The soil moisture available in the red sandy soils, red loams, medium black soils and deep black at Bijapur was estimated using a simple climatic water balance model. As the ratio of actual evapotranspiration to the potential evapotranspiration  gives the rate at which water is supplied compared to the demand for water the values of the ratio AE/PEwith 40, 60 and 80 per cent probabilities in different soils were presented. The planting' schedules for short, medium and long duration crops  were worked out and the chances of sowing the crops of differentdurations during the optimum sowing periods were given.

Background and Objective Invasive thrips, Thrips parvispinus Karny recently reported in India, causing a widespread severe infestation in more than 0.4 million ha of chilli (Capsicum annum L.) growing areas. This species is native to Thailand and most prevalent in other South East Asian countries. Large scale cultivation of the major host plants (chilli and papaya), and favourable climatic conditions in India and other countries similar to native range of Thrips parvispinus expected to favour its further spread and establishment to new areas. Materials and Methods The present study was undertaken to confirm invasive thrips species identity through both morphological and molecular approaches and predict its potential invasion using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm. Results The model predicted species range in respect of discrimination of suitable and unsuitable areas for its occurrence both in current and future climatic scenarios. The model provided a good fit for species distribution with a high value of area under the curve (0.957). The jackknife test indicated annual mean temperature and precipitation were found to be the most important bioclimatic variable in determining the distribution of T. parvispinus. High suitability areas were predicted in the countries wherever its occurrence was reported with high discrimination ability of suitable and unsuitable areas. Key distinguishing morphological characters of T. parvispinus were illustrated through high-resolution scanning electron microscopic images. Conclusion The identity of the thrips causing wide spread damage in chilli confirmed through morphological and molecular approaches. Key identifying characters were described through high resolution scanning electron microscopic images for accurate identification of the species. MaxEnt model identified high suitability regions for the potential establishment of T. parvispinus in India and other parts of the world. This study facilitates forecasting of further spread and also suggests imposing strict domestic quarantine measures to curtail its establishment in the new areas.

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of flubendiamide 480 SC against okra fruit and shoot borer, Earias vitella (Fab.) during Rabi season, 2012-2013

The probabilities of getting optimum sowing rains for long, medium and short duration varieties of ragiin Bangalore district were analysed on the basis of daily rainfall records often taluk rain gauge stations. The study reveals that the farmer cannot depend upon the same duration variety all the years and they have to choose a variety depending upon the date of receipt of sowing rains under dry land conditions. In general, it was found that sowing will be a considerable problem in southern parts of Bangalore district, comprising of Channapatna Ramanagaram and Kanakapura taluks.