How can conduct a research trail ?

Research: Discover new facts and figure.Systemic investigation and study of material in order to establish fact and reach new conclusion. Systemic investigation to increase or revise current knowledge by discovering new facts.

Types of research:

Experiment

“Scientific procedure under taken to make discovery test hypothesis or demonstrate a new fact.”

• Problem identification
• Hypothesis
• Objective
• Material and method
• Application
• Site selection:
• Easy to approach and conduct.
• For reasonable pest infestation
• Salt accommodation is not much more and heterogeneous.
• Statistics
• Ensure water availability.
• Previous crop data
• Flood safety

Statistics

“Statistics is a calculation, summarization and analysis and presentation of data.”

Why we use statistics?

• • For estimation

• • Totality of group under study of statistics is called population

• Sample represents population

Why we take Sample?

• • To save time & labor

• • Sometime study needs destructive sample

• Study of population called parameter.

Treatments: Any investigation in experiments.

E.g. Varieties, Fertilizer, Irrigation water to experiment called treatments

Experiment unit (sub-plots):

             “The plot on which the treatment is applied.”

Principle of Statistics

Randomization: When each experimental unit have equal chance to receive any treatment.

Replication: It is a replication of a set of treatment (why we use? To avoid error)

Local control: Use local varieties along the road to avoid your varieties.

Research

It is systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to Basic

Basic research

a. Also called as the fundamental or the theoretical research.
b. Is basic and original.
c. Can lead to the discovery of a new theory.
d. Can result in the development or refinement of a theory that already exists.
e. Helps in getting knowledge without thinking formally of implementing it in practice based on the honesty, love and integrity of the researcher for discovering the truth.

1. Applied research
   Based on the concept of the pure research.
   b. Is problem oriented?
   c. Helps in finding results or solutions for real life problems.
   d. Provides evidence of usefulness to society.
   e. Helps in testing empirical content of a theory.
   f. Utilizes and helps in developing the techniques that can be used for basic research.
   g. Helps in testing the validity of a theory but under some conditions.
   h. Provides data that can lead to the acceleration of the process of generalization.

For example:

Harvesting and sorting of potato:

Yellowing of the potato plant’s leaves and easy separation of the tubers from their stolons indicate that the crop has reached maturity.  Haulms are killed off 3 weeks before harvesting. Use contact herbicide. In these 3 weeks skin on tuber hardens leads to less bruising and scratching on harvesting.

Potatoes are generally harvested from mid-Feb through March in the region of Sahiwal Pakistan. Potatoes are harvested using a spading fork, a plough or commercially most common potato digger – elevator digger.

Wide, flat share running through ridge under the potatoes. The soil and potatoes are moved onto the elevator where the soil drops through the bars and deposits the potatoes on top of the soil. These are then handpicked.

Care should be taken to prevent bruising or other injury, which provides entry points for storage diseases potatoes during harvesting, storing, grading, and marketing. When storing potatoes, ventilation, storage temperatures, and relative humidity are important factors to consider.

Sorting:

After collection potato are sorted into three categories:

1) Ration (it uses for food purpose)

2) Seed  (it use for next time cropping)

3) Goli  (this is injurious to health and used like upper both)

Potato seed size is 35-45mm which sorted for seed purpose.

Seedling of potato:

At low level farmers follow traditional forming. At the time of harvesting farmers separate the seeds and store for next time planting. Normally 12 -14 bags of potato seed require for one acre.

We visit seedling of potato at Okara (26/2R) under the supervision of Dr. Maqbool Akhtar, Mr. Qaiser Abbas and Ahmad Mustafa. One crate of 25 kg seed is imported from Holland and planted in Rabnawaz field. It is sowed in April and total time period is 100 -120 days.

Seed size was 60mm (normally seed size should be 35-45mm), at time of planting potato is cut into two pieces and sowed on top of ridges. As the potato goes to harvesting stage the climatic temperature increases which helps to seed size not increase.

Botanical name:              Zea maize

Local name is makai. It is not only a food crop but also used as animal fodder. It is mostly grown in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa especially at Mardan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Swat and Peshawar. In Punjab, Faisalabad and Sahiwal districts are famous for maize production. Total time period is 120 days.

First 55-60 for pollination, next 55-60 for harvesting.  Number of leave in one plant is 21 leaves and number of crown per plant is one. Seed in one crown is 500-700 and lines of seed in one crown are 12-16.Broad leaves absorb maximum sunlight is known is cam. Tassel contains one corer pollens, and when pollination done green colure turns into brown.

Culture practices:

Soil and climate: Best growth on fertile, well drained, medium-textured soils. Suitable temperature for germination is 25^oC.Temperature >35^oC reduce the pollen. Temperature < 15^oC delay the silking and tasseling. pH of soil is 5.5-8.0.

Land preparation: Two to three ploughing after harvesting. Use rotavator to mix the soil and to degrade the clots 1200-1500.Use ridger to make ridges and furrows. Maintain the distance between furrows approximately 75cm.Row to row distance 26-28inches. Direction of rigids is east to west.

Fertilizer application: Fertilizer is added to the soil with ratio of N: P: K; 4:2:2 respectively. 2 bag of DAP and 2 bag of potash uses at sowing time.3-4bags of Urea per acre uses at splits.

MOP (KCl₂ where Cl are high in soils, industrial crop to maintain quality), and SOP (K₂SO₄ where Cl are not high). ½ N at the time of sowing, and ½ N is added to soil in 2 splits doses. 2^nd bag of urea, when the crop is at knee height and the 3rd at the time of tasseling formation.

Sowing time of maize:

Jan-March for early sowing called as spring crop and maturity of crop within 50-60days. And yield of crop comes in 100-120 Munds

Jun-Aug. for late sowing called as autumn crop in this maturity of crop increases than 60 days. And yield comes from it is 60-80 Munds

Seed rate: 10-12 kg/acre or33000-35000 seeds/ acre and seed is treated with fungicides; telsta/insecticides before sowing.

Sowing methods

Ridge sowing:

Manual method (choppa method) is common in Pakistan. Top to top distance of the ridges is 27 inch and plant to plant distance is  8 to 10 inch (and for fodder purpose plant to plant distance is 6 inch).Direction of ridges is east to west, plantation should be done on the north side of ridges and seed depth is one inch in the soil.

Irrigation:

Maize is drought sensitive crop. It require 500-750 mm of water. Total number of irrigation is 11 for better production. And water availability is the one of most important during critical stages of crown.

 Critical stage of crown:

• • Germination

• • Pollination

• • Milking

• • Dough

• Dent

Harvesting time:

70% corns fall downwards to the ground, still remain attach to the plants. And become dot/ layer on the grain. Maize crop is harvested at moisture content 20-25%. Cobs are removed from standing crop and dried under sunlight until the moisture content of the grains is <15%.

Disease: Maize stem borer is a single major insect problem which on the average will reduce the yield by about 10-30% under normal conditions. The loss may reach as high as 50% if the crop is planted earlier and environment is favorable

For the control of Root borer, funnel (carbinran and fafanone) is applied on the plants. First application of funnel is done, on 3-4 leaves emergence and second time is applied at keen height of the plant.

Insect of maize: Shoot fly, Army worm

Weed control: For weed control herbicide, e.g. Yume (Jaffer herbicide product) is sprayed in 24 hours after plantation.

Labor cost:

Maintain Plant to plant distance maize trial

Distance between rows to rows should be 27 inches. And distance between to plants to plants depends upon the purpose of maize planting. For production yield distance between plants to plants should be 8 – 10 inches, while for fodder purpose plant to plant distance is 6 inches.

Thinning of maize field:

We visit maize field of Rabnawaz farmer at 26/2R Okara. It is necessary to maintain distance between plants to plants for better production of maize yield. For thinning, weak, diseased or dense growth of plants should be removed for good yield of plants.

Plants population count of maize trial

We visit Yousafwala MMRI (Maize & Millet Research Institute) research trail of maize.

33000-35000 seeds of maize planted on raised bed or ridges in an acre, so resulted should be 33000-35000 plants in acre. But due to climatic or others (soil type, soil pH, soil EC, irrigation, manual disturbance) factors, no. of plants population was not 33000-35000 in a acre. No. of plants population was 29000-31000 in a acre.

 In general; how many plants in one meter?

We known, one meter is equal to 3.2 ft², the distance plant to plant is 8 inches and row to row is 27 inches so, and nearly one plant comes in a foot. According to our observation 8 plants come in one meter.