Indian Journal of Plant and Soil

Genetics has long played a role in the history of insect pest management, Beginning from simple collections of mutations and the development of chromosome linkage maps, many of the early applications of genetic technology were focused on the development of new strains for the sterile insect technique as a form of biological control. Since that time, and as the field of genetics underwent a true merger with molecular biology, the focus shifted almost entirely to methods using molecular technology. These methods had the advantage of being more broadly applicable to control of a wide range of pest species, from the frustrations often associated with attempts to transfer genetic tools developed in Drosophila directly to these species. The latest applications of molecular genetic technologies in the area of genetically based control methods now also include cutting-edge systems for genome editing and the use of RNA inhibition for selectively knocking out the expression of individual genes. Finally, as the field of genetics has shifted its focus from the analysis of individual genes to that of entire genomes, We outline some policy considerations for taking genetic insect control systems through to field implementation.

Gender mainstreaming is the process by which narrowing the gap in development opportunities between men and women and working towards equality between them become an essential part of the organizational strategy, policies and operations. The aim is to develop interventions that over come barriers preventing men and women having equal access to the resources and services they need to improve their livelihood. Present paper aim is to discuss the role of gender mainstreaming in agriculture.

The land suitability evaluation for banana production (Musa acuminate) and its irrigation management in drought prone Pulivendula tehsil (133315 hectares) of Cuddapah district requires systematic land resource information to apply FAO-SYS guidelines to analyze and generate maps under Geographical information system. The climate is semiarid with length of growing period of 95 to 135 days and aridity index of 11.29 to 14.25. The angot pluvimetric analysis shows that August to October receives high intensity rainfall (>20mm) with probability more than 50 per cent. A soil resource inventory on 1:25000 scale using IRS-P6-LISS-IV satellite imagery was carried out to derive soil map having 43 soil mapping units. The soil map shows that 69 per cent of area is non-gravelly with deep, moderately well drained, moderately to strongly calcareous alkaline clay soils occurring on nearly flat to very gently sloping lands. The land suitability map shows that fifty one thousand hectares of land is moderately suitable for banana with limitations of subsoil gravelliness, rooting depth and texture under erratic rainfall pattern. The irrigability analysis for drip irrigation shows that 38.33 per cent of area (56091ha) is suitable with high soil erosion risk that needs construction of bench terraces with rock bunding.