Niraj Kumar Prajapati’s scientific contributions

The field experiment was carried out using the twenty genotypes of radish and evaluated during the Rabi season, 2021–2022, at the experimental unit of the Department of Horticulture, Tilak Dhari PG College, Jaunpur (U.P.). The objective was to estimate the genetic diversity available in the genotypes. The D2 analysis showed broad diversity among the genotypes, which was grouped into five clusters on the basis of various horticultural traits. The clustering pattern showed that the highest genotypes were recorded in cluster III (8 genotypes), followed by cluster V (5 genotypes), cluster IV (3 genotypes), cluster II (2 genotypes), and cluster I (2 genotypes). The greatest intra-cluster distance was recorded in Cluster IV (3.380), followed by Cluster III (3.219), Cluster II (3.104), and Cluster V (3.079). Cluster I have the smallest intra-cluster distance (2.182). The highest inter-cluster distance was 6.851 observed between Cluster IV and II, while the lowest was 3.139 between Cluster V and III. By the divergence analysis, the parents for hybridization for diverse clusters could be selected to harness the heterotic vigour’s and also to minimize the genetic erosion. The selection of the best genotype for breeding programs for the development of high-yielding varieties.

The present study was aimed at studying the effect of organic manures and the number of cuttings on the growth, yield and quality of palak. The field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season, 2021 at the experimental unit of the Department of Horticulture, Tilak Dhari PG College, Jaunpur (U.P.). The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design with nine treatment combinations, which were replicated three times. The treatments comprised the various levels, i.e., M0 (without manure), C0 (without cutting), M1 (vermicompost), C1 (two cutting), M2 (farm yard manure), C2 (four cutting), etc. The green leaf yield of palak from different treatment combinations was studied for growth, yield and quality attributes. The result revealed that growth and yield parameters, namely: height of plants (cm), number of leaves per plant, length of leaves (cm), width of leaves (cm), length of petiole (cm), dry matter (g), moisture content (%), and leaf yield (g), were significantly influenced by the application of organic manures and the number of cuttings.

A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of integrated nutrient management on the growth and yield of beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) cv. Ruby Queen. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design using ten treatments and three replications at the college farm of the Department of Horticulture, Tilak Dhari PG College, Jaunpur, (U.P.) during the rabi season of 2021-22. Integration of nutrient sources was comprised in the form of treatments viz. T1 - 100% NPK of RDF (70:110:70 Kg/ha), T2 -75% NPK of RDF + FYM (10 t/ha) + Azotobacter (10 Kg/ha) + PSB (10 Kg/ ha), T3 - 75% NPK of RDF + VC (3 t/ha) + Azotobacter (10 Kg/ha) + PSB (10 Kg/ha), T4 - 75% NPK of RDF + FYM (5 t/ha) + VC (1.5 t/ha) + Azotobacter (10 Kg/ha) + PSB (10 Kg/ha), T5 - 50% NPK of RDF + FYM (10 t/ha) + Azotobacter (10 Kg/ha) + PSB (10 Kg/ha), T6 - 50% NPK of RDF + VC (3 t/ha) + Azotobacter (10 Kg/ha) + PSB (10 Kg/ha), T7 - 50% NPK of RDF + FYM (5 t/ha) +VC (1.5 t/ha) + Azotobacter (10 Kg/ha) + PSB (10 Kg/ha), T8 - 75% NPK of RDF + FYM (10 t/ha), T9 - 50% NPK of RDF + VC (3 t/ha) and T10 - Control. Among all treatments, T4 (75% NPK of RDF + FYM + VC + Azotobacter + PSB) performed best for growth and yield parameters recorded significantly minimum number of days required for 80 percent germination of seedlings (2.68 days), highest plant height (50.24 cm), most leaves per plant (13.53), maximum leaf area (3227.50 cm2), higher chlorophyll content index (21.76), maximum root length (16.23 cm), root diameter (7.73 cm), root yield per plant (220.14 g), root yield per plot (4.40 Kg), root yield per hectare (22.014 t), and highest harvest index (0.91) was observed.