
27, 2024

38   Urdbean AAU SHL Urd 03
(SB 42-8) March 27, 2024

Research Achievements under Directorate of Research (Agri), AAU, Jorhat during 2022-23

Rice

Ø Three high yielding rice varieties viz., Prachur, Shatabdi and Patkai were notified by the Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC) for cultivation in the state of Assam.

Ø One promising rice variety-Surma Dhan had been tested under AVT2-SDW and found promising in Zone-III. The variety has been identified by the Variety Identification Committee (VIC) for cultivation in Zone-III (West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh) besides Assam.

Ø Spraying of Cartap hydrochloride 50% SC @ 2.0ml/litre at 30 days after transplanting (DAT) and 50 DAT against stem borer and leaf folder reduced 58.8 % dead heart and 63.7% white ears and 53.6% leaf folder damage leaves with cost benefit ratio of 1:1.67. The technology is accepted for recommendation in Assam.

Ø Spraying of Chlorantraniliprole 0.4G @ 50g a.i /ha at 30 days after transplanting (DAT) and 50 DAT against stem borer and leaf folder reduced 47.2% dead heart and 53.7% white ears and 57.3% leaf folder damage leaves with cost benefit ratio of 1:1.36. The technology has been accepted for recommendation in Assam.

Ø Application of silicon in the form of orthosilicic acid granules @20 kg/ha each at maximum tillering and at flowering is effective in improving plant growth, yield and increase the tolerance to both biotic (stem borer, leaf folder, grain discolouration, blast, etc.) and abiotic (moisture stress) stresses in rice and recommendation for all zones of Assam

Ø RDF and Split application of vermicompost at the time of land preparation and maximum tillering stage produced highest yield with B:C ratio 2.51 (Vermicompost commercial) and 2.82 (Vermicompost on farm), Six actinobacterial strains having antagonistic activity against rice sheath blight and bacterial leaf blight pathogens have been isolated under AAU R&D project. Actinobacterial strain ‘Act 209’ showed maximum 54% inhibition of R. solani and 30% inhibition of X. oryzae pv oryzae.

Ø Application of Pongamia oil @ 5ml/l was reported to be effective in controlling rice stem borer followed by Pongamia oil @ 3ml/l and Agnihastra 5.0 % (Neem leaves, Ghomutra, Garlic, Green Chilly, Pepper, Jaggery, onion, tobacco and other natural herbs), respectively.

Ø For management of Sheath Blight of Rice revealed that lowest diseases incidence was observed in the Seedling root dip + Spraying with 1:10 vermicompost to water ratio for EP of 24 hour followed by Seedling root dip + Spraying with 1:10 vermicompost to water ratio for EP of 48 hour.

Ø Demonstrations of BIPM of rice Dead heart (%), WEH (%) and LFDL (%) were significantly lower in BIPM and Chemical control plot than control. Whereas no significant difference in between BIPM and chemical control was observed in terms of Dead heart (%), WEH (%) LFDL (%) and Yield. BIPM and chemical control plots recorded 4570 kg/ha yield and 4780.71 kg/ha yield which were 25.91% and 29.18% more yield than control.

Ø Fifty germplasm of rice tested against Meloidogyne graminicola and all were found susceptible.

Ø Ufra disease caused by Ditylenchus angustus was recorded in Dolpota, Basa gaon, Rantijan and Khoga of Lakhimpur district.

Ø Soil application of Pseudomonas fluorescens @20g/m² and Bacillus subtilis @20g/m²at sowing were found effective against M.graminicola in direct seeded rice

Ø Soil application of fluensulfone 2%GR @1.0 kg a.i./ha was found effective against M .graminicola, in transplanted rice when applied in nursery.

Ø Nursery treatment with Biofor pf-2 @20g/m² was found effective in reducing the population of M.graminicola and increasing yield by 12.13% in rice.

Ø Four fungal and 2 bacterial isolates were found effective against M. Graminicola

WHEAT AND BARLEY

Ø Four common wheat varieties were tested against five standard checks in 4 RBD. The test var. PBW 826 ranked top with 42.3 q/ha followed by another test var. HD3388 (41.8 q/ha), check vars. HD 3086 (41.5 q/ha) and HD 3249 (40.8 q/ha).

Ø Five common wheat varieties developed through special marker assisted backcross breeding were tested and the check var. HD 2967 (39.4 q/ha in 136 days) ranked top followed by test vars. HD 3406 (33.9 q/ha in 131 days) and HD3411 (32.3 q/ha in 134 days).

Ø Among the Trombay wheat mutants, the test vars. TAW119 (47.3 q/ha in 106 days) ranked top followed by TAW182 (43.4 q/ha in 103 days), TAW228 (41.8 q/ha in 105 days).

Ø Out of 50 entries maintained at CYMMIT International Nursery, 6 promising entries identified were: 2006, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2030, and 2070 on ear length and lodging tolerance. However, no one was earlier in maturity (< 110 days).

MAIZE

·        
The trial on crop
residue management in traditional and emerging maize system in rabi
revealed that the treatment with stubble incorporation + spraying with
microbial consortia recorded the highest yield in rice- maize cropping sequence
followed by zero tillage + residue retention + spraying with microbial consortia.

·        
The experiment on weed
management in maize system in rabi recorded the highest grain yield
(5267 kg/ha), B.C ratio (2.34) in treatment with atrazine 1000 g/ha (PE) fb Tembotrione
@ 120 g/ha at 25 DAS, which has been appeared as zonal recommendation in rice
maize cropping sequence.

·        
Moreover, the highest
grain yield (6333kg/ha), Net return (Rs.74500/ha) and B.C ratio (2.89) was
recorded in treatment with 75% RDF through chemical fertilizers + 2 tonnes
FYM/ha + Bio-fertilizer @50g/kg of seed + 2 foliar spray (0.5% ZnSO₄)
was found significantly superior over the control and the technology has been
recommended from multilocational trial for the year 2023-24.

·        
Different entries of Extra early, Early, Medium
and Late durations are being tested and following varieties performed to be the
best during 2022-23: AVT I Late (1043): DKC 9226, AVT I Medium (1044): DKC
9224, AVT II Medium (1045):BH 417206, AVT I Early (1046): CP 999, Baby corn
I-II-III (1064): JH 32434, Sweet corn (911): ISCH 1901, QPM (1066): QPMH 22-21

Ø  BIPM against
fall armyworm, Spodoptera furgiperda showed that there was no significant
difference in yield and cob damage. The number of larvae per plant and percent
plant damage was more in BIPM plots. whereas the number of predators per plant
and percent egg parasitism was significantly higher in BIPM plots.  The yield was comparatively higher in
chemical control (31.72 qt/ha) than BIPM plots (30.71 qt/ha) but no significant
difference in yield and cob damage.

Millet:

·        
Finger millet variety AAU-GSG- MaruaDhan 1 was notified
through Central Variety Release Committee

·        
Foxtail millet variety AAU-GSG- Cawn 1 was released
through State Variety Release Committee

JUTE AND ALLIED FIBRES

Ø Successful crosses made for development of olitorius jute varieties with resistance to pests and diseases with 1 (Tarun X OIN-147) X Tarun;2. Tarun X WCIN 136; 3 (Tarun X OIN-149) X Tarun; 4 (Tarun X OIN 163) X Tarun.

Ø New jute variety-UBCJ-3 (33.14 q/ha) out yielded the best check JRC-517 (31.21 q/ha). BRCJ-6 (31.62 q/ha) was at par with UBCJ-3.

Ø Jute + Red amaranthus inter cropping (broadcasting of Red amaranthus seed @ 10 kg/ha in inter row space of jute) resulted highest equivalent fibre yield of 37.93 q/ha. Pre emergence spraying of Pendimethalin 35% EC @ 525 g/ha (48 hrs of sowing with irrigation or sufficient rain) + one hand weeding (HW) at15 DAE showed lowest weed dry matter of 1.69 q/ha. Highest weed control efficiency of 56.37 % was found in pre emergence spraying of Pendimethalin 35% EC @ 525 g/ha (48 hrs of sowing with irrigation or sufficient rain) + one hand weeding (HW) at15 DAE.

Ø 50% NPK + FYM @ 10 t/ha + PSB yielded highest green biomass yield of flax i.e. 82.40 q/ha

Ø Seed treatment with carbendazim 50 WP @ 0.1% + foliar spray of azoxystrobin @ 0.1% at45 DAS was found to be promising in managing wilt disease of flax.

Ø Seed treatment (carbendazim @ 2g/kg + imidacloprid 600 FS @ 4 g/kg) + spraying of spiromesifen240 SC @ 0.2% at 40 DAS + spraying of lamda cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 0.6 ml/l at 60 DAS and spraying of tebuconazole @ 0.15 % at 60 DAS were promising yielding highest fibre yield of 29.40 q/ha.

Ø Olitorius germplasm JRC-412 (PDI 0.96) and JRO-129 (PDI 1.53) were found to be tolerant against root rot and stem rot.

Rapeseed and Mustard

Ø Trial on bio-management of rapeseed-mustard diseases revealed that the seed treatment with Trichoderma harzianum @ 10g / kg + foliar spray of T.harzianum @ 6g/l at 60 and 75 DAS was found to be most effective with PDI of 21.37 against Alternaria leaf blight disease and yield of 13.87 q ha^-1.

Ø A total of three hundred ninety-seven (397) and eighteen (18) entries of Rapeseed-Mustard were screened against Alternaria blight and Sclerotinia stem rot disease respectively, during Rabi 2022-23. Among them, UND-22-42 & NDN-22-1 showed Moderately Resistant (MR) reaction to Alternaria leaf blight disease.

Ø Organic package of practices of Toria was developed.

LINSEED

Ø Effect of fertilizer in relation to seed yield was significant and significantly highest yield was (736.2 kg/ha) recorded with an increased fertilizer rate upto 100% RDF followed by 50% RDF (711.5 kg/ha). As regards to nutrient management through nano urea, highest seed yield was (730 kg/ha) recorded with two sprays of nano urea @3 ml/litre each at flowering and capsule development stage.

Ø Among the agro techniques for organic linseed production, the crop was heavily influenced by wilt disease. The significantly highest yield (253.7 kg/ha) was recorded in treatment receiving 33% of recommended N through FYM and 33% of recommended N through neem cake and foliar spray of vermi-wash (10% at branching, flowering, and capsule development stages)

Ø The combined application of micronutrients zinc and boron through soil had a significant effect on seed yield. The soil application of ZnSo₄ @ 25kg/ha with Borax @1.5 kg/ha recorded highest seed yield (804 kg/ha).

Ø Varietal difference in relation to seed yield was significant and significantly highest yield was recorded with an increased fertilizer rate upto 150% RDF in Variety T-397 (490.7 kg/ha) followed by Variety Shekhar (443.22 kg/ha)

Pulses

Ø The survey revealed that higher levels of collar rot disease incidence was observed in North Karimganj block with mean disease incidence of 35.19% followed by Borkhola block of Cachar with 34.95% of disease incidence. Based on symptomatic observation it was identified as Sclerotium sp.

Ø Biological suppression of chick pea pod borer Helicoverpa armigera and soil borne diseases of chickpea found that the incidence of fusarium wilt was varied from 0.026% to 0.046%. The percent pod damage and number of natural enemies and was significantly higher in control (45.75%) followed by pheromone @ 25/ha(26.55%), treatment Seed treatment with @10g/Kg and soil application twice @5kg/ha of Trichoderma harzianum NBAIR strain at 25 & 50 days after sowing + Spraying of Bacillus thuringiensis NIBSM Bt 18 1% @10ml/L two sprays at pod initiation and pod formation stage at 15 days interval (23.18%) and lowest was observed in chemical control (9.27%). All the treatments registered significantly higher yield than control.

Ø One new green gram entry, viz., BCM 20-1 gave an exceptionally good grain yield of 1427 kg/ha in comparison to the check variety SGC 16 (1278kg/ha) during summer, 2022. The variety also showed above 90 % synchronous maturity and resistance to all important disease and pests.

Ø One newly developed black gram variety ‘AAU SBC 50’ has completed all the formalities including DNA profiling at NBPGR. The variety was passed by the Plenary (Kharif), 2022 for submission to SVRC for release and notification.

Ø One new high yielding green gram variety viz., SGC 25, which is found to be having the characteristics of synchronous maturity up to 95.0% was included in AICRP trials and MLT during kharif, 2022. An average yield of 1378 kg/ha was obtained for the variety for consecutive 4 years in station trials.

Ø One new high yielding black gram variety viz., SBC 51, which is found to be having erect plant type with shining medium bold grains was included in AICRP trials and MLT during kharif, 2022. An average yield of 1438 kg/ha was obtained for the variety for consecutive 4 years in station trials.

Ø A black gram entry KU 22-93 (1596 kg/ha) gave promising yield during kharif, 2022. The entry will be evaluated further.

Ø The highest grain yield (9 q ha^-1) was recorded under the treatment combination involving seed inoculation with Rhizobium and PSB each @ 50 g/kg, weed management using post-emergence herbicide propaquizafop 2.5 % + imazethapyr 3.75 %ME @ 125 g/ha at 15-20 DAS and foliar nutrition with two sprays of complex NPK (19:19:19) @ 0.5% at flower initiation and pod formation stages.

Ø Altogether seventy mungbean AVT entries were screened against major insect pests viz.,leaf folder, Nacoleia vulgalis, pod borer, Maruca testulalis and pod bugs, Riptortus pedestris and Nezara viridula during Kharif, 2022. Most of the entries viz., twenty six entries such as KME 22-02, KME 22-07, KME 22-11, KME 22-12, KME 22-13, KME 221-14, KME 22-15, KME 22-18, KME 22-20, KME 22-26, KME 22-28, KME 22-34, KME22-39, KME22-40, KME22-43, KME 22-48, KME 22-49,KME 22-51, KME22-53, KME22-55, KME22-57, KME22-58, KME22-59, KME22-61, KME 22-65 and KME 22-66 showed low incidence of leaf folder, low pod damage due to borer and bugs and gave higher yields.

Ø Assessment of economic losses caused due to web blight disease of Kharif urdbean: Lowest Per cent Disease Intensity (PDI) of 9.28 with a yield of 18 q ha-1 and B:C of 2.16 was found in moderately resistant variety (SBC 40) with disease management practice (Seed treatment with imidacloprid @ 5g/kg + foliar spray of Tebuconazole 50 % + Trifloxystrobin 25 % wg @ 0.75 g a.i/l ) and need based spray of insecticide.

Ø Assessment of economic losses caused due to diseases of Kharif mungbean: Lowest Per cent Disease Intensity (PDI) of 12.63 with a yield of 13 q ha-1 and B:C of 1.71 was found in moderately resistant variety (SGC 16) with disease management practice (Seed treatment with imidacloprid @ 5g/kg + foliar spray of Tebuconazole 50 % + Trifloxystrobin 25 % wg @ 0.75 g a.i/l) and need based spray of insecticide.

Ø Seven numbers of fungicides (viz.,Fosetyl AL @0.1%, Carbendazim 50WP @0.1%, Tebiconazole 25EC @0.1%, Propeconazole 25EC @0.1%, Azoxystrobin 13SC @0.05%, Hexaconazole @0.1%, Captan 50WP @ 0.25%) were evaluated against wilt disease of lentil. Among them seed treatment with Azoxystrobin 23 SC @0.05% recorded lowest disease incidence with increased yield over control

Ø Six genotypes including checks were tested and the genotypes differed significantly among themselves under late sown condition. Highest seed yield was recorded by the genotype GNG 2299 (NC) (1317 kg/ha) followed by BG 372 (NC) (1202 kg/ha) significantly out yielding the check GNG 2207 (1018 kg/ha).

Ø Eight ground nut genotypes were tested, and the genotypes differed significantly among themselves in respect of pod yield. The genotype TG 81 (3218 kg/ha) recorded the highest pod yield marginally higher than the best check TG 51 (3148 kg/ha). The trial will be repeated during rabi, 2022-23.

Ø Foliar spray of 0.5% NPK (19:19:19) at pre-flowering and pod initiation stage recorded significantly higher seed yield which was at par with 0.5% NPK (17:40:0) spray at pre-flowering and pod initiation and Seed inoculation with Rhizobium, PSB and KSB each @ 50 g/kg seed at sowing as compared to other treatments.

Ø The chickpea crop receiving inorganic treatment of 100% RDF + Foliar application of DAP+ZnSO₄ at pre-flowering and pod development stages recorded higher seed yield followed by receiving organic treatment of FYM (@ 4t/ha) + foliar (Biophos+Biozinc) each @ 10 ml/lit at pre-flowering and pod development stages as compared to other treatments.

Ø Oganic package of practices of Toria and Lentil were developed and submitted for organic PoP.

Ø Rajabari, Panjan, Deberapara and Chinatoligaon are found hot spots of Meloidogyne incognita in vegetables and fruit crops.

Ø Heterorhabditis bacteriophora was identified from Jorhat district Assam with a frequency of 5.0%

Ø Fifty germplasm of tomato were screened against M. incognita and all were found susceptible

Ø Soil application of neem cake @1t/ha + seed treatment with B.subtilis @10g/kg seed was found effective against M.incognita in cowpea. Neem cake was found to take major role.

Ø Pochonia chlamydosporia and Bacillus pumilus when applied at the time of planting and again at 45 DAP, the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita can be managed in protected cultivation

Sugarcane

Ø While studying the micronutrient requirement of the crop in the problem areas for improving the quality of cane juice, there was no observable difference in the crop growth due to application of different micronutrients. However, application of Zn is found to influence the quality of juice regarding sucrose content.

Ø While studying the nutrient management under organic cultivation of sugarcane, it was revealed that application of compost at higher doses resulted crop growth. Brix and pol reading under various organic treatments were similar.

MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANT

Ø A sustainable essential oil production unit is established at AAU-SMAPRS, Buralikson where extraction of oil from distillation plant is in continuation. Near about 1.5 ha area is under citronella and lemon grass cultivation and expansion of the same is under progress. New plantation of Homolomena sp is also undertaken at the station.

VEGETABLES

· Two technologies on BIPM of cow pea and cucumber was developed. The technology on cowpea was recommended by the technical committee meeting, kharif, 2023 of AAU to PoPas “Three sprays of Verticiliumlacanni 1x10⁸ cfu @ 5ml/lit of water was effective in reducing the aphid (Aphis craccivora) population upto 78.28% with a B:C of 1.74. First spray should be done at 15-20 days after germination followed by second and third spray after 15 days interval”.

· Thirty-three germplasm of mungbean and 15 germplasm of urdbean were screened against M. incognita and all were found susceptible to highly susceptible.

· Eleven fungal and 18 bacterial endophytes were isolated from rhizosphere of different crops.

Citrus

Ø AAU-CPCRS, Tinsukia presently maintaining total 147 numbers of different citrus germplasm under AICRP (F) of which about 100 numbers as primary collection and 47 nos as secondary collections. The IC numbers were obtained for about 41 nubers of germplasm.

Ø Total five numbers of entries namely Flame Grapefruit, NRCC Grapefruit- 6, Star Ruby, Red Blush, Marsh Seedless and Local check were evaluated. Out of these, Star Ruby, Red Blush, Marsh Seedless and Local check were fruiting. The experiment is in initial stage and is in progress.

Ø Out of all nine different entries, the AAUCPCRS-4 was recorded to be best performer in terms of yield (12.32 t/ha) along with fruit quality parameters viz TSS=10.11 Brix, Acidity=0.78%, Juice Content=53.34%, Ascorbic acid=31.76mg/100g and Hedonic scale score=9.7. The experiment is continuing.

Ø Three varieties namely Cutter Valencia, Mosambi and Sathgudi were evaluated. The fruit yield of Mosambi variety was 0.25t/ha in a year with quality recorded as TSS: 7.07 Brix, Juice content 29.17% and Ascorbic acid: 52.89mg/100g.

_Ø Application of 1/6 of RDF for 1 to 6 years followed by application of 60% RDF after 6 years (A₃B₃)recorded maximum plant height (3.27m), and canopy volume (11.88 m³). Higher organic carbon and nutrient status were also found in treatment A₃B_3. Regarding quality parameters, TSS (8.5 ⁰Brix) and maximum number of fruits per tree (228.3) were observed in treatment A₃B_3.

Ø Reduced spacing (500 plants/ha) with 75% inorganic source of N, 25% organic source of N and 100 % P and K (S₂L₁) recorded maximum canopy volume (28.88m³). Higher organic carbon and nutrient status (N= 348 kg/ha, P₂O₅= 24.87 kg/ha, K₂O = 183.8 kg/ha) were also found in S₂ L₁ treatment.

Ø Treatment (T₄) having 75% Vermicompost (on N equivalent basis of RDF) + Trichoderma harzianum (30-40 ml/plant) + Azadirachtin (1% at 3-4 ml/litre as spray) + Pseudomonus fluorescence (30-40 ml/plant) was found effective for improved vegetative growth as compared to other treatments. 0. Standardization of stage wise water requirement in Citrus Crop: Mandarin

Ø Although, no new insect-pest was recorded during 2022-23, one new natural enemy, Spider species, Chilobrchys hardwickei (Theraphosidae) was recorded and identified from Khasi mandarin ecosystem during 2022-23.

Significant Research Achievements during 2023-24

Rice

HYVs viz. Prachur, Satabdi and Patkai which are recommended in 2023 for all zones of Assam.One promising rice variety, Surma Dhan has been notified by the CVRC for the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. OFT of two promising Rajmah lines, AAU-KMJ Rajmah-1 and AAU-KMJ Rajmah-2 in all the six zones of Assam. MLT of one promising aromatic short grain rice line, AAU-KMJ Dhan-47 in IVT-AGT trial under AICRIP.Conducted both MLT as well as OFT of one promising purple rice line, AAU-TTB Dhan-41 (Labanya) in all the six zones of Assam.Conducted MLT of two promising rice lines, TTB 2010-56 and TTB 2010-27 in all the six zones of Assam.Across all the stresses (water stress and anaerobic stress), four rice entries viz. Binnaful, NICRA-16, IC-516149 and CR-3439-4-E-17-2-1-B-1-S-1 showed tolerance to both water stress and anaerobic stress (Multiple abiotic stresses).IET 30241, IET 29859, IL 19100 and IL-19103 have been identified as drought tolerant varieties and are suitable for cultivation under rainfed conditions.

Application of silicon in the form of orthosilicic acid granules @20 kg/ha each at maximum tillering and at flowering is effective in improving plant growth, yield and increase the tolerance to both biotic (stem borer, leaf folder, grain discolouration, blast etc.) and abiotic (moisture stress) stresses in rice.

Two sprays of Cartap hydrochloride 50% SC @ 2 ml/lit at 30 and 50 days after transplanting is enough for management of stem borer and leaf folder of rice.Stem Rot disease of rice could be managed through chemical fungicide Tebuconazole 25.9% EC @ 1.5 mL/L Pongamia oil @ 5ml/l was reported to be effective in controlling rice stem borer followed by Pongamia oil @ 3ml/l and Agniastra 5.0%respectively.Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 %SC at 20-30 DAT +Neem oil @ 5ml/l at 40-50 DAT was reported to be effective in controlling rice stem borer and rice leaf folder.The lowest PDI (22.31%) of sheath blight disease of rice with highest yield (4.35 ton/ha) was observed in plant treated with Propiconazole @0.1%.

Out of thirty-nine isolates, three microbes were identified responsible for rice grain discoloration as Fusarium sp., seven as Rhizopus sp., four as Aspergillus sp., thirteen as Curvulariasp., four as Helminthosporium oryzae, two as Pyricularia oryzae and two as Trichoderma asperellum.

Wheat

Trombay wheat mutants revealed promise of five varieties, viz., TAW 119 (39.92 q/ha in 112 days), TAW 142 (39.28 q/ha in 117 days), TAYT 4 (38.61 q/ha in 113 days) and TAW 228 (38.40 q/ha in 120 days).CYMMIT International Nursery (33HRWSN) (Trial ID 49090): 2 promising entries viz. 2024 and 2026 on per plant yield, ear length and lodging tolerance. Basal application of Borax @ 7.5 kg/ha(1 kg/bigha) for Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone, 10 kg/ha (1.33kg/bigha) for North Bank Plains Zone and Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone in addition to recommended dose of NPK fertilizers has been recommended.

Millet

The first foxtail millet variety of Assam AAU-GSG-Cawn-1 notified through CVRC.

Maize

Demonstrationof BIPMmoduleagainstfallarmyworm,Spodopterafurgiperda, recorded higher number of predators per plant and percent egg parasitism as compared tochemical application. A total of 15 public sector maize hybrids are in MLT in 5 zonal locations for onward recommendation and release.

Mung bean

Mungbean entries namely RMG 1196(1501kg/ha) and SML 2108 (1493 kg/ha) showed promise for summer and KM23-112(1525kg/ha) and KM 23-128 (1444kg/ha) for kharif. Treatment with propaquizafop (2.5%) + imazethapyr (3.75%) 125 g ai/ha at 15-20 DAS resulted in the highest benefit-cost ratio (2.99).

Soybean

The new breeding line AAU JRS 18 (2222 kg/ha) recorded the highest seed yield.

First report of Fusarium incarnatum associated with root rot diseases of soybean through phylogenetic analysis was done.

Urd bean

During 2023-24, one Mungbean var. AAU SGC 20, one Urdbean var. AAU SBC 47 and one Field pea var. AAU SPC 101were notified by CVRC for cultivation in Assam.Urdbeanentries KPU 18-5(1539kg/ha) and PU 1804 (1403 kg/ha) for summer and KU 23-73 (1859 kg/ha) and KU 23-63 (1709 kg/ha) for kharif. MLT on Mungbean var. SGC 25 and Urdbean var. SBC 51 completed duringkharif 2023-24. Application of Propaquizafop 2.5% + imazethapyr 3.75 % @ 125 g/ha at 15-20 DAS resulted in highest yield. Foliar nutrition with 2 sprays of NPK 19:19:19 @ 0.5 % at flower and pod initiation recorded the highest grain yield closely followed by two sprays of nano urea @ 0.25 % at flower and pod initiation stages.Organic Package of Practices on KharifGreengram var. SGC 16 (Rupohi) and Blackgram var. SBC 40 (Shyamal) has been recommended

Chickpea

PG 265 variety (AVT-2) was the highest yielder with 1264 kg/ha, and at par with GNG 2207, RSGD 1155 with 1118 kg/ha was the highest yielder in AVT1. Application of Oxyfluorfen 150 g a.i./ha (PE) fb Topramezone@ 20.6 g a.i./ha at 14-21 DAS recorded significantly higher seed yield of chickpea (1175 kg/ha)

Lentil

Lentil IVT +AVT 1 (small seeded):Highest Yielders were PLS 22-1 and BRL 32-2 under small seed category, while BCL 10145 has been found to be the highest yielder under rice fallow condition.Propiconazole 25 EC (0.1%) was highly effective in managing the wilt disease of lentil.

Field Pea:

SPC 105 of field pea is a green seeded line, which is showing good promise.

Horsegram

Package of practices of Horse gram developed and accepted as ad-hoc basis.A local cultivar of horse gram, Mancachar Local is set for MLT for onward recommendation and release.

Jute

Best entries of Capsularis Jute Germplasm were CIN-265, CIN-248, and CIN-251 for plant height; while CIN-252, CIN-242, and CIN-248 for base diameter, and CIN-274 and CIN-259 for fibre yield per plant.Best entries of Olitorius Jute Germplasm were OIN-237 and OIN-248 for plant height Application of 100% NPK on Soil Test-Based Targeted Yield (ST-TY) + organic manure (equivalent to 5 t/ha of FYM) resulted in the highest fibre yield of 24.49 q/ha.Jute + mung intercropping (1:1) resulted in the highest equivalent fibre yield of 22.16 q/ha. Post-emergence spray of Quizalofop ethyl 10% EC @ 38 g/ha at 15 DAE + one hand weeding at 30 DAS showed the highest weed control efficiency.Flax seed yield was highest in Flax + Red Amaranthus (2:1) intercropping among various treatments.

Rapeseed and Mustard

Breeding lines namely SBG-23-32, UDN-23-15, NDN-23-18 & SIVT-23-122 showed Moderately Resistant (MR) reaction to Alternaria leaf blight disease.Recommendation made on Basal application of N-P₂O₅ -K₂0 @ 60-30-30 kg/ha along with foliar application of 200ppm salicyclic acidat flowering and siliqua formation stages of toria.Seed treatment with Trichoderma harzianum@ 10g / kg + foliar spray of T.harzianum @ 6g/l at 60 and 75 DAS was found to be most effective with PDI of 20.70 against Alternaria leaf blight disease. Apply two irrigations of 4 cm depth at pre-flowering (20 DAS) and flowering (40 DAS) stages along with a spacing of 25 cm x 25 cm in toria

Sesame

Organic Package of Practices on Summer &Kharif Sesame var. AAU SHL TIL 1 has been developed and recommended

Linseed

LCK 2209 was recorded to be the highest yielder, followed by SLS 143.Linseed ERA (Irrigated) best performers were Garima, Neelum, and Meera for seed yield.Zero till sowing of linseed after medium duration paddy variety Numoliwasobservedas the best cropping sequence. Among the nitrogen management treatments, application of 75 % of RDF along with 2 foliar sprays of Nano urea @ 3ml/lit at Flower initiation and capsule development stage gave highest seed yield. Seed treatment with Azoxystrobin 25% SC @1.0 ml/kg seed + soil application of Azoxystrobin 25% SC @1.0 ml/l at 30 DAS was highly effective in managing wilt disease of linseed.

Sugarcane

Multilocation Trial on Sugarcane Variety Kakodunga (CoBLn 04174) recorded as yield advantage of 15.70 % over the check variety Borak. Application of 15 t/ha compost with FYM @5 t/ha one month before planting produced the highest cane yield.Study on the effect of intercropping with sugarcane resulted feasibility of growing cowpea as successful intercrop in sugarcane.

Potato

Three numbers of Spray of Dimethamorph 50% @1.5g/lit at 15 days interval after the initiation of disease successfully manage the late blight disease in potato.

Citrus

Pummelo variety NRCC-Pummelo-2 recommended for commercial cultivation in Assam. Molecular indexing of Khasi mandarin and sweet orange candidates of different locations of Assam against Citrus greening disease (CGD) and Citrus tristeza virus (CTV).The studies on scionic compatibility of Assam lemon with twelve different Citrus rootstocks revealed that Assam lemon has better graft compatibility with rootstocks such as Rough lemon, NRCC–4, NRCC–1, Citrange.

Banana

ü Foliar spray of imidacloprid 17.8 SL@ 0.3 ml/L or thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 0.2 g/L is effective in managing banana leaf and fruit scarring beetle population. The incidence of red palm weevil, Rhynchophorusferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Rhynchophoridae) on banana cultivar, “AsomiyaMalbhog” was reported for the first time from Assam.LC₅₀ values against B. subcostatumwere: castor oil (0.404)>neem oil (1.864)>pongamia seed oil (2.201)>jatropha seed oil (5.141) after 72 hours exposure.

Ginger

Powder formulation of T. harzianumAAU-MC2: Rhizome treatment (@ 20 g kg-1+basal application) found suitable for the management of ginger rhizome rot.

Vegetables

Evaluation of BIPM practices against sucking pests and fruit flies showed reduction in fruit damage by 58.85% as comparted to 51.63% in the control.Three sprays of Verticiliumlacanni 1x10⁸cfu@ 5ml/lit of water was effective in reducing the aphid (Aphis craccivora) population upto 78.28% with a B:C of 1.74.BIPM against fruit flies Bactrocera spp. with B:C ratio 2.86.

Palm

Evaluation of new coconut hybrids of location specific cross combinations revealed the highest nut yield (97.6 nuts/palm/year) was recorded in AGT x PHOT.

Cocoa

The highest plant height, stem girth, jorquette height, plant spread (E-W and N-S) and canopy area (14.54 m²) were recorded in VTLC-20.

Flowers

Application of split doses of N:P:K @ 30:25:10 g/m² in gladiolus significantly increased the corm weight and corm diameter.Three sprays of Tebuconazole 23% EC (0.5ml/l) or Difenoconazole (0.5ml/l) at 10 days interval recorded less infection of Alternaria blight in Marigold.Four sprays of Pyraclostrobin 20% WG (1g/ l) or Difenoconazole 25% EC (0.5 ml/l) at 10 days interval effectively controlled Alternaria blight in Gerbera.Three sprays of Azoxystrobin (0.03%) or Difenoconazole (0.05%) at 10 days interval exhibited the highest control of leaf spot/blight in Tuberose.

Spices

Panniyur-1 registered highest fresh berry yield (2.85 kg/plant) and dry berry yield (1.048 kg/plant).Rhizomes treated with Tebuconazole @ 1ml/l + Imidacloprid @ 0.5 ml/l for 30 mins) exhibited lowest incidence of rhizome rot.

PFDC

Developed a technology on micro irrigation of Rabi Onion i.e. application of 70 ml water per plant per day along with 260 kg/ha water soluble fertilizer (19:19:19) in five equal splits at 20 days interval up to 100 days after transplanting and rest 20 kg urea/ha as basal dose.

Agroforestry system

Locally collected and raised of Gmelina arborea (& AAU 16) recorded 29.13 m and 27.15 m tree height and 49.99 cm and 51.48 cm dbh respectively.Maximum increment of Gmelina arborea tree height (371%), collar girth (298%) and canopy diameter (257%) recorded in Green Gram-Toria sequence as Intercrop.

Natural Farming

Established a bio input production unit at ICR farm, AAU, Jorhat under the project Establishment of Natural Farming and Organic Agriculture under R & D sponsored by Government of Assam.

Honeybee research

The infestation of small hive beetle (Aethinatumida) was reported for the first time in Assam in hives of Apis cerana colonies in Jorhat and Goalpara districts.Foliar application of SA had no significant effect on the foraging time of bee pollinators, including Apis cerana, Apis dorsata and Tetragonulairidipennis during flowering stages of rapeseed. 

Soil Arthropod pests

Soil drenching of clothianidin 50 WDG @ 250 g/ha (125g a.i./ha or 1g/2lit of water) at 35-40 days after planting was found effective for managing white grubs in Colocasia.

Agril. Acarology

Azadirachtin was found to be superior to the other oils in terms of litchi mite control (86.56%), fruit yield (24.80 kg/plant).Some phoratic mites were found to feed on the bottom board debris, which is a new record from Assam.

Biofertilizer

Commercialized the liquid formulations of Azotobacter Biofertilizer, Azotobacter based consortia, Azospirillum Biofertilizer, Azospirillum based consortia, Rhizobium Biofertilizer, Rhizobium based consortia, Phosphate Solubilizing Biofertilizer, Potassium Solubilizing Biofertilizer and Zinc Solubilizing Biofertilizer.

Integrated Farming System research

Integrated Farming System (IFS) model for 1.0 ha area under rainfed condition with crop (Field + Hort.) + Cattle+ Fishery + Poultry+ Duckery + Goatery + Apiary along with supplementary components (Liquid manure, Vermi-composting and Bio-gas unit) is designed, tested and validated to support a farm family of 5 members. Long-term (36 years) study revealed a negative NPK balance in case of reduced doses of RDF (Recommended Doses of Fertilizer) treatments as well as in control and farmers practice treatment. Raised and sunken bed technique - a land configuration specially designed by cutting and filling method for low laying areas) could help in proper utilization of the area throughout the year.

Soil Micronutrient Research

RDF of NPK ( 30:40:20 kg ha^-1) + application of Boron as basal @ 1.5 kg ha^-1 and two foliar sprays of 0.50 % ZnSO_4.7H₂O at 25 and 45 days after sowing in French bean recorded the highest yield. Zinc application in kharif maize (RDF of NPK (60:40:40 kg ha^-1) + soil application of Zn @ 2.5 kg ha^-1 with three foliar application of 0.50% ZnSO_4.7H₂O at knee high, tasseling and silking stage) gives highest yield.

Vertebrate pest management

The use of self-moving mechanical Drive Away Bird has shown encouraging results by giving higher yield of summer rice. The crops grown inside the solar fencing (AGRI-SOLAR) gave significantly higher yield. Spraying of ecodon (1:20) on bunds at maximum tillering(MT) stage+ zinc phosphide baiting at panicle initiation(PI) stage+ bamboo traps (50 traps/ha) at maturity stage ) recorded the highest reduction in rodent population in Kharif rice.

Farm machinery and implement

Mat type nursery making machine is a reliable machine run on electricity which ensures uniform and better quality mat. Nursery for 1ha of paddy planting can be finished in 1 hour.By using topographic survey and laser leveler, paddy field check dam density can be reduced from 2320 m/ha to 1523 m/ha.

Soil Test based Crop Response STCR

Conducted OFTs on Fertilizer Prescription Equations on Hybrid maize in 5KVKs of Assam and conducted verification trials on winter rice, Numali at Danichapari, Dergaon, Golaghat, Assam

Mushroom research

Two hybrid mushroom strains were developed through hybridization technique for improved quality and yield. Research was initiated to improve qualitative properties of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) through gamma irradiation.

Nematodes in agriculture

Two hot spots of Meloidogyne graminicola was identified at Nagajurigaon (26.6797 & 93.4035), Naojan Block, Golaghat district. Seven hot spot locations of Meloidogyne incognita in vegetable crops were identified.

Community Sciences

Thirty two numbers of Nutri-Gardens were established in different blocks of Jorhat and Golaghat district. Altogether 20 numbers of millet based standard food recipe were prepared under Shree Anna Gram programme

Agril. Engineering

A patent on “Natural draft gas fired tea dryer for small tea growers” is granted in 2024and also developed a Pedal operated Roselle deseeder along with development of optimized process for BorThekera (Garcinia Pedunculta).

GI obtained

Official launching of premium quality AAU-select products on
Online Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

Initial assortment for
debut launch

            
Masala chai

            
Elaichi tea

            
Green tea

ØZeugo
Lure- A fruit fly lure