A field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2001-2002 at Mangalpur, Chitwan, Nepal to evaluate the performance of rapeseed in different agronomic management practices. The experiment was conducted with 16 treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments included control without input and four agronomic inputs (NPK, FYM, micronutrient- Zn, B and S and weeding), six and four combinations of two and three inputs respectively and a full package with all inputs. Application of NPK fertilizers increased leaf area and total dry matter per plant significantly as compared to control and weeding practice at 55 and 40 DAS, respectively. Further, in two factor combinations, significantly higher leaf area and particularly total dry matter per plant was produced by the application of NPK fertilizers with FYM at all stages (25 to 85 DAS) of growth and development. Finally, exclusion of NPK fertilizers in the combination of three agronomic inputs significantly lowered leaf area and total dry matter per plant as compared to others which included it at 40 and 70 DAS. All above mentioned trends were reflected on rapeseed yield indicating its significant correlation with leaf area (r=0.971) and total dry matter per plant (r=0.976). In general, addition of NPK fertilizers to other combinations of agronomic inputs increased leaf area and total dry matter per plant significantly. Key words: Leaf area, dry matter, agronomic inputs, yield J. Inst. Agric. Anim. Sci. 26:51-55 (2005)

A field experiment was conducted to study the impact of topping at different growth stages (3-4, 6-7, 9-10 and 12-13 sympodial branches) on productivity of two (Tamcot SP-37 and H-777) cotton varieties under rainfed condition at the Kumbher Farm (Bardiya district) of Cotton Development Board in 1995. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications. The interaction effect between variety and stages of topping showed that significantly higher yield (1.23 t/ha) was produced by topping plants at the stage of 12-13 sympodial banches of the variety Tamcot SP-37 as compared to all other treatments. At all stages of topping the yield produced by Tamcot SP-37 was significantly higher than H-777. The average seed cotton yield (1.03 t/ha) of Tamcot SP-37 was significantly higher than that of H- 777 (0.71 t/ha) and the difference in yield was 45.0%. The seed-cotton yield increased from 0.75 to 1.00 t/ ha with the postponed of topping from 3-4 to 12-13 sympodial branches, but significant difference was recorded between late (12-13 sympodial branches) and early (3-4 and 6-7 sympodial branches) stages of topping. Thus, for rainfed condition of Bardiya Tamcot SP-37 was a suitable variety with 12-13 sympodial branches as an appropriate stage of topping for sustainable production of cotton. Key words: Variety, topping, sympodial branches. J. Inst. Agric. Anim. Sci. 27:165-168 (2006)

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An experiment was conducted at the experiment field of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal in 1999/2000 to assess the effect of mulch and the timing of nitrogen application on the performance of surface seeded wheat crop under zero-tillage condition. The experiment consisted of eight treatments that included 1/2 dose of N at sowing and 1/2 at crown root initiation (CRI) stage; 1/2 dose of N at 11 days after sowing and 1/2 at CRI; whole dose of N at CRI stage; and 1/2 dose of N at CRI and 1/2 40 days after sowing, with and without mulch using rice straw @ 4 ton/ha. The result showed that mulch was effective in conserving soil moisture, suppressing weeds and enhancing yield and yield attributing parameters. Similarly, application of nitrogen at two splits i.e. 1/2 dose of N at CRI and 1/2 at 40 days after sowing with mulch produced significantly higher grain yield (4547 kg/ha) whereas significantly lower grain yield (2267 kg/ha) was obtained from the treatment of 1/2 dose of N at sowing and 1/2 at CRI without mulch. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajn.v1i0.7547 Agronomy Journal of Nepal (Agron JN) Vol. 1: 2010 pp.85-93