Academic literature on the topic 'Subtropical fibre hemp'

Mangrove forests are important economically and ecologically. In Malaysia, mangrove forests are managed for charcoal, fire wood, and tissue. Due to human disturbance- increasing population or hurricanes –like tsunami, the situation in the rest of the world is similar; most mangrove trees fall beneath the axe or in storms long before reaching their maximum size. Mangroves are one of the most productive wetlands globally and can be found in the intertidal zones along tropical and subtropical areas famous in southeast Asian coastlines. Mangroves are vital in providing breeding and nursery grounds for commercially and recreationally important angle. Mangroves also help to protect coastlines from erosion, storm damage, wave action, and tsunamis. The mangrove ecosystem consists of several significant components, including forest, soil, and the marine ecosystem. To generalize the practice and experience of Mangrove forest management of Malaysia the study has been conducted. Mangrove Forest in Malaysia, Government Initiatives, NGOs Efforts, Private Sector Involvement, and Involvement of Local Community are analysed from the available sources.

Abstract. Changes in fire activity over the last 8000 years are simulated with a global fire model driven by changes in climate and vegetation cover. The changes were separated into those caused through variations in fuel availability, fuel moisture or wind speed which react differently to changes in climate. Disentangling these controlling factors helps to understand the overall climate control on fire activity over the Holocene. Globally the burned area is simulated to increase by 2.5% between 8000 and 200 cal yr BP with larger regional changes compensating on a global scale. Despite the absence of anthropogenic fire ignitions, the simulated trends in fire activity agree reasonably well with continental scale reconstructions from charcoal records, with the exception of Europe. For some regions the change in fire activity is predominantly controlled through changes in fuel availability (Australia-Monsoon, American Tropics/Subtropics). For other regions changes in fuel moisture are more important for the overall trend in fire activity (North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia-Monsoon). In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, changes in fuel moisture alone lead to an increase in fire activity between 8000 and 200 cal yr BP, while changes in fuel availability lead to a decrease. Overall, the fuel moisture control is dominating the simulated fire activity for Sub-Saharan Africa. The simulations clearly demonstrate that both changes in fuel availability and changes in fuel moisture are important drivers for the fire activity over the Holocene. Fuel availability and fuel moisture do, however, have different climate controls. As such observed changes in fire activity can not be related to single climate parameters such as precipitation or temperature alone. Fire models, as applied in this study, in combination with observational records can help to understand the climate control on fire activity, which is essential to project future fire activity.

Abstract. Changes in fire activity over the last 8000 years are simulated with a global fire model driven by changes in climate and vegetation cover. The changes were separated into those caused through variations in fuel availability, fuel moisture or wind speed, which react differently to changes in climate. Disentangling these controlling factors helps in understanding the overall climate control on fire activity over the Holocene. Globally the burned area is simulated to increase by 2.5% between 8000 and 200 cal yr BP, with larger regional changes compensating nearly evening out on a global scale. Despite the absence of anthropogenic fire ignitions, the simulated trends in fire activity agree reasonably well with continental-scale reconstructions from charcoal records, with the exception of Europe. For some regions the change in fire activity is predominantly controlled through changes in fuel availability (Australia monsoon, Central America tropics/subtropics). For other regions changes in fuel moisture are more important for the overall trend in fire activity (North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia monsoon). In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, changes in fuel moisture alone lead to an increase in fire activity between 8000 and 200 cal yr BP, while changes in fuel availability lead to a decrease. Overall, the fuel moisture control is dominating the simulated fire activity for Sub-Saharan Africa. The simulations clearly demonstrate that both changes in fuel availability and changes in fuel moisture are important drivers for the fire activity over the Holocene. Fuel availability and fuel moisture do, however, have different climate controls. As such, observed changes in fire activity cannot be related to single climate parameters such as precipitation or temperature alone. Fire models, as applied in this study, in combination with observational records can help in understanding the climate control on fire activity, which is essential to project future fire activity.

Abstract. Taiwan is located in subtropical monsoon area and Pacific Ring of Fire. Both the rate of crustal uplift and annual rainfall are among the highest in the world. Earthquakes and heavy rainfall have led to massive landslides and debris flow. Frequent disasters and the high rate of surface erosion have caused drastic changes in river topography and catchment areas, and, consequently, have impacted the safety of human lives. To mitigate the losses, better simulation and prediction of landslides are critical. Existing landslide prediction research works employed terrain, geology, rainfall, earthquakes and human activities as landslide triggering factors in the predicting model. In addition to aforementioned environmental conditions, this study would like to explore the use of SAR differential interferometry (InSAR) information to help observe characteristics of the slope movement behavior, which is also an important factor. Factors are analyzed and quantified on the basis of slope units. To confirm the applicability of selected factors to landslide, factors are firstly analyzed with Spearman correlation, and then those with higher correlations are incorporated into the prediction model. Machine learning based techniques are then employed to establish the prediction model. The experiment result demonstrates that InSAR information can improve the accuracy by more than 5% in landslide prediction.

Carissa, a genus of the Apocynaceae family, consists of evergreen species, such as shrubs as well as small trees that are native to Asia, Africa, and Oceania’s subtropical and tropical regions. Most of the Carissa species are traditionally used to treat various diseases, such as chest pain, headaches, gonorrhoea, rheumatism, syphilis, oedema, rabies, stomach pain, hepatitis, cardiac diseases, and asthma. The pharmacological studies on Carissa species revealed its antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, cardioprotective, antipyretic, analgesic, wound healing, anticonvulsant, antiarthritic, adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic activities, thus validating its use in indigenous medicine systems. The review article summarised the comprehensive literature available, including morphology, indigenous uses, bioactive composition, nutraceutical, and pharmacological activities of Carissa species. A total of 155 research papers were cited in this review article. The Carissa fruits are rich in dietary fibre, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamin C, and macro- and micro-elements. A total of 121 compounds (35 polyphenols (flavonoids and phenolic acids), 30 lignans, 41 terpenoids, 7 steroids, 2 coumarins, and 6 cardiac glycosides) have been extracted from C. spinarum, C. carandas, and C. macrocarpa. Among all chemical constituents, lupeol, carissol, naringin, carisssone, scopoletin, carissaeduloside A, D, J, carandinol, sarhamnoloside, carissanol, olivil, carinol, 3β-hydroxyolean-11-en-28,13β-oilde, ursolic acid, and carissone are the key bioactive constituents responsible for pharmacological activities of genus Carissa. The gathered ethnopharmacological information in the review will help to understand the therapeutic relevance of Carissa as well as paving a way for further exploration in the discovery of novel plant-based drugs.

Context Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from livestock production systems is a global research priority. Forages that contain condensed tannins, such as the perennial legume Lespedeza cuneata, may help to reduce ruminant methane (CH4) emissions. Aims The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding different levels of L. cuneata hay on feed intake and enteric CH4 emissions of sheep fed a basal diet of subtropical Eragrostis curvula hay. Methods Four adult ruminally cannulated Dohne Merino wethers with initial bodyweight of 65.5 ± 3.5 kg were used in the experiment in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. The four experimental treatments were E. curvula hay substituted with 0%, 30%, 60% and 90% L. cuneata hay. Each of four experimental periods lasted 27 days, which consisted of a 14-day adaptation period, a 7-day digestibility trial, and a 6-day CH4-measurement period. During the 6-day CH4-measurement period, CH4 emissions were measured continuously over a 24-h period by using an open circuit respiration system. Key results Dry matter intake (DMI, g/kg W0.75) was higher (P < 0.05) for sheep receiving 60% and 90% L. cuneata than 0% and 30% L. cuneata (77.33 and 84.67 g/kg W0.75 vs 62.96 and 62.71 g/kg W0.75). The increase in DMI corresponded with a linear increase in DM digestibility of the experimental treatments from 38% to 45% as the level of L. cuneata substitution increased. Methane yield was not influenced (P > 0.05) by 30% inclusion of L. cuneata (17.6 g CH4/kg DMI) but decreased (P < 0.05) as the inclusion level increased to 60% and 90% (13.8 and 14.3 g CH4/kg DMI). Conclusions Inclusion of L. cuneata hay in a diet based on E. curvula hay improved diet digestibility, and led to increased concentrations of crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and non-fibre carbohydrates. Substituting E. curvula hay with 60% L. cuneata on a DM basis resulted in the greatest reduction in CH4 yield of 21.4% compared with a diet of 100% E. curvula. Implications The results suggest that L. cuneata has the potential to reduce CH4 yield and possibly increase production from sheep by improving diet DM digestibility and through improved DMI.

Prosopis is a regional cash crop that is widely grown in arid, semiarid, tropical, and subtropical areas. Compared with other legume plants, Prosopis is underutilized and has great potentialities. Prosopis not only is a good source of timber, construction, fencing material, and gum, but also can be applied for food, beverage, feed, and medicine. Prosopis contains numerous phytochemical constituents, including carbohydrates, proteins, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins, while varieties of phenolic compounds have also been identified from different parts of Prosopis. Flavonoids (especially C-glycosyl flavonoids), tannins, catechin, 4′-O-methyl-gallocatechin, mesquitol, and quercetin O-glycosides are significant phenolic contents in Prosopis. Various extracts of Prosopis displayed a wide range of biological properties, such as antioxidant, antihyperglycemic, antibacterial, anthelmintic, antitumor, and anticancer. Additionally, Prosopis has the potential to be an ideal diet that contains abundant dietary fiber, minerals, galactomannans, and low-fat content. However, the bioactivity and pharmacological properties associated with Prosopis were influenced by the bioavailability of phytochemicals, various antinutritional compounds, and the interactions of protein and phenolic compounds. The bioavailability of Prosopis is mainly affected by phenolic contents, especially catechin. The antinutritional compounds negatively affect the nutritional qualities of Prosopis, which can be prevented by heating. The protein-phenolic compound interactions can help the human body to absorb quercetin from Prosopis. This literature review aimed to provide systematic information on the physical, biochemical, pharmacological, and nutritional properties and potential applications of Prosopis.

Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott) is an important food crop especially in the tropics and subtropics. Its cormels and leaves are eaten after cooking in the rural areas in Ethiopia. There is lack of information on the nutritional composition of cocoyam grown in the country. In this study, cormels of green- and purple- cocoyams were analyzed to determine proximate and mineral contents and antinutritional factors. The moisture contents (%) of green- and purple-cocoyams were 61.91 and 63.53, respectively. Crude protein (10.10%) and fiber (2.66%) contents of purple cocoyam were significantly higher than crude protein (8.48%) and fiber (2.14%) contents of green cocoyam. Fat contents (%) of the green- and purple cocoyam were 0.85 and 0.22, respectively. Ash content of green cocoyam (3.25%) was significantly higher than the ash content of purple cocoyam (2.27%). The carbohydrate contents (%) and gross energy values (kcal/100 g) of green- and purple-cocoyam, respectively, were 85.36 and 378.47 and 84.76 and 380.27, showing that cocoyam grown in Ethiopia can be a good source of energy. Mineral contents (mg/100 g) of green cocoyam were determined as Fe (8.20), Zn (3.07), Cu (1.04), Mg (78.77), Mn (2.48), P (120.93), Na (29.22), K (1085.70) and Ca (56.57) while purple cocoyam had Fe (9.88), Zn (3.12), Cu (1.14), Mg (82.00), Mn (3.74), P (129.87), Na (24.33), K (1223.30) and Ca (44.90). High antinutritional factors (phytate and tannin) (mg/100 g) were determined from both green- and purple-cocoyam genotypes with significantly higher quantities in purple cocoyam (187.57 phytate and 156.1 tannin) than the green cocoyam (167.76 phytate and 139.62 tannin). This study provided important information about the nutritional composition of cocoyam from Ethiopia, which can help to develop cocoyam food products and to promote production and utilization of cocoyam by encouraging its sustainable use. More detailed analyses including processing and sensory testing are suggested for further investigation in order to obtain healthful and comfortable cocoyam products.

ABSTRACT Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L) commonly known as ragi is an important crop used for food, forage and industrial products. Finger millet has a wide ecological and geographical adaptability and resilience to various agro-climatic adversities hence, it is highly suited to drought condition and marginal land and requires low external input in cultivation.. Farmers participatory field demonstrations of ragi variety Arjun and Bhairabi were conducted at two villages ie Pedawada of Malkangiri block and MPV -1 of Kalimela block of Malkangiri district, comprising 40 farmers in cluster approach in Kharif 2018 and 2019 , by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Malkangiri , in South Eastern Ghat Zone of Odisha . Conducting front line demonstrations on farmer’s field help to identify the constraints and potential of the finger millet in the specific area as well as it helps in improving the economic and social status of the farmers. Observation on growth and yield parameters were taken and economic analysis was done. The final seed yield was recorded at the time of harvest and the gross return in (Rs ha -1) was calculated based on prevailing market prices. The results from the demonstration conclusively proved that finger millet variety Arjun (OEB-526) recorded the higher yield ( 18.8 q ha-1) , followed by Bhairabi ( 15.3 q ha-1) and farmer’s traditional variety Nali Mandia ( Dasaraberi) recorded an average yield of (8.6 q ha-1 ) . HYV Finger millet variety Arjun with proper nutrient management and plant protection measures gave 118 % higher over farmer’s practices. The technological and extension gap was 1.9 q ha-1 and 12.07 q ha-1 respectively. Similarly, technological index was 8.2 percent. The benefit cost ratio was 2.4 and 1.9 in case of Arjun and Bhairabi respectively and in case of farmer’s variety Nali Mandia it was 1.4. Hence the existing local finger millet variety can be replaced by HYV Arjun ans Bhairabi , since it fits good to the existing rainfed farming situation for higher productivity. By conducting front line demonstrations on millet on large scale in farmer’s field, yield potential of finger millet can be enhanced largely which will increase in the income level of farmers and improve the livelihood condition of the farming community. Introduction Among small millets, finger millet (Elusine coracana L,) locally known as Ragi/Mandia is the most important crop grown in tribal districts of Odisha and it is the staple food of the tribals. It was originated about 5000 years ago in east Africa (possibly Ethiopia) and was introduced into India, 3000 years ago (Upadhyaya et al., 2006) and it is highly suited to drought condition and marginal land and requires low external input in cultivation. Millet is a collective term referring to a number of small seeded annual grasses that are cultivated as grain crops, primarily on marginal lands in dry areas in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions (Baker, 1996). Nutritionally finger millet is superior to major cereal crops and rich source of micronutrients such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and iron. And it has several health benefits. Finger millet grains contain higher amount of proteins, oils and minerals than the grains of rice, maize or sorghum (Reed et al., 1976). Vadivoo and Joseph (1998) mentioned finger millet grains contain 13.24% moisture, 7.6% protein, 74.36% carbohydrate, 74.36% carbon, 1.52% dietary fiber, 2.35% minerals, 1.35% fat and energy 341.6 cal/100g. (Joshi and Katoch, 1990; Ravindran, 1991). It is a rich source of micronutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. Cysteine, tyrosine, tryptophan and methionine are the right spectrum of amino acids found in finger millet protein (Rachie, 1975). The increase in global temperature leads to climate changes that directly affect crop production and increase people's hunger and malnutrition around the world.. With regard to protein (6-8%) and fat (1-2%) it is comparable to rice and with respect to mineral and micronutrient contents it is superior to rice and wheat (Babu et al., 1987). It is also known for several health benefits such as anti-diabetic, anti-tumerogenic, atherosclerogenic effects, antioxidant, which are mainly attributed due to its polyphenol and dietary fiber contents. Being indigenous minor millet it is used in the preparation of various foods both in natural and malted forms. Grains of this millet are converted into flours for preparation of products like porridge, puddings, pancakes, biscuits, roti, bread, noodles, and other snacks. Besides this, it is also used as a nourishing food for infants when malted and is regarded as wholesome food for diabetic's patients. Diversification of food production must be encouraged both at national and household level in tandem with increasing yields. Growing of traditional food crops suitable for the area is one of the possible potential successful approaches for improving household food security. Malkangiri is one of the seven districts where a flagship programme called “Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas of Odisha (hereafter, Odisha Millets Mission, (OMM)” has been launched by Department of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, Odisha in order to revive millets in rainfed farming systems and household consumption. It was started in kharif 2017 in four blocks of the district, namely Chitrakonda, Korkunda, Mathili and Khairiput. The Government of Odisha launched Odisha Millets Mission (OMM) also known as the Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas of Odisha in 2017 to revive millets in farms and on plates. The aim was to tackle malnutrition by introducing millets in the public distribution system (PDS) and other state nutrition schemes. The focus is on reviving millets in farms and putting it on plates.” Millet, a nutritious and climate-resilient crop, has traditionally been cultivated and consumed by tribal communities in the rainfed regions of southern Odisha. Technology gap, i.e. poor knowledge about newly released crop production and protection technologies and their management practices in the farmers’ fields is a major constraint in Ragi production. So far, no systematic approach was implemented to study the technological gap existing in various components of Ragi cultivation. Awareness of scientific production technology like HYV of ragi, seed treatment with fungicide, use of insecticide and bio-fertilizers, is lacking in Malkangiri district which were a key reason for low productivity. The production potential could be increased by adopting recommended scientific and sustainable management production practices with improved high yielding varieties and timely use of other critical inputs. Objective The field experiment was undertaken to study the performance of three finger millet varieties Local Mandia (Nali Mandia), Bhairabi and Arjun in rainfed upland situation in kharif season. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the field performance of newly released finger millet varieties Arjun and Bhairabi under rainfed condition. The demonstrations were carried out in Malkangiri district covering two villages like Pedawada and MPV-6 to find out the existing technological and extension gap along with technology index with an objective to popularize the ragi varieties having higher yield potential. Material and methods The study was carried out in operational area of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Malkangiri during Kharif season in the year 2018 and 2019. The study was under taken in Malkangiri and Kalimela blocks of Malkangiri district of Odisha and the blocks were selected purposefully as Finger millet is the major cereals crop grown in large area in Kharif season. The demonstrations were conducted in two different adopted villages Pedawada and MPV-6 in cluster approach. The Front Line Demonstration (FLD) is an applied approach to accelerate the dissemination of proven technologies at farmer’s fields in a participatory mode with an objective to explore the maximum available resources of crop production and also to bridge the productivity gaps by enhancing the production in national basket.The necessary steps for selection of site and farmers and layout of demonstrations etc were followed as suggested by Choudhary (1999). Forty numbers front line demonstrations on HYV Ragi were conducted in two clusters comprising 40 numbers of farmers. All the participating farmers were trained on various aspects of Ragi production technologies and recommended agronomic practices and certified seeds of Ragi variety Arjun and Bhairabi were used for demonstration. The soil of demonstration site was slightly acidic in reaction (pH-5.0 to 5.25) with sandy loam in texture and EC was 0.134 (dS m −1). The available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium was between 214 .00, 22 .00, 142 .00 (Kg ha−1) respectively with 0.48 (%) Organic Carbon. The crop was sown in under rainfed condition in the first to second week of July. The crop was raised with recommended agronomic practices and harvested within 4th week of November up to 2nd week of December. Krishi Vigyan Kendra ( KVK), Malkangiri conducted front line demonstration with HYV varieties like Bhiarabi and Arjun and farmer’ local var Dasaraberi as check Finger millet Variety Arjun (OEB-526) is having Maturity duration 110 days and average yield 20.7q/ha with moderate resistance to leaf, neck and finger blast and brown seed and Bhairabi is a HYV of Ragi with Maturity duration 110 days and average yield 17.6 q/ha. Moderate resistance to leaf, neck blast and brown seeded and protein content 81%. Local variety Dsaraberi or Nali Mandia is having 105 days duration and drought tolerant variety used as farmers variety as local check . The technologies demonstrated were as follows: Popularization of high yielding Ragi variety, Seed treatment with Trichoderma viride @ 4g kg-1 seed , Line sowing with, soil test based fertilizer application along with need based plant protection measures. The field was ploughed two times and planking was done after each plugging, Need based plant protection measures were taken; along with soil test based fertilizer application was done with fertilizer dose 40:30:60 kg. N: P2O5: K2O kg ha -1. In case of local checks existing practices being used by farmers were followed. The observations were recorded for various parameters of the crop. The farmers’ practices were maintained in case of local checks. The field observations were taken from demonstration plot and farmer’s plot as well. Parameters like Plant height, number of fingers per plant, length of finger , no of fingers per year, 1000 seed weight and seed yield were recorded at maturity stage and the gross returns (Rs ha -1 ) were calculated on the basis of prevailing market price of the produce. The extension gap, technology gap, technology index along with B: C ratio was calculated and the data were statistically analyzed applying the statistical techniques. Statistical tools such as percentage, mean score, Standard deviation, co-efficient of variation, Fisher‘s “F” test, were employed for analysis of data. The farmer’s practices (FP) plots were maintained as local check for comparison study. The data obtained from intervention practices (IP) and famers practices (FP) were analyzed for extension gap, technological gap, technological index and benefit cost ratio study as per (Samui et al., 2000) as given below. Technology gap = Pi (Potential yield) - Di (Demonstration yield) Extension gap = Di (Demonstration Yield) - Fi (Farmers yield) Technology index = X 100 Result and Discussion The results obtained from the present investigation are summarized below. The Table 1 depicts the major differences observed between demonstration package and farmer’s practices in ragi production in the study area. The major differences were observed between demonstration package and farmer’s practices were regarding recommended varieties, seed treatment, soil test based fertilizer application, keeping optimum plant population by thinning, weed management and plant protection measures. The data of Table 1 shows that under the demonstrated plot only recommended high yielding variety, proper weeding and optimum plant population maintaining by thinning and the farmers used herbicides and the farmers timely performed all the other package and practices. It was also observed that farmers were unaware about balanced fertilizer application, seed treatment, and use of fertilizers application and maintenance of plant population for enhancing the yield. Majority of the farmers in the study area were unaware about use of weed management practices. The findings are in corroborated with the findings of (Katar et al., 2011) From the Table 2 it was revealed that in the district Malkangiri the productivity of finger millet was 6.38 (q ha-1) as compare to state average productivity 8.67 (q ha-1), but there exists a gap between potential yield and farmers yield, which can be minimized by adoption High yielding varieties with improved management practices. The productivity of finger millet was very low in the district as the crop is mostly grown along the hillsides on sloppy land on light textured soil. It was also coupled with negligence in adoption of improved varieties no input like fertilizers use and no plant protection measures and improper method and time of sowing. However, there is a wide gap between the Potential and the actual production realized by the farmers due to partial adoption of recommended package of practices by the growers. Several constraints contributed to yield fluctuation on Ragi production, including: unreliable rainfall; lack of high yielding variety ,disease tolerant varieties; pests and diseases incidence; low producer prices; poor agronomic practices; and lack of institutional support (Bucheyeki et al., 2008; Okoko et al., 1998). One of the central problems of ragi production and processing in this district is due to an uncertain production environment owing to rain fed cultivation, the low resource base of smallholder farmers and processors, and no scope for post harvest management and value addition facilities and poor marketing facility. The results clearly indicated from the Table 3 that the positive effects of FLDs over the existing practices. HYV Ragi Arjun recorded higher yield 18.8(q ha-1) followed by Bhairabi 15.53 (q ha-1) which was 21 % more and the yield performance of these two HYV varieties was higher than the farmer’s variety. This is due to higher of panicle length, more number of tillers and more number of fingers per panicle in HYV of ragi as compared to local variety. The results are in conformity with the findings of (Tomar et al. , 2003). The results clearly indicated the positive effects of FLDs over the existing practices towards enhancing the productivity. It is revealed form table 4 that, as the calculated ‘F’ value at α=0.05 level was found to be larger than table value, indicating significant difference in yield between farmer’s variety and recommended varieties. There was significant difference between average yield of ragi under Farmers practice (FP) and Recommended practice (RP) in variety Arjun under this demonstration. It was concluded that the yield of these HYV ragi varieties was significantly higher as compared to farmer’s variety. The economics and B:C ratio of farmers practice and Demonstration practice has been presented in Table 6. From the table it was revealed that Benefit: Cost ratio (B:C) was recorded to be higher under demonstrations against control treatments during all the years of experimentation. The cost of cultivation in HYV variety was higher due to more labour cost involved in transplanting and also it included cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals and also net returns was higher as compared to farmer’s practice. The B: C ratio was found to be 2.4 in case of variety Arjun as compared to 1.9 in case of variety Bhairabi. The results on economic analysis indicated that HYV ragi Arjun and Bhairabi performed better than local variety Ragi. The HYV variety Arjun recorded higher gross return upto Rs 54,332 and followed by Bhairabi Rs 44,289 per ha which was significantly higher than farmers practice and it was due to higher productivity of varieties under demonstration. Conclusion The results revealed that in Malkangiri district finger millet variety Arjun rerecorded highest yield followed by Variety Bhirabi with proper package and practices under rainfed upland condition. From the above study it was concluded that use of finger millet varieties like Arjun or Bhairabi with scientific methods and technological practices of can reduce the technological gap and enhance the productivity in the district. Yield improvement in Finger Millet in the demonstration was due to use of HYV seed and scientific management practices adopted by the farmers. Yield of Finger Millet can be increased to a great extent by conducting effective front line demonstrations in larger area with proven technologies. Finger millet is one of future smart food crop of India and can be grown in the drought condition. This crop is rich in nutrient for food insecurity and within few years because of increase in population of world and depletion of area of production.. The principal reasons of lower productivity of finger millet in the district Malkangiri were lack of knowledge among the farmers about cultivation of HYV finger millet varieties and improper fertilization, late season sowing and severe weed infestation in crop at critical stages. From the above findings, it can be concluded that use of scientific methods of Finger millet cultivation can reduce the technology gap to a considerable extent thus leading to increased productivity of millets in the district. 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Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) production is experiencing a significant increase in worldwide production since regaining popularity in many countries since the 1990's. Currently, production in Australia is very limited, and no major grain or fibre processing facilities yet exist, owing to the lack of suitable low THC (A9-tetrahydrocannibinol) varieties. Hemp production in subtropical regions of Australia is particularly limited as short day lengths (photoperiods) result in early plant maturity, and thus, poor yielding crops. The aim of this research is to determine the viability of a new variety of hemp, bred specifically for subtropical production whilst determining the effects of day length and plant density on yield and flowering time. Trials were conducted in Bundaberg, QLD in 2010-2012 in both field and controlled environment (plastic house) settings. Plant densities of 100, 200, 300 and 400 plants m-2 were compared for fibre production and densities of 50, 80, 100 and 150 plants m2 were compared for grain production to assist in the establishment of appropriate commercial sowing rates. Harvested fibre yields were greatest at 300 plants m2 whereas grain yields were greatest at 150 plants m2, with the potential of even higher yields at densities greater than 150 plants m2. Photoperiod experiments were conducted in a controlled plastic house evaluating plant responses to varying photoperiods. Treatments comparing ambient day length, 13 hour 40 minute fixed photoperiod and 14 hour 40 minute fixed photoperiod determined that a 13 hour 40 minute photoperiod did not significantly prolong vegetative growth compared to natural day lengths in the hemp variety BundyGem but at 14 hours 40 minutes maturity times were significantly delayed, thereby contributing to greater plant height and fibre yield. Previous research also suggests that a critical photoperiod of between 14 and 16 hours is required before flowering is delayed in hemp. This theory was supported by a field experiment whereby successive plantings of BundyGem throughout the spring/summer period of 2011/2012, flowered at the same age despite subtle changes in day length for the growing period (never exceeding 13 hours 40 minutes). This research confirms that subtropical fibre hemp is not yet suitable for subtropical production in Australia with existing varieties due to the limitation of photoperiod on yield. Grain production may still be viable despite early plant maturity with yields comparable with those produced in Europe and Canada.