Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a very important vegetable crop of the world. However, there is a huge loss in tomato production due to pest and disease incidence. Tomato leaf miner is a devastating pest of tomato and other Solanaceous crops in many vegetable crop growing areas around the world and it also attacks non-solanaceous crops. The larva is the most devastating stage of tomato leaf miner. After egg hatching, the larvae feed on tomato fruits, leaves, flower buds, and young shoots and create mines and galleries. Larval feeding may reduce tomato production by 80-100 % in an open field as well as in a plastic house if no control measures are carried out. Chemical control has been found ineffective due to a wide host range and has developed resistance to dozens of pesticides. Hence, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices involving mass trapping of the pest using pheromone trap, biological control by a predator, parasitoid, entomopathogenic microbes, including cultural practices should be implemented for the effective control of this pest.

The application of inorganic nutrient sources is necessary for proper agricultural growth that can ensure high quality food production. A field experiment was carried out in Hansapur, Dhanusha from March 2021 to July 2021 to study the effect of different fertilizer doses on the growth and yield of rice. The experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 7 different treatments following three replications. The treatments were named as T1: Control, T2: RDF (Recommended dose of fertilizers - 100:30:30 kg NPK/ha), T3: Double dose of RDF (200: 60: 60 kg NPK/ha), T4: A half dose of RDF (50: 15: 15 kg NPK/ha), T5: 125% dose of RDF (125: 37.5: 37.5 kg NPK/ha), T6: Locally available Azolla (300 kg/ha), and T7: FYM (6 ton/ha), respectively. Different doses of RDF showed a significant effect on growth, yield, and yield contributing characters of Chaite-5 variety. Results of the study showed that the application of a double dose of RDF (200: 60: 60 kg NPK/ha) gave the maximum yield (9.50 ton/ha). It was also recorded that 125% dose of RDF, recommended dose of fertilizers and FYM gave satisfactory results. Results revealed that the highest plant height, effective tillers/hill, panicle number, panicle length, total spikelet/hill, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, and straw yield were obtained from the use of a double dose of RDF (200: 60: 60 kg NPK/ha). It was observed that yield of rice can be increased substantially with the application of higher doses of nitrogenous fertilizers. Hence, a double dose of fertilizer can be the best supplement for improving growth and yield in rice.

for testing the efficacy of different fungicides adopting poisoned food method against the pathogen Pyricularia oryzae causing rice blast disease. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with 10 treatments including control following 3 replications of each. Two concentrations (50 ppm and 100 ppm) each of different fungicides viz. Dithane M-45 (Mancozeb 75%W.P), Bavistin (Carbendazim 50 % W.P), Antracol (Propineb 70%W.P) , Diamethmorph 50%WP, Sectin ( Fenamidone 10%+ Mancozeb 50%W.G),Protector ZN ( Chlorothalonil 75% W.P), Safaya (Carbendazim 12%+ mancozeb63% W.P) , Nativo 75% W.G (Tebuconazole 50%+ Trifloxystrobin25%W.G) and Topcare ( Azoxystrobin 50% W.D.G) were evaluated against the growth of the pathogen. Results showed that lower concentration (50ppm) of Bavistin and Safaya fully inhibited the growth of the pathogen while Nativo at higher concentration (100 ppm) was shown to exhibit 100% inhibition of the pathogen. The fungicides significantly inhibited the mycelia growth with the increase in concentration of fungicide. However, the fungicides found effective for mycelia inhibition of P.oryzae should be further tested in field conditions to verify their efficacy as well the optimum dozes of fungicide should be re-evaluated.

Soil fertility evaluation is an important aspect in the context of sustainable agricultural production of an area. This study was carried out to find the soil fertility status of the Dhanushadham Municipality, Dhanusha, Nepal located at 26°52’N, 86o02’E using GPS and GIS Using Google Earth Pro (GEP) and ArcGIS, 61 soil samples were collected based on land use, slope, and aspects. The soil's texture, pH, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, and potassium levels were all measured. Most of the study area (36.35%) has loam soils, followed by sandy loam soil (28.17%). The soil pH ranged from 5.2 to 7.5, indicating that it was strongly acidic to nearly neutral. Soil organic matter (SOM) ranged from 1.14% to 1.83% with a mean value of 1.52% in most of the soil. Total nitrogen was 0.08%, available phosphorus was 120.96 kg/ha, and available potassium was 146.13 kg/ha, respectively. In the study area, total nitrogen was found to be medium, phosphorus found to be high, and potassium was found to be low. To maintain soil nutrient status, organic manure, reduced use of chemical fertilizers, and different soil management practices should be used. The study concludes that GPS and GIS-based soil fertility mapping assists farmers, scientists, planners, researchers, and students in providing soil test-based fertilizer recommendations for sustainable soil management and developing future farm research strategies.

A field experiment was conducted at Horticulture farm of Nepal Polytechnic Institute (NPI) Bharatpur-11, Chitwan to study the effects of different doses of vermicompost on growth, yield and quality of radish (Raphanus sativus L. cv. Mino Early) from January 2020 to March 2020. Five different doses (0 ton, 5 ton, 10 ton, 15 ton, and 20 ton per hectare) of vermicompost were taken as treatments and the experiment was replicated four times. The experiment was set up in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The result of the study showed that there was a significant effect of different doses of vermicompost on plant height, the number of leaves per plant, spreading of the plant, root length, root weight per plant, root diameter, and root yield at harvesting. The maximum plant height, the maximum number of leaves per plant and maximum plant spreading in radish plant on vermicompost application was recorded every 30, 45 and 60 days after sowing (DAS). The maximum root length (29.60 cm), maximum root diameter (36.27 mm), maximum root weight (191.8 g), maximum biomass weight (241.6 g/plant), maximum root yield (47.9 ton/ha), were recorded on applying 15 ton/ha vermicompost at 60 DAS. The control treatment showed the minimum vegetative growth and yield. Among the different doses of vermicompost, the overall performance of radish was found better in 15 ton/ha of vermicompost. Statistical analysis showed no differences among (5 ton, 10 ton, 15 ton, 20 ton per hectare of vermicompost) applications. Hence, 5 ton per hectare of vermicompost application will be best for radish production in Chitwan.