Agronomy Pointers 4

• Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a tetraploid crop with origin in Brazil.
• TAG-24 is a popular variety of groundnut.
• Aspergillus flavus causes aflatoxin contamination in groundnut.
• Gypsum @ 500 kg/ha is applied at flowering in groundnut.
• Soybean contributes 50% of global oilseed production.
• Soybean ranks second in India's vegetable oil production.
• Rhizobium japonicum is used for soybean inoculation.
• Safflower oil is rich in linoleic acid (78%).
• Sunflower is a photo-insensitive crop with capitulum inflorescence.
• Sunflower and safflower produce cypsela fruits.
• Castor and sesame produce capsule fruits.
• Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) has 2n = 36; black mustard has 2n = 16.
• Mustard and rapeseed contain erucic and eicosenoic acids.
• Rapeseed is Brassica campestris (2n = 20).
• Mustard fruit is a siliqua.
• Linseed is grown mainly for fibre production.
• Dual-purpose linseed varieties include Jeewan, Ngarkot, and Gaurav.
• Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata produce non-edible oil for biodiesel.
• General Agriculture – Sugar Crops
• Sugarcane contributes 78.2% of global sugar production.
• Uttar Pradesh has the largest sugarcane area; West Bengal has the highest productivity.
• Saccharum officinarum (2n = 80) is known as noble cane.
• Sugarcane is propagated using bud chip method.
• Sugarcane roots include sett roots (temporary) and shoot roots (permanent).
• Sugarcane inflorescence is called an arrow.
• Optimal temperature for sugarcane growth is 26–32°C.
• Sugarcane seed rate is 35,000–40,000 three-budded setts/ha.
• Eksali crop yields 400–500 q/ha in 12 months.
• Adsali crop yields 1000–1200 q/ha in 18 months.
• Ratooning is an economical practice in sugarcane.
• Propping involves tying cane leaves for support.
• Ripening test uses refractometer and Fehling’s test.
• 15–20% of sugarcane is used for gur or khandsari.
• Azotobacter is used for nitrogen fixation in sugarcane.
• Sugar beet accounts for 21.8% of global sugar and is used for ethanol production.
• Singling is practiced in sugar beet seedlings.
• Agronomy – Recently Released Varieties
• Pusa 1592 and Punjab Basmati-3 are BLB-resistant rice varieties.
• HDCSW 18 is a wheat variety bred for conservation agriculture.
• Pusa Composite 701 is a variety of pearl millet.
• Pusa Double Zero Mustard 31 has <2% erucic acid and <30 ppm glucosinolates.
• Pusa Arhar 16 is an extra early, semi-dwarf pigeon pea variety.
• Co-0238 is a high-yielding sugarcane variety.
• Virat IPM25 is an early maturing mungbean variety (52–55 days).
• NRC 109 soybean is lipoxygenase-2 free.
• India is the second largest cotton producer in the world.
• Old world cotton includes G. arboreum and G. herbaceum (2n = 26).
• New world cotton includes G. hirsutum and G. barbadense (2n = 52).
• Suvin is a long staple variety of G. barbadense.
• Sujata, MCU 5, and Pratap are long staple cotton varieties.
• G. hirsutum is an interspecific hybrid of G. herbaceum × G. raimondii.
• Desi cotton has a seed rate of 10–18 kg/ha and yield of 12–15 q/ha.
• American cotton has a seed rate of 15–25 kg/ha and yield of 20–25 q/ha.