| dc.description | Bangladesh having a population of 150 million, with a growth rate of 1.59 per annum,
comprises 9.98 million hectare of total cultivable land of which rice occupies 77.00 %,
wheat 2.50%, jute 4.74%, pulses 1.70% and oils 2.50% under single, double and triple
cropping pattern (BBS, 2011). Till to date, agriculture is the main stream of Bangladesh's
economy and employment. The present contribution of agriculture to GDP is 19.95%
employing 21.34% of the total national employment (BBS, 2011). The ever-increasing
population of Bangladesh needs more food and fibre for mere survival, which has
necessitated the uses of high input agricultural technologies and intensive cropping
systems. Intensified production practices have let to use higher-than-traditional rates of
nutrients to reach high yield goals of different crops. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Acute shortage of quality jute seeds (Corchorus olitorius) accentuated conduction of this
study in order to find out appropriate doses and proper application of potassium (K) and
boron (B) in quest of increasing seed production and improving seed qualities for longer
duration of storage. To achieve these objectives, a research plan was made with three
experiments conducted at the Jute Seed Production and Research Center, Nashipur,
Dinajpur during July 2007 to December 2008. First experiment had the target for selecting
appropriate dose and methods for K application from amongst six levels of K (0, 30, 60, 90,
120 & 150 kg ha!) applied in three ways -(i) all K as basal at final land preparation, (ii) half
as basal and rest half as top dressing at 30-35 days after sowing (DAS), and (iii) one- third
as basal one third at 25 DAS and one- third at 45 DAS as top dressing. Of all the
parameters studied, the following six -(i) shoot dry matter yield, (ii) seed yield, (iii) seed
quality (viability, vigour, seedling dry matter, EC, soluble protein, soluble sugar), (iv) seed
shelf life (deterioration of seed quality as in (iii), (v) benefit cost ratio (BCR), and (vi) K and
B, balance in soils, were used for selection of better treatments. Out of 16 treatments, only
basal applications of 30, 60, and 90 kg K ha" were selected from the first experiment. The
second experiment was conducted parallel to first experiment with four levels of B (0, 1, 2,
& 3 kg ha‘) for application as - (1) basal (2) half as basal and half as top dressing at 35
DAS, (3) half as basal and half at 35 DAS as foliar spray, (4) one- third as basal, one third at
25 DAS and one- third at 45 DAS as top dressing, and (v) one- third as basal, one -third at
25 DAS and one- third at 45 DAS as foliar spray. Of the 16 treatments, basal applications of
1, 2 & 3 kg B ha were selected on the basis of their overall performances. The third
experiment was carried out with 16 treatment-combination of K (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha")
and B (0, 1, 2 and 3 kg ha-!) moduled form the finding of earlier two experiments. Basal
application of K and B had significant positive effect on seed yield and seed qualities.
They had beneficial effect on the degree of seed leachate conductivity, seedling dry weight
and essaying vigour. Application of 60 or 90 kg K ha* along with 1 or 2 kg B ha did not
differ significantly in respect of increasing seed yield (62.2-69.0% increase), seed viability
(97.5-99.0% germination), EC (317-354 up S cm), vigour (98.33-98.50), seedling dry weight
(0.966-1.023 g plant"), % protein in seed (22.2-22.5%), % sugar in seed (13.4-13.6%) and
BCR (1.24-1.36). Seeds stored in air tight plastic pot retained good germination (more than
90%) up to 9 months in place of only 6 months for no application of K and B. Use of 60 or
90 kg K ha* with 1 or 2 kg B ha? may ensure safe storage of seeds up to one year having
only some deterioration like a decrease in seed germination (7.07-9.09%) vigour (5.95-
7.70%), total soluble protein (4.41-8.42%) and total soluble sugar (5.16-7.95%). The highest
seed yield and BCR (997.67 kg ha! and 1.36, respectively) were recorded for the
application of 60 kg K + 2 kg B per hectare with a negative balance of 32.6 kg K hat anda
positive balance of 1.44 kg B ha" with the corresponding values of 966.8 kg ha-! with 1.24
BCR, and a positive balance of K (1.32 kg ha!) and B (0.514 kg ha") with the application of
90 kg K + 1 kg B per hectare. Therefore, it is inferred that basal application of 90 kg K ha-!
+ 1 kg B ha? can be a recommendation for producing increased amounts of quality seeds
of Corchorus olitorius leaving a positive balance of both K and B in soils. | en_US |
