Browsing by Author "Thomas Varghese, P."
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Item Agronomic aspects of oil palm plantation management in costa rica, Central America(1991) Thomas Varghese, P.Item Beneficial interactions of coconut-cacao crop combination(2007-02-08) Thomas Varghese, P.; Nelliat, E.V.; Balakrishnan, T.K.A study on the amount of cacao litter added to the soil in a coconut-cacao crop mix was conducted at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod. Shed leaves collected at fortnightly intervals for a one year period amounted to 818 and 1785 kg/ha/year (oven dry) under single and double hedge systems of planting, respectively. The organic carbon content and the soil fertility improved considerably under the crop mix, and was reflected in the enhanced yield of coconut. Soil temperature at 30 and 60 cm depths was 3 to 6°C lower and the variation in the mean monthly soil temperature was least in the mixed cropping system compared to the monoculture of coconut. The yield increase noticed in coconut when cacao was grown as mixed crop is discussed.Item Crop Diversification in Coconut Plantations(1976-02) Nair, P.K.R.; Thomas Varghese, P.Item Crop diversification in coconut plantations(1976-02) Nair, P.K.R.; Thomas Varghese, P.Item Crop diversification in coconut plantations(2007-02-08) Nair, P.K.R.; Thomas Varghese, P.Item Economics of inter and mixed cropping in the coconut gardens of Kerala: Some preliminary findings(2007-02-08) Krishnaji, N.; Chandan Mukherjee; Nelliat, E.V.; Nair, P.K.R.; Jacob Mathew; Thomas Varghese, P.Item Economics of inter and mixed cropping in the coconut gardens of Kerala: some preliminary findings(Centre for Developement Studies, Trivandrum, 1976-10) Chandan Mukherjee; Nelliat, E.V.; Nair, P.K.R.; Jacob Mathew; Thomas Varghese, P.; Krishnaji, N.Item Experiences in coconut based farming systems in India(2007-02) Gopalasundaram, P.; Thomas Varghese, P.; Hegde, M.R.; Nair, M.G.K.; Das, P.K.A sole crop of coconut, at the recommended spacing of 7S x 7S m does not fully utilise the available soil and air space and incident solar radiation. Crops identified as compatible ones with coconut include many tuber crops (cassava, elephant foot yam, yams, colocasia), rhizome-spices (ginger, turmeric), pulses (cowpea), oilseeds (groundnut, soybean), upland rice, fruit crops (banana, pineapple) and vegetables among the annuals and cocoa, black pepper, clove and nutmeg among perennials. Many intensive crop combinations which involve different annuals and perennials over a period of time such as multistoreyed cropping system and high density multispecies crop models have also been developed. Mixed farming systems, which integrate other enterprises like dairying and sericulture provide higher employment generation and enhanced net income. Among the annua! crops, elephant foot yam and ginger are the most profitable. The additional employment generated ranged from 76 to 900 mandays/ha/year in different systems.Item Impact of drought and associated factors on growth and yield of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq)(2007) Thomas Varghese, P.; Nampoothiri, K.U.K.Oil palm,, a native of West Africa, is essentialy a tropical crop. Most of the research work on the crop has been carried out in African countries and in Malaysia. Studies conducted on the effect of rainfall, dry spell, sunshine hours, temperature and soil moisture on oil palm yield have direct relevance to Indian situation.Item Impact or drought and associated factors on growth and yield of oil palm (elaeis guineensis jacq)(2007-02) Thomas Varghese, P.; Nampoothiri, K.U.K.Oil palm, a native of West Africa, is essentialy a tropical crop. Most of the research work on the crop has been carried out in African countries and in Malaysia. Studies conducted on the effect of rainfall, dry spell, sunshine hours, temperature and soil moisture on oil palm yield have direct relevance to Indian situation. In Malaysia,, monthly bunch yields of oil palm and its relationship with climatic variables upto 42 months prior to harvest were studied to establish their relationship. It was observed that rainfall at LAG 0, 10 - 12,22 -23 months had positive correlation and at LAG 5-7, 16 - 18, 28 - 31,39 - 41 had negative correlation with bunch yields. Temperature below 15°C adversely affected growth of oil palm seedlings whereas the growth was promoted upto 28°C. Effective sunshine hours was reported to be a reliable index of moisture stress on oil palm. Soil moisture stress was found to reduce the net assimilation rate (NAR) values of seedlings when irrigation was prolonged. The effect of drought on yield of adult palms is mainly, through its influence on bunch number and bunch weight. The factors contributing to bunch number, viz., leaf production, sex ratio, floral abortion and bunch failure are all affected by water stress. It is reported that leaf production is reduced during dry season because the leaf opening in oil palm is delayed due to water stress. Stress also causes stomatal closure, inhibits photosynthetic activity and restricts crop growth. Reduction in sex ratio due to water stress could be rectified through irrigation. Floral abortion and bunch failure were also reported to be higher during stress conditions depending on the severity of drought. Water deficit was reported to be the major reason for the difference in bunch weight between Asian and African countries. Moisture availability has been found to be critical for spikelet formation, flower formation and fruit development. Water stress also results in incomplete ripening of fruits. The water deficit of the equatorial belt,, where oil palm is grown, ranges from 600 - 650 mm whereas in some Asian countries it ranges from 200 - 600 mm. In most of the countries 150 mm water per month was found to be sufficient for oil palm, Young palms are reported to transpire about 12 cm of water per month in Nigeria, An yield increase of 14 t/ha FEB due to irrigation has been reported. In Dahomey (Benin) 200 - 300% increase in yield was obtained: due to irrigation. In Malaysia at Johore where rainfall was well distributed, about 10% increase in yield was obtained due to irrigation. Water stress also reduces the oil content of mesocarp and thereby the oil to bunch ration These findings have shown that avoiding moisture stress to oil palm by ensuring adequate supply of water to the top soil helped in increasing the leaf production,, reducing the abortion rate, improving the sex ratio, increasing the bunch number and oil yields. It is therefore imperative to conduct experiments with a view to finding out the irrigation requirements of oil palm under diverse agroclimatic conditions in India.Item Integrated Plant Nutrient Management in Oil Palm Plantations through Recycling of Palm Wastes(2007-02) Thomas Varghese, P.; Sunitha, S.; Nampoothiri, K.U.K.Long-term irrigation and fertilizer experiment revealed that application of 1200 g N, 600 g P2O5, 1200 g K20 per year and irrigation at 901 per palm per day are optimum for oil palm. At present, entire nutrient demand is being supplied through chemical fertilizers. Quantification of annual addition of oil palm waste and its nutritive value has offered the scope to substitute the chemical fertilizers through proper recycling of organic waste. Different digestion techniques revealed that organic wastes were converted into good quality organic manures within a period of four months; these organic manures had a C/N ratio of < 20:1 and nutrients of 1.6-1.85 N, 0.27-0.31 P, 0.8-1.1 K, 0.4-0.6 Ca and 0.37-0.49 per cent Mg. Among the composting methods, vermicomposting was found more effective in producing quality manure. The composted oil palm wastes could supply 175 kg N, 73 kg P20«> 129 K2O, 70 kg CaO and 71 kg MgO per ha per year.Item Intercropping with Tuber Crops in Coconut Garden(2007-02) Thomas Varghese, P.; Gopalasundaram, P.; Nelliat, E.V.; Rama Varma; Nair, P.K.R.Intercropping in coconut stands with tubers revealed that raising tuber crops has no adverse effect on the main crop of coconut, provided, the same intercrop was not grown on the same plot every year and that both the inter crop and the main crop were manured adequately and separately. A five per cent increased yield of coconut over pre-experimental yield was obtained when tapioca, elephant yam, sweet potato, ginger and turmeric were grown in rotation as intercrops and 15% increase When greater yam, lesser yam, colocasia, and Chinese potato were rotated. Tapioca, cultivar M-4 yielded 4.5 t/ha when grown continuously in the same plot as against 6.3 t/ha when it was alternated with elephant yam. Similarly, yield of elephant yam increased from 6.4 t/ha (continuous crop) to 11.8 t/ha (in rotation with tapioca). Further improvement in the yield of these crops was noticed in five year rotations. Among the intercrops, elephant yam and ginger were the most profitable. Besides giving higher net returns per unit area, intercrops generated additional employment to the tune of about 130 man days/ha/year.Item Investments and Expected Returns from Oil Palm Cultivation in India(1988) Thomas Varghese, P.; Nampoothiri, K.U.K.Item Investments and Expected Returns from Oil Palm Cultivation in India(2007-02) Thomas Varghese, P.; Nampoothiri, K.U.K.Item Management(2007-02) Thomas Varghese, P.; Robert Cecil, S.Item Mixed Cropping in Coconut(2007-02) Nelliat, E.V.; Gopalasundaram, P.; Thomas Varghese, P.; Sivaraman, K.Item Nutrition of Oil Palm(2007-02) Thomas Varghese, P.; Rethinam, P.Item Response Of High Yielding Coconut Genotypes To Fertiliser Levels Under Rainfed Conditions(1979) Nelliat, E.V.; Nair, R.V.; Thomas Varghese, P.A field experiment was conducted to determine the NPK fertiliser requirement of three coconut genotypes viz. West Coast Tall progenies of high yielders, Dwarf x Tall and Tall x Dwarf and evaluate their performance under three levels of fertiliser application. The genotypes did not differ in their response to no fertiliser treatement. When NPK fertiliser was applied, the D x T hybrid outyielded the Tall and the reciprocal hybrid TxD. Contrary to expectation, the response of the Tall was found linear, at the higher level of fertilisers. The response to the higher level of fertilisers by the hybrids was negligible. The D x T yielded higher, showed higher efficiency in utilising applied nutrients and attained earlier bearing, than the other two genotypes. Higher level of fertiliser application reduced the prebearing age. Under rainfed condition, significant response to fertiliser application by DxT and TxD hybrids was recorded upto 500 g N+500 g P2O5 + 1000 g K2O while the high yielding West Coast Tall responded positively even at 1000 g N+1000 g P2O5+2000 g K2O/palm/year.