The primary objectives of modern agriculture includes the environmental sustainability, low production costs, improved plants’ resilience to various biotic and abiotic stresses, and high sowing seed value. Delayed and inconsistent field emergence poses a significant threat in the production of agri-crop, especially during drought and adverse weather conditions. To open new routes of nutrients’ acquisition and revolutionizing the adapted solutions, stewardship plans will be needed to address these questions. One approach is the identification of plant based bioactive molecules capable of altering plant metabolism pathways which may enhance plant performance in a brief period of time and in a cost-effective manner. A biostimulant is a plant material, microorganism, or any other organic compound that not only improves the nutritional aspects, vitality, general health but also enhances the seed quality performance. They may be effectively utilized in both horticultural and cereal crops. The biologically active substances in biostimulant biopreparations are protein hydrolysates (PHs), seaweed extracts, fulvic acids, humic acids, nitrogenous compounds, beneficial bacterial, and fungal agents. In this review, the state of the art and future prospects for biostimulant seedlings are reported and discussed. Biostimulants have been gaining interest as they stimulate crop physiology and biochemistry such as the ratio of leaf photosynthetic pigments (carotenoids and chlorophyll), enhanced antioxidant potential, tremendous root growth, improved nutrient use efficiency (NUE), and reduced fertilizers consumption. Thus, all these properties make the biostimulants fit for internal market operations. Furthermore, a special consideration has been given to the application of biostimulants in intensive agricultural systems that minimize the fertilizers’ usage without affecting quality and yield along with the limits imposed by European Union (EU) regulations.

No abstract

Field experiment was conducted during rabi 2016-17 to 2018-19 to determine the effect of INM on of yield and economic attributes of broccoli at Vegetable Farm, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur. Nine different treatment combinations, viz. full recommended dose of NPK through chemical fertilizer, FYM@ 20 tonnes /ha, FYM @ 10 tonnes/ha+ half NPK through chemical fertilizer, neem cake @ 5 q/ha, neem cake @ 2.5q/ha + half NPK through chemical fertilizer, vermicompost @ 5 t/ha, vermicompost @ 2.5 t/ha + half NPK through chemical fertilizer, poultry manure @ 5 t/ha and poultry manure @ 2.5 t/ha + half NPK through chemical fertilizer were tested in randomized block design with four replications under AICRP on Vegetable Crops. Aishwarya varietyof broccoli was transplanted at a spacing of 45 cm × 45 cm. Results of the experiment revealed that the application ofvermicompost @ 2.5 t/ha + half NPK through chemical fertilizer recorded significantly highest head weight (386.80g), total yield (204.76 q/ha), net income (` 108832/ha) and B:C ratio (3.15). Therefore, the practice of vermicompost integration with half dose of chemical fertilizers may be recommended to exploit the better eco-friendly economic yield of broccoli.

An experiment was conducted for 2 years (2018 and 2019) at Oilseed Research Farm, Kalyanpur, C. S. A. University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India to evaluate the effect of nutrient management practices on growth and yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L) R. Br. Emend. Stuntz.). Highest yield was observed in 5t FYM/ha application over control. Each unit increase in N level led to significant increase in growth, yield attributing characters and yield of pearlmillet. The maximum grain yield (24.2q/ha) was recorded with highest N level. Combined inoculation of Azospirillum + PSB increased the growth, yield attributes and yields significantly. The monetary returns were found in similar trends. Application of organic manure and bio-fertilizers resulted in desirable post-harvest soil status with more organic carbon (OC), Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potash (K).

No abstract