Essential oil of Acorus calamus L. rhizome from Daman, Makwanpur, Nepal was extracted using Clevenger-type hydro-distillation apparatus and toxicity to Sitophilus zeamais was evaluated. Further, chemical constituents of essential oil were also analyzed by GC-mass spectrometer. The major chemical constituents identified were of β-asarone (79.7%), Methyl isoeugenol (4.08%), Dehydroxy-isocalmendiol (4.03%), Shyobunone (3.27%), (0.93%), δ-Cadinene (0.85%), Epishyobunone (0.68%), and Isoshyobunone (0.47%). For the weevils, when released in methanol diluted sweet flag essential oil treated scintillating vial, LC50 at 24, 48, and 72 hrs were estimated to be 1.23 (y=2.21x-0.22), 0.45 (y=1.68x+0.58) and 0.17 (y=2.98x+2.29) percent concentration of oil respectively. Hundred percent weevil mortality was obtained within 24 hours with 10% concentration while it took more than 120 hrs. with 0.16 % concentration. Essential oil of potential plant could be one of the good alternatives to chemical pesticides in managing storage pests. Essential oil of sweet flag rhizome can be further tested in field and storage pests. MRL should be ascertained to allowable limits as β-asarone has carcinogenic effect at certain level.
Finger millet is the fourth important food crop of Nepal. National Agriculture Genetic Resources Center (NAGRC) holds 1055 accessions of finger millet in its ex-situ depository. These accessions are poorly exploited in breeding programs due to a lack of ample characterization data. A total of 19 landraces were evaluated with Kabre kodo-2 (check) in three replications at Khumaltar, Lalitpur during 2020 and 2021 as pre-breeding experiments. Analysis of variances for agro-morphological traits revealed elite landraces having higher grain and straw yield, earlier maturity, optimum plant height, and blast resistance. NGRC04849 from Rukum produced the highest grain yield (3580 kg/ha) followed by NGRC01497 from Jajarkot (3567 kg/ha), NGRC05050 i.e. Kabre kodo-2 (3434 kg/ha) and NGRC06490 from Sindhuli (3368 kg/ha) consisting a separate cluster in a dendrogram. NGRC01483 from Okhaldhunga was the earliest (131 days) in maturity followed by NGRC04849 from Rukum (147 days) whereas Kabre kodo-2 matured in 156 days. NGRC03484 (Dhading) and NGRC04769 (Ilam) were found resistant for all three blast diseases (leaf, neck and finger blast) whereas NGRC01639 (Syangja), NGRC04804 (Dolakha) and NGRC04852 (Sindhupalchok) were found resistant for neck and finger blast. We found strong positive correlations between grain and straw yield (r=0.71), heading and maturity days (r=0.59), and neck and finger blast (r=0.59). Strong negative correlation of days to maturity with neck (r=-0.44) and finger blast (r=-0.42) suggests blast resistance in early maturing landraces. These elite landraces could be either utilized in finger millet improvement program or deployed to farmers' field analogous to Khumaltar condition.
Jute is an important cash crop in Nepal but national fiber yields remain suboptimal due to imbalance nitrogen application. Optimum rates of nitrogen are crucial for maximizing jute fiber yield. A field experiment was conducted during 2024 and 2025 in Sunsari district aimed to determine the optimal nitrogen rates for the promising genotype ‘NJ 7010 (Rani)'. Seven nitrogen rates (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 kg N ha⁻¹) were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Standard agronomic practices were followed as when needed. Growth, yield attributes and yield data were collected using standard protocol. Results demonstrated very good response to nitrogen for vegetative growth, with plant height, basal diameter, and green biomass linearly to a maximum at 120 kg N ha⁻¹. However, a critical finding was the evidence of dinishing returns for the primary economic product. Under favorable conditions, dry fiber yield plateaued at 80 kg N ha⁻¹, beyond which no significant gains were achieved, indicating a threshold for efficient nitrogen partitioning into harvestable fiber. The study concluded that high N rates (100–120 kg N ha⁻¹) maximized vegetative biomass, a rate of 80–100 kg N ha⁻¹ was optimal for sustainable fiber production.
This study investigates the degree and direction of price integration of potato in three wholesale markets across the India-Nepal border. Using weekly wholesale time-series price data from three selected market pairs from east to west along the India-Nepal border, this paper employs the Johansen cointegration framework, Vector Error Correction Models (VECM), Vector Autoregression (VAR), and asymmetric Error Correction Model (ECM) specifications to evaluate both short-run causal dynamics and long-run equilibrium relationships. The results support the central hypothesis that larger Indian markets exert significant influence on potato prices of smaller Nepalese markets. The Kheri-Kohalpur pair shows strong long-run cointegration and symmetric price transmission, while the Forbesganj-Birtamode pair exhibits short-run bidirectional causality without long-run equilibrium. Conversely, the Madhubani-Dhalkewar pair displays a counter-intuitive relationship, possibly arising from absorption from surrounding markets or high volatility and low mean price differentials rather than genuine reverse causality. The results highlight Nepal's structural vulnerability to Indian market shocks, with important implications for farmer and consumer welfare. Policy recommendations include the development of cross-border market intelligence systems, investment in infrastructure to enhance domestic market independence, and the formalization of informal trade channels that build resilient and self-reliant potato market systems in Nepal.
Micronutrients are crucial to crop development and their deficiency are one of the major challenges in vegetable production in Nepal. A field experiment was conducted in 2023 and 2024 to evaluate the effect of micronutrient on tomato yield and yield related parameters in plastic house condition at Malepatan Pokhara, Nepal. The research was carried out in a single factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) including 8 treatments with three replications. Treatments included sole application of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potash (K) and combination with Farm Yard Manure (FYM), and other nutrients like Zinc (Zn), Boron (B), Calcium (Ca), and Magnesium (Mg). The highest yield was recorded in combined application of N, P and K with the other essential nutrients Zn and B, Ca, Mg with FYM (53 t/ha). Similarly, higher plant height, chlorophyll content was obtained from the application of major nutrients with Zn, Ca and Mg. These results showed that addition of micronutrients with major nutrients in soil enhanced the tomato production as well as soil fertility gradients.
