Introduction/Historical Perspective

Rajasthan state has been divided into five major agro-climatic zones. Each zone is further sub divided into two sub-zones. Thus, there are ten agro-climatic zones in all under National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) launched in the state in 1981. The zones have been formed on the basis of differences in physiography, rainfall, soil types, availability of irrigation water and existing cropping pattern. The Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Fatehpur-Shekhawati is the research station of the agro-climatic zone II-A which is called as Transitional Plain of Inland Drainage. The ARS is situated between 27° 57’ 04.01" N to 27° 55’ 43.59" N latitude and 74° 58’ 47.47" E to 74° 59’ 45.97" E longitude with an altitude of 321 to 330 meters above mean sea level. The zone covers four districts namely Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur and Eastern part of Churu district.

The station was established in April, 1984. The station is located at 7 km from Fatehpur on Jaipur-Bikaner national highway (NH-52) at a road distance of 45 km from Sikar district and 160 km from Jaipur. The sub-station of this zone was established at Nagaur during NARP-II phase, which has come to function from December, 1993. The zone is bordered by Haryana state, Ajmer, Alwar, Bikaner, Hanumangarh, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Pali districts. The geographical area of the zone is about 36.9 lakh hectares, which represents 10.6 per cent of the total area of the state. The zone is spread over 9 tehsils (Sikar, Fatehpur, Laxmangarh, Dantaramgarh, Sri Madhopur, Dhod, Khandela, Neem Ka Thana and Ramgarh Shekhawati) of Sikar district, 13 tehsils (Nagaur, Mundwa, Khinvsar, Jayal, Merta City, Degana, Deedwana, Parbatsar, Ladnun, Kuchaman City, Makrana City, Nawa and Riyan Badi) of Nagaur district, 8 tehsils (Jhunjhunu, Malsisar, Chirawa, Buhana, Nawalgarh, Udaipurwati, Khetri and Surajgarh) of Jhunjhunu district and 3 tehsils (Churu, Rajgarh and Taranagar) of Churu district.

Climate and Soil

The climate of the region ranges from arid to semi-arid with an average rainfall of about 300-350 mm, which is mainly received in the month of July and August. The temperature goes as high as 48 °C in summers and as low as –5.2 °C in winters. Because of the insufficient and uneven distribution of rain, frequent failure of crops is common and consequently resulting in to famine. In general, the soils of zone II A are desert soils. However, according to USDA soil classification (1975), the soils of this region fall in the category of entisols and aridisols where the soils are not dominated by montmorillonite clay and are usually dry. The soils are varying from sandy to loam. The nitrogen status of soil is low (200 kg/ha) in the entire zone while that of phosphorous is medium (20-25 kg/ha). The status of potash is also medium (100-250 kg/ha) in the zone.

Water, the most crucial and limited resource of this zone is mainly available as ground water, of which major part (85%) is brackish. The prevailing climatic conditions are very harsh, that limits the agricultural productivity of the zone. Due to the limited water availability, dry land agriculture is pre-dominantly practiced in kharif season by taking the main crops like pearl millet, moong bean, moth bean, cluster bean and sesame. As the rainfall pattern in the region is highly erratic and scanty, the sustainability of arid/semi-arid agricultural production system is weak, hence becoming challenging.

Head's Profile

Dr. Harphool Singh

ZDR

Email: zdr.fatehpur@sknau.ac.in

Contact: 9414773798

Dr. Harphool Singh did his B.Sc.(Hons.) Ag. & M.Sc. Ag. (Agronomy) from Rajasthan Agriculture University, Bikaner. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from CCSHAU, Hisar. He has been involved in organizing trainings, demonstrations, and extension activities for the dissemination of agronomical technology. He has published more than 20 research papers in reputed journals, 1 book, 15 research publications in conferences, 2 research bulletins, and 6 booklets.

Former In-charges

Vision, Objectives & Mandates

Vision

The ARS is to envisage a vision, to develop technologies that can fit well under limited moisture, high temperature, low nutrient availability mainly due to low soil organic carbon, biotic and abiotic stresses. In general, ARS, Fatehpur is to work for delivering technologies for agricultural sustainability and livelihood security of farmers belonging to zone IIa (transitional plain of inland drainage).

Objectives

• To conduct the basic, strategic, need based and area specific applied research in agriculture (both rainfed & irrigated) and other allied fields to develop technologies relevant to farming community of the zone for livelihood security and high farm income.
• To reach at an advancement level in learning and conducting research.
• To increase the quality, quantity and productivity of prominent crops cultivated in the zone and value addition for doubling the farmers income in the zone.
• To help and provide the technical guidance to the department of agriculture for development of agriculture and allied sector in the zone.
• To develop the collaborative linkages with State Agriculture Universities, Government Departments, Government Undertakings, and National & International Organizations for better research output.
• Technologies and capacity building of scientific staff.

Mandate

The revised lead and verification functions assigned to this zone under SDP of ADP, as are follows:-

Lead function:

• Pearlmillet, clusterbean and pulses in Kharif season
• Wheat, mustard and barley in Rabi season
• Agroforestry and other farming systems
• In-situ moisture conservation
• Water and soil management
• Crop physiology including salt tolerance and heat tolerance research prospectus
• Nursery raising of horticulture and agroforestry
• Biological control of insect-pests and diseases
• Integrated nutrient management

Verification function:

• Chickpea, fenugreek, fennel, moongbean, cowpea, sesame, watermelon and forage crops
• Management of salt affected soils & water
• Sprinkler irrigation

Future Thrust Areas

Short term:

• Agro-technology for organic farming in mandate crops.
• Development of farming system modules for raising economic status of farmers.
• Development of in–situ moisture conservation technologies.
• Enhancement of medicinal plant cultivation.
• Enhancement of seed production of mandate crops with particular emphasis on clusterbean, Kharif pulses and barley.
• Development of bio-agents for various pest control.
• Isolation of pheromones for eco-friendly pest management.
• Management of Insect-pests and diseases through eco-friendly techniques and the use of bio-pesticides/herbal products.
• Suitable storage technologies for reducing losses.
• Development of package of practice for organic farming in different crops.
• Post harvest technology for value additions.

Long term:

• Development of frost tolerant varieties of mustard and barley.
• Development of heat and moisture tolerance in barley, fenugreek, clusterbean and kharif pulses.
• Development of varieties in mandate crops resistant to various insect pests and diseases.
• Development of high quality malt as well as dual purpose (grain and fodder) varieties in barley.
• Development of high quality gum containing varieties in clusterbean.

Staff Details

Photo	Name	Designation	Specialization	Contact & Profiles
	Dr. Dharmendra Tripathi	Assistant Professor	Agroforestry	stripathi.ars.fatehpur@sknau.ac.in 9680355511 Profile
	Dr. Kailash Chand Verma	Assistant Professor	Agronomy	kcverma.agro@sknau.ac.in 9416517441 Profile
	Dr. Champa Lal Khatik	Assistant Professor (GPB)	Plant Breeding and Genetics	clkhatik.pbg@sknau.ac.in 9887111741 Profile
	Dr. Subhash Chandra Mahala	Assistant Professor	Plant Physiology	scmahala.pphy@sknau.ac.in 9799435421 Profile
	Dr. Mujahid Khan	Assistant Professor	Agricultural Statistics	mkhan.stats@sknau.ac.in 9413143903 Profile
	Dr. Jhumar Lal	Assistant Professor	Agricultural Entomology	jhumarlal.ento@sknau.ac.in 9460854384 Profile

Photo	Name	Designation	Contact
	Sh. Satya Narayan Pareek	Clerk Grade-I	Ph: 9928296215
	Sh. Anil Kumar Gurjar	Clerk Grade-I	Ph: 9928535987
	Aman Choudhary	Ag. Supervisor	amanbhadarda@gmail.com Ph: 7568381828
	Sh. Ramchandra Dara	Class-IV	Ph: 9413406411
	Sh. Babu Lal	Pump Operator	Ph: 8432497968
	Sh. Jagdev Singh	Class-IV	Ph: 6375102743
	Sh. Nagar Ram	Class-IV	Ph: 8440971621
	Sh. Laxmi Narain	Sweeper	Ph: 9829960456

Research Activities

Ongoing Experiments: Kharif

1. Agronomy

• Efficacy of herbicide seed treatment for controlling Striga in pearl millet under agro-climatic condition of zone-IIa.
• The effect of nano-zinc chelated fertilizer on agronomic aspects of green gram (Vigna radiata) under agro-climatic condition of zone-IIa.
• Efficacy of different weed control measures against weeds in cluster bean under agro-climatic conditions of zone-IIa.

2. Plant Breeding and Genetics

• Validation of Pearl Millet Hybrid Varieties under zone-IIa.
• Half Diallel Crossing (5x5) Programme in Cowpea.
• Validation of high yielding cluster bean varieties under zone-IIa.
• Validation of high yielding mung bean varieties under zone-IIa.

3. Plant Physiology

• Impact of salicylic acid (SA) and potassium chloride (KCL) spray on certain physiological, growth, yield & qualitative attributes in moong bean crop under agro-climatic conditions of zone-IIa.
• Impact of silicic acid and chlormequate chloride foliar spray on certain physiological, growth, yield & qualitative attributes in cowpea crop under agro-climatic conditions of zone-IIa.
• Impact of salicylic acid (SA) application on certain physiological, growth, yield & qualitative attributes in sesame crop under agro-climatic conditions of zone-IIa.

Ongoing Experiments: Rabi

1. Agronomy

• Influence of different weed management practices on weeds and yield of fenugreek under agro-climatic condition of zone-IIa.
• Weed management in mustard under agro-climatic condition of zone-IIa.
• Effect of dose and time of nitrogen application on growth, yield and nitrogen use efficiency of wheat.
• Enhancing nitrogen use efficiency through nano-nitrogen fertilizer in barley under agro-climatic condition of zone-IIa.

Varietal Trials: Kharif

Varietal Trials: Rabi

Varieties Released & Recommendations

Varieties Released:

Recommendations:

Kharif 2001

• Pearl millet hybrid ICMH-356 added in the POP of the zone.
• Mothbean variety RMO-40 was found suitable for intercropping with pearl millet. Among the intercropping ratio of mothbean and pearl millet, 2:1 row ratio was found more remunerative. Apply 10 kg N/ha in pearl millet rows only after 25-30 days of sowing.

Rabi 2001-02

• For management of Fusarium wilt in fenugreek, seed treatment with topsin-M + thiram @ 1+2 g/kg seed or bioagent (Tricoderma harzianum) @ 4 g/kg or post-sowing broadcasting of bioagent @ 2 kg/ha was effective.

Rabi 2022-23

• Barley Variety: RD-2907 is added in PoP which is a high yielding barley variety...
• Agro-techniques and varieties of Mustard Crop under Saline Conditions for Nagaur Region: Application of saline water in mustard crop applied with the organic mulch...