Background: Pre-sowing seed hardening and foliar spray with plant growth regulators is an easy, low cost and low risk technique and also an alternative approach recently used to mitigate the effect of abiotic stresses in agricultural production. Methods: The mung bean var. GAM-5 was treated with seed hardening treatments and also for foliar spray using CaCl2 2% and 1%, CCC 500 mg/L, CCC 1000 mg/L, NAA 25 mg/L, NAA 50 mg/L. during summer season of 2015-16 and 2016-17. The trial was laid out in RBD with three replications and sixteen treatment combinations. Result: The results indicated a significant improvement in morpho-physiological growth parameters, dry matter production and thereby yield potential increased due to the application of plant growth regulators and agrochemical under field conditions. Among the different treatments, seed hardening with 2% CaCl2 + 1% foliar spraying at 30 DAS (T11) treatment significantly improved most of morpho-physiological parameters and thereby yield in green gram followed by the seed hardening treatments of Cycocel 1000 mg/L + foliar spraying at 30 DAS (T13) and seed hardening with NAA 50 mg/L + foliar spraying at 30 DAS (T15).

Background: Green gram is a drought resistant crop requires low inputs. The productivity of mung bean is very low. Initial germination, growth and vigour are some major reasons of low productivity. The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of seed hardening on morpho-physiological and seedling quality characters in green gram. Methods: The green gram var. GAM-5 was imposed with seed hardening treatments viz., 2% CaCl2, 500 ppm Cycocel, 1000 ppm Cycocel, 25 ppm NAA, 50 ppm NAA, water soaked control and absolute control. The treated seeds along with control were evaluated for their seedling quality characters under laboratory conditions. Result: The study reported that seeds hardened with CaCl2 @ 2% recorded higher germination per cent, root, shoot and seedling length, fresh weight, turgor weight, dry weight and seed vigour index I and II. Seed hardened with 50 ppm NAA reported higher root dry weight and root to shoot ratio on dry weight basis while Cycocel 1000 ppm treatment recorded higher root to shoot ratio on length basis. The treatments CaCl2 2% followed by Cycocel 1000 ppm were found to be superior as compared to other treatments and control on the basis of lab studies.

:The present study on cost benefit analysis of sugarcane cultivation in Bhandara district was undertaken in Sakoli, Pavani and Tumsar tehsils of Bhandara district in the year 2014-15 with a view to socio-economic characteristics of sugarcane farmers, examine input used, cost structure and returns in production of sugarcane. The present study is based on total 90 sugarcane farmers. The nature of data based on primary data with personal interview method. The cropping intensity was 181.92 per cent at overall level. The highest cropping intensity observed in large type of land holding. i.e. 200.00 per cent. The per hectare cost of production (Cost C 2 ) of sugarcane during the year 2014-15 for the overall level was Rs.92949.02 and average per hectare gross returns were Rs.148101.01. The average net returns obtained at an overall basis were Rs.55324.98. The input-output ratio on an overall basis was 1.59. The average cost of production per tonne for sugarcane was Rs.1172.25. The major constraints faced in the farmers of sugarcane was low level of productivity (87.22%) whereas in marketing of sugarcane the major constraint expressed by sample farmers was low FRP prize (82.22%).

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