Background: Cauliflower, one of the important commercial vegetable crops, grown in the plains and mid hills of Nepal, ranks first in terms of area and production among vegetables in Nepal. The majority of the farmers grow cauliflower in mid-season (September-December) because of favorable environmental conditions, low cost of production and higher yield than those in early and late seasons. During the mid-season, farmers use hybrid cultivars predominantly because of their relatively high yield. However, in terms of taste along with qualitative characteristics and production cost, open pollinated (OP) cultivars are far superior to hybrids. In addition, OP cultivars also serve as the organic farming avenues as well and there is a need to promote these OP cultivars.
Methods: An experiment was conducted in the horticulture farm of the Campus of Live Sciences located at Tulsipur, Dang, Nepal at an altitude of 725 m for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022 AD) to evaluate the growth and yield performance of different open pollinated cauliflower cultivars. Five open pollinated cauliflower cultivars viz. Kathmandu Local, Khumal Jyapu, Agheni, Terai-1 and Terai-2 were treated as treatments and were replicated four times in Randomized Complete Block Design.
Results: The experiment revealed that the cauliflower cultivar Khumal Jyapu and Agheni had consistently higher plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, leaf length, leaf breadth, fresh leaf weight, biological yield, economic yield, and harvest index.
Conclusion: Considering their economically important growth and yield attributes Khumal Jyapu and Agheni were found to be the suitable mid-season cultivars under Dang condition. Hence, Khumal Jyapu and Agheni could be promoted for cultivation in the agro climatic zones related to that of Tulsipur, Dang.
Plants face various abiotic stresses, such as heat, cold, drought, salinity, flooding, and heavy metals. These stresses negatively impact plant growth and development, which affects agricultural productivity and can lead to food security issues, ultimately causing economic losses. Incorporating nanotechnology into modern agriculture can help improve water use efficiency, prevent plant diseases, ensure food security, reduce environmental pollution, and promote sustainability. Nanoparticles can enhance stress tolerance and boost crop yield and quality by stimulating enzyme activity, increasing photosynthetic efficiency, and controlling plant pathogens. The use of nano-agrochemicals, such as nano-pesticides, nano-herbicides, and nano-fertilizers, has grown recently as a promising technology for supporting plant growth. Nanomaterials offer many benefits for sustainable crop production, including reducing nutrient loss, suppressing diseases, and increasing yields.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the staple food crops globally. Rice is critical for global nutritional security, especially in Asia. Both geogenic and anthropogenic sources, such as the use of pesticides derived from agriculture, can contaminate farming soils with heavy metals. Long-term exposure to heavy metals through food, including rice intake, can result in cancer and non-cancer health effects, with Pb, Cd, and As being particularly hazardous. The importance of silicon was mainly demonstrated in reducing the negative impacts of heavy metals and other abiotic stresses on plants. Rice has a strong affinity for silicon, and when compared to other plant species, its root system has a noticeably better capability for absorbing silicon.
