The effects of three irrigation regimes on growth, yield and quality of cotton were investigated for two seasons in relation to earliness, quality and water-use efficiency, expressed as m. of water/kg. cotton produced. Light irrigations of cotton, at 75 mm. per irrigation every ten days, were economically better than the traditionally-accepted practice of irrigating every 14 days, and markedly better than prolonging the irrigation cycle to 20 days, mainly due to increased market value of the crop. The results also showed that irrigation intervals of 20 days, besides depressing yield, had a deleterious effect on fibre strength, though the different water regimes did not seem to affect other quality tests.

The objectives were to assess the following: (1) the relationship between sward height and chemical composition of four pasture types in association with grazing behaviour and body condition score (BCS) of dairy cows, and (2) the possibility of developing predictive equations of the nutrient intake and grazing behaviour within a continued grazing system. Pasture type had a significant (p < 0.01) effect on nutrient supply from January to June for all pastures investigated. Ryegrass–white clover pasture (RW) had the highest metabolizable protein and metabolizable energy, followed by kikuyu pasture (KP), which was significantly (p < 0.001) higher than native pastures 1 and 2 (NP1 and NP2). The highest values for effective grazing time, bite rate and BCS were found when dairy cows grazed RW followed by KP, NP2 and NP1. The results suggested that pasture type and sward height influenced grazing behaviour and BCS of dairy cows during the dry season. In the same vein, RW showed higher effective grazing time, bite rate, nutrient intake and BCS than the other three pastures suggesting that RW pastures that appear to be more expensive than native pastures could result in superior cow performance.

CCC applied to bread wheat, in 1967 and 1968 as a foliar spray at 1·40 and 2·28 kg./ha. a.i., prevented and/or delayed lodging to some extent. However, this effect was small and complete control of lodging seems to be unlikely, even when using large amounts. CCC increased grain yields, by 1·5 to 10·9 qu./ha., depending on the extent to which lodging was reduced. Significant depressions in yield were obtained, presumably owing to an observed increase incidence in ear diseases, particularly Septoria nodorum. The increase in grain yield was due mainly to an increase in 1000 grain weight and grains per ear, whereas the effect on tillers per unit area was slightly negative. Where no lodging occurred, there was a slight but non-significant tendency for increasing grain yields after CCC treatment.

Hand-pollinated pods of the Crin Elite establishment cocoa progeny C77 X C23 showed that pod maturity, based on pod age, significantly affected bean viability as well as leaf area, leaf number, plant height and plant girth of the seedlings produced. Beans extracted from immature unripe cocoa pods only 15 weeks from hand-pollination were more than 50 per cent viable and produced seedlings vigorous enough for transplanting to the field after 20 weeks in the nursery compared with beans from 25-week-old normal, mature-ripe cocoa pods. Loss by black pod disease (Phytopthora palmivora Butl) could therefore be avoided and time of waiting for pods to attain normal maturity and ripening saved, by early harvesting.

Foliar sprays of 25–100 mg L−1 dinitrophenol, sodium azide (NaN3) and thiourea solution applied to Azolla microphylla (strains 202 and 203) at seven days after inoculation significantly increased the sporulation frequency and number of micro- and mega-sporocarps per plant. Azolla biomass production was decreased by the application of NaN3 at 50–100 mg L−1 and dinitrophenol or thiourea at 75 and 100 mg L−1. Both the sporulation frequency and sporocarp number were maximal with dinitrophenol and NaN3 at 100 mg L−1 and thiourea at 75 mg L−1. At this concentration, NaN3 was more effective than dinitrophenol and thiourea in enhancing sporulation in A. microphylla (strain 203). The sporulation frequency and micro-sporocarp number were significantly higher with gibberellic acid (2.5 mg L−1) than with indole acetic acid (6 mg L−1) application, while the effects of NaN3 were comparable with those of gibberellic acid. The mega-sporocarp numbers in these treatments were comparable. The combined application of any two of the metabolic inhibitors had antagonistic effects and decreased the sporulation frequency and sporocarp number over their individual applications. Combined applications also substantially reduced the biomass production. The application of gibberellic acid or indole acetic acid along with one of the metabolic inhibitors had synergistic effects on the formation of sporocarps and significantly increased the biomass production, irrespective of the metabolic inhibitor treatment. The number of both micro- and mega-sporocarps in the gibberellic acid + NaN3 and indole acetic acid + NaN3 treatments, and micro-sporocarps in the gibberellic acid + dinitrophenol, indole acetic acid + dinitrophenol and indole acetic acid + thiourea treatments was significantly higher than when each of these chemicals was applied alone. Of the different combinations of gibberellic acid, indole acetic acid and NaN3, gibberellic acid + NaN3 recorded the highest sporulation frequency and micro-sporocarp number, and indole acetic acid + NaN3 the highest mega-sporocarp number. Application of all three chemicals together had no extra advantage.

Beusani is a rice crop management system practised in rainfed lowland areas of eastern India whereby rice is dry-seeded, then wet-ploughed at 30–50 days after emergence and the land levelled by drawing a board across the field. Field experiments showed that beusani enhances rooting, especially in shallow soil layers, as a result of reduced penetration resistance. Although beusani reduced weed biomass by 38%, it was not as effective as application of herbicide followed by hand weeding, which reduced biomass by 87%. Yields were directly related to weed control, so beusani treatments did not yield as much as the herbicide plus hand weeding treatments in these experiments.

Where ancient agricultural sites are brought back into cultivation, using new forms of irrigation, cotton often grows badly in the first few seasons. A theory is developed to account for these failures, and it is shown that heavy irrigations before planting not only produce better crops but may also economise in water.