• Mandate crops: Sunflower, Maize, Cotton and Pulses
• Mandate:

• Development and Popularization of Varieties and Hybrids of Maize, Pulses and Sunflower.
• Development and Popularization of production and protection technologies in Maize, Cotton, Pulses and Sunflower Crops and Cropping Systems.
• Improving the productivity of dry land crops through soil and moisture conservation practices

Key Research Themes / Focus Areas

• Development of varieties or hybrids in Maize, Pulses and Sunflower 
• Crop residue management.
• Soil and moisture conservation practices in ID crops

Soil Science

• Productivity and livelihood enhancement of rainfed areas through water harvesting and on-farm water reservoirs 
• Residue and nutrient management of maize-sunflower cropping system 
• Evaluation effect of PSB on nitrogen fixation in greengram and residual effect on N and P availability to succeeding maize
• Long term experiment on soil health and crop performance for cotton – maize sequence
• Influence of different levels of potassium on paddy yield
• Effect of Nano DAP on growth and yield of sunflower
• Assessment of carbon sequestration under Maize – Sunflower cropping systems in soils of Siddipet District.

Entomology:

• Survey and monitoring of major insect pests in sunflower and maize crops in Siddipet region.
• Assessment of insect pest complex in sunflower-growing areas.
• Study of the effect of different sowing dates on pest incidence in sunflower and maize.
• Correlation of pest incidence with weather parameters.
• Population monitoring of maize pests, with emphasis on fall armyworm, using light traps.
• Screening of green gram and black gram entries for resistance against major insect pests.

Plant Breeding:

• Germplasm evaluation and crop improvement programmes for Grain Amaranth, including IVT trials.
• Collection, characterization, cataloguing, maintenance, and utilization of maize germplasm.
• Development and evaluation of high-yielding maize hybrids, including single cross, experimental, and climate-resilient hybrids for high starch content.
• Evaluation and identification of high-yielding red gram genotypes for medium and mid-early maturity groups.
• Evaluation of green gram and black gram genotypes/varieties for high yield under Central Telangana Zone (CTZ).
• Conducting Multi Location Trials (MLT) on maize.
• Genetic enhancement initiatives in maize

Agronomy:

• Promotion of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) for sustainable productivity in cropping systems involving sunflower.
• Study on the response of sunflower to nano-nitrogen application.
• Implementation of Frontline Demonstrations to showcase improved agricultural technologies.
• Evaluation of varied fertilizer levels in the cotton–sunflower cropping system.
• Identification of efficient micro-irrigation methods and optimal irrigation scheduling for improving growth, yield, and water productivity of rabi maize.

Infrastructure Facilities Available

• Multidisciplinary research lab for soil science and agronomy.

Technologies developed:

• Response of different maturity groups of pigeonpea to protective irrigation under rainfed conditions
• Comparable crops to maize 
• Moisture conservation practices to enhance productivity of maize
• Performance of high yielding mid early and medium duration pigeonpea varieties under rainfed conditions
• Impact of contour farming on soil moisture conservation and productivity of rainfed crops on Alfisols
• Agronomic package for complete mechanization in cotton
• Agronomic practices for complete mechanization in Red gram
• Increasing cropping intensity and profitability with sunflower as a component crop in the emerging cropping system
• Best management practices for maximum economic yield of sunflower (On- farm demonstration)
• Response of sunflower to varying fertilizer levels under different land configurations under rainfed conditions
• Optimization of N and K through fertigation schedules in sunflower
• Agronomic evaluation of mustard varieties on Alfisols in Central Telangana Zone
• Agro-techniques for sunflower cultivation during rabi season and in paddy fallows
• Selective mechanization for sunflower in Alfisols.
• Rain water harvesting through farm ponds- A climate resilient technology for sustainable crop production in drylands
• Gypsum – a better source of sulphur for enhancing the productivity of sunflower in deficient soils
• Rice residue management options for higher productivity and profitability of sunflower in rice-sunflower cropping system

Method demonstration on stem applicator, multicrop shredder, with Pneumatic Planter in HDPS Cotton, HDPS cotton, rice residue management in sunflower 

A training on production technologies of paddy, sunflower, Branding of Telangana sona rice’ in collaboration with G-COT, Hyderabad.

Field day on HDPS cotton, 

Farmer Scientists Interactions Programmes.

Station In-Charge (Name & Designation):Dr. Dr. G. Santhosh Kumar
Scientist & Head, ARS, Tornala.

e-Mail Id : ars.tornala@pjtau.edu.in

Mobile Number : 8333818210