bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for various quantitative and qualitative traits in Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)
Authors: Zehra Syed Berjes , Khan Shabir Hussain , Ahmad Asif , Afroza Baseerat , Parveen K. , Hussain Khursheed
Published: April 2018

Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for different quantitative and qualitative characters were studied in 64 genotypes of chilli. The study indicated the existence of considerable amount of genetic variability for all the traits under study. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among genotypes for almost all the traits studied. The maximum range was recorded for fruit yield per plant (150-900 g) followed by vitamin-C content at red ripe stage (35.50 -207.17 mg/100g), vitamin-C content at green stage (24.93-195.83 mg/100g), capsanthin content (39.58-180.35ASTA units, number of fruits per plant (21.32-100.27) and plant height (50.20-105.00cm). The highest phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variability were observed for average fruit weight followed by seed yield per plant, average seed weight per fruit, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant and fruit diameter. In general the phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) were slight higher than genotypic coefficients of variation GCV), which indicates the minor role of environment in the expression of traits under observation. The estimates of heritability in broad sense was high for all the characters. The present investigation indicates a great scope of in the improvement of these traits as these characters in general possessed high estimates of heritability coupled with high genetic advancement except for days to first fruit set, days to first green fruit harvest, days to first ripe fruit harvest and dry matter content (high heritability but moderate genetic gain) indicating the preponderance of additive gene action for control of these traits.
Effect of potassium and zinc on growth, yield and economics of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cv. CO-34
Authors: Singh Pravin , Aravindakshan Kavita , Maurya I. B. , Singh Jitendra , Singh Bhim , Sharma M. K.
Published: April 2018

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different levels of potassium and zinc on growth, yield and economics of sweet potato. The experiment was laid out on clay and loam soil by adopting randomized block design with factorial technique (FRBD). The sixteen treatments consisted of combination of four levels of po-tassium (0, 80, 100 and 120 kg/ha through muriate of potash and four levels of foliar zinc (control i.e. water spray, 10, 20 and 30ppm) through zinc sulphate. The individual application of potassium 120 kg K2O/ha significantly in-creased the number of tubers per plant (4.60), average weight of tuber (275.31 g), length of tuber (16.77 cm), diam-eter of tuber (5.69 cm), tuber yield per plot (9.71 kg), tuber yield per hectare (49.04 t) respectively as compared to control. With the foliar application of zinc (30 ppm) significant increase in number of tubers per plant (4.18), average weight of tuber (234.73 g), length of tuber (18.12 cm), diameter of tuber (5.16 cm), tuber yield per plot (8.33 kg) and tuber yield per hectare (42.05 t) was recordedas compared to control. The treatment combination (120 kg K2O+30ppm Zn) recorded the maximum yield parameters i.e. chlorophyll content (37.00 mg/100 g), average weight of tuber (302.17 g), length of tuber (19.82 cm), diameter of tuber (5.97 cm), maximum tuber yield per plot (11.02 kg), tuber yield per hectare (55.67 t) and benefit-cost ratio (B: C ratio) of 4.22:1.While, the treatment (120 kg K2O+30ppm Zn) had the maximum number of tuber (4.86), minimum number of tuber was recorded in control. From the experi-ment, it appeared that application of potassium and zinc can be used to improve yield and higher net monetary re-turns of sweet potato.
Effect of chemical thinning, gibberellic acid and pruning on growth and production of nectarine (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch var. nucipersica) cv. May fire
Authors: Rimpika Rimpika , Sharma N. , Sharma D.P.
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was carried out on 12-year old trees of nectarine (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch var. nucipersica) cultivar May Fire raised on wild peach seedling rootstocks, Farmer’s orchard at Kotla- Barog in District Sirmour during the years 2014 and 2015. In this experiment, experimental trees were subjected to seventeen different treatments;T1: Pruning to retain 60 fruiting shoots tree-1 (control), T2: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1, T3: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree-1 ,T4: NAA 40 ppm, 2 WAPF (week after petal fall) ,T5: Ethrel 300 ppm, 2 WAPF, T6: GA3 100 ppm, 4 WAPF, T7: GA3 200 ppm, 4WAPF, T8: GA3 100 ppm, 6 WAPF T9: GA3 200 ppm, 6 WAPF, T10: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + NAA 40 ppm (T4), T11: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + Ethrel 300ppm (T5), T12: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + GA3100 ppm (T6), T13: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + GA3 100 ppm (T8),T14: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree-1 + NAA 40 ppm (T4), T15: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree -1 +Ethrel 300 ppm (T5),T16: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree -1 + GA3 100 ppm (T6), T17: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree -1 + GA3 100 ppm (T8), pertaining to alternative approach to chemical thinning, chemical thinner were more effective in improving the production of superior grade fruits than reducing the crop load directly by pruning or indirectly by GA 3 (Gibberellic Acid) treatments. Treatments with NAA (naphthalene acetic acid) at 40 ppm when applied two weeks after petal fall reduced the crop load to the greatest extent and improve the yield of superior grade fruits and increase the leaf to fruit ratio and decrease the fruit drop. Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree-1 + NAA 40 ppm, 2WAPF increased the shoot growth (160.80, 170.20cm), tree height (3.70,4.50 cm), tree spread (2.84,3.60), leaf area (42.71, 40.63 cm) during both the year. However, effect of chemical were less pronounced on trees subjected to severe pruning.
Activities of sucrose to starch metabolizing enzymes during grain filling in late sown wheat under water stress
Authors: Mahla Reena , Madan Shashi , Kaur Vikender , Munjal Renu , Behl Rishi Kumar , Midathala Raghavendra
Published: April 2018

Tolerance to water deficit in relation to activities of sucrose-to- starch metabolizing enzymes and starch accumulation was studied in the grains of contrasting wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes (WH1021 and WH1080; tolerant) and (WH711 and HD2687; susceptible) under late planting conditions. The activities of starch metabolizing enzymes i.e. sucrose synthase (SuSase), ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), soluble starch synthase (SSS) and starch branching enzymes (SBE) were substantially enhanced by water deficit in all genotypes at early to mid-grain filling stage showing peaks at 14 to 21 days after anthesis (DAA); while decreased significantly at mid-late grain filling stage with maximum decline at 35 DAA. Activities of all the enzymes under study showed maximum decline in activity (28.4–60%) in susceptible genotype WH711; whereas WH1021 proved to be most tolerant one with minimum decline in enzyme activity (14.9–32.8%). Starch content was also markedly reduced (21%) in WH711 due to drought while WH1021 reported 12% decline corresponding well with enzyme activity. A faster pre-mature cessation of starch deposition occurred in susceptible wheat genotypes compared to tolerant ones. A significant and positive correlation of the enzyme activities with starch accumulation (r = 0.491–0.555 at P0.05 for SuSase, AGPase, SSS and r = 0.638 at P0.01 for SBE) under well watered conditions indicated that enhancing the activities of the enzymes would lead to increase in starch accumulation and thus faster grain filling. Genotype WH1021 proved to be most efficient based on comparatively higher enzyme activity and least yield penalty under late planting conditions combined with water scarcity.
Molecular characterization of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br] inbreds using microsatellite markers
Authors: Nehra Mamta , Kumar Mukesh , Vart Dev , Kaushik Jyoti , Sharma Rajesh Kumar
Published: April 2018

Studies on genetic diversity in Pennisetum germplasm are the promising opportunities for the use of un-domesticated materials for improving pearl millet varieties. DNA based markers have now emerged as a potential genomic tool for estimation of genetic diversity among various cultivars and varietal identification. In present study, genetic diversity among 49 stay green inbreds of pearl millet was studied using simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Twenty nine polymorphic SSR primers, identified after initial screening of 70, were used to study diversity among these lines. A total of 108 alleles were amplified, collectively yielding unique SSR profiles for all the 49 inbreds. The average number of SSR alleles per locus was 3.72, with a range from 2 to 13. Polymorphic information content (PIC) values of various SSR loci across all the 49 inbreds ranged from 0.14 to 0.87 with an average of 0.51 per lo-cus. This indicated sufficient diversity among the 49 pearl millet inbreds and total 5 out of 29 polymorphic SSR loci, namely Xpsmp2070, Xpsmp2001, Xpsmp2008, Xpsmp2066, Xpsmp2072 revealed PIC values above 0.70, can be considered highly useful for differentiation of pearl millet inbred lines. The lowest PIC value (0.47) for linkage group 7 showed comparatively conserved nature of this linkage group A dendrogram obtained using WARD’s minimum variance method further delineates 49 inbreds into 8 major clusters, and the clustering pattern corroborated with their pedigree and characteristics traits.
Effect of summer season on correlation coefficient in bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) progenies
Authors: Angadi Airadevi P. , Reddy B. S. , Jagadeesha R. C. , Kulkarni Balaji S. , Nishani S.
Published: April 2018

The study pertaining to the effect of summer season on correlation analysis in bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) was carried out among forty progenies. The results of correlation analysis for twelve parameters (plant height, stem girth, leaf length, leaf width, number of leaves per plant, number of suckers/m 2 , flower stalk length, flower stalk girth, spath length, no. of bracts, vase life and no. of flowers/ m 2 ) at genotypic and phenotypic levels revealed that number of flowers per m 2 of progenies during summer, 2011 showed positive and significant correlations with plant height (0.357 and 0.237) and number of suckers/ m2 (0.880 and 0.899). Whereas, it showed positive and significant correlation with stem girth (0.203), leaf width (0.202) and flower stalk girth (0.265) at genotypic level only. While during summer 2012, number of flowers per m 2 showed positive correlations with plant height (0.265 and 0.242), stem girth (0.232 and 0.215), number of suckers/ m 2 (0.913 and 0.900) and flower stalk length (0.268 and 0.249) at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Hence, the selection of these characters would be effective in improving yield in bird of paradise crop.
Estimation of combining ability for yield and yield component traits in upland rice (Oryza Sativa L.) of Uttarakhand hills
Authors: Aditya J. P. , Bhartiya Anuradha
Published: April 2018

Combining ability for grain yield and its component characters in rainfed upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) were studied during Kharif 2014 using half diallel involving ten parents viz., VL Dhan 221, Vivek Dhan 154, VL 30240, VL 7620, VL 30560, VL 8116, VL 8549, VL 8724, VL 8732 and Sukradhan1. Both general combining ability (gca) and specific combining ability (sca) variances were found to be highly significant for the characters viz., plant height (gca=85.42; sca=23.12), days to 50% flowering (gca=101.61; sca=42.61), days to maturity (gca=90.37; sca=37.73), tillers per plant (gca=4.63; sca=1.38), panicle per plant (gca=2.36; sca=0.90),kernel length (gca=28.88; sca=23.61), kernel width (gca=1.64; sca=1.92),1000 grain weight (gca=3.60; sca=4.91), grain yield per plot (gca=8.57; sca=3.03), fertile grains per panicle (gca=690.67; sca=300.95) and grains per panicle (gca=1050.58; sca=437.75) indicating the importance of additive and non-additive gene actions in the expression of these traits. However, predominance of non-additive gene action was recorded for all the characters. Parents VL Dhan 221, VL 7620, VL 30560, Sukradhan 1 were good general combiners for grain yield and related characters. VL Dhan 221 and Vivek Dhan 154 were good general combiners for plant height and earliness. On the basis of specific combining ability effects, cross combinations Vivek Dhan 154 x VL 8549, VL 7620 x VL 30560, VL 8549 x VL 8732, VL 30560 x VL 8116 and VL 30240 x VL 8116 were the best specific combiner for grain yield per plot and other associated characters viz., plant height, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, kernel length and kernal width.
Development and evaluation of plastic based solar still for production of distilled water
Authors: Sengar S. H. , Chavda T. V. , Singh Alok
Published: April 2018

Solar still was developed and evaluated at Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Dediapada. The average yield of distilled water in developed solar still varied from 1055-1498 ml/m 2 -day during winter and summer where as in already developed still varied 1350 to 1550 ml /m 2 day . Thermal efficiency of developed solar still was found as 20 per cent .The physicochemical analysis was carried out to examine the effect of distillation on tap water. A drastic reduction in the TDS, Chlorides, Calcium hardness and magnesium hardness, dissolved silica was observed through solar distillation. The payback period of the unit was only 6 months and after that period the unit produced net profit. The manufacturing cost of this developed solar still was only Rs. 1640/- which was totally manufactured in plastic material so no any corrosive material came in contact for changing the property of distilled water as output. Cleaning of solar still could be easily carried out by just removing the w shape dome of developed device which cannot be possible in available solar still in market.
Scanning electron microscopic studies of Beauveria bassiana against Lipaphis erysimi Kalt
Authors: Sharma Tanvi , Joshi Neelam , Kalia Anu
Published: April 2018

This work was aimed to identify the LC50 of the indigenous fungal isolates for controlling L. erysimi infesta-tion in mustard aphid besides to probe the mechanism of action of the local isolates and comparison of the efficacy with the reference culture and commercial formulation ‘Mycojaal’. Three isolates of entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana were tested for infection on nymph of Lipaphis erysimi Kalt. using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to record any variation. The SEM revealed adhesion of spores of B.bassiana followed by penetration of L.erysimi nymph surface. It was observed that all Beauveria isolates showed little variation with respect to penetration and adhesion at different time intervals. Further, lethal concentration (LC50) values of B. bassiana isolates against L. erysimi was recorded and was lowest (0.05x107 spores/ml) in B. bassiana MTCC 4495 and highest (0.11.X107 spores/ml) was recorded in native isolate F10 after 120 hours of treatment. The study has established the need for the isolation and evaluation of the indigenous Beauveria isolate. Moreover, it also exhibited the efficacy of the reference and commercially available biocontrol agents.
Influence of seed treatment and packaging materials on seed longevity of cluster bean [Cyamopsistetra gonoloba (L.) Taub.]
Authors: Umesha Umesha , Channakeshava B. C. , Bhanuprakash K. , Nuthan D. , Siddaraju R. , Lakshmi J.
Published: April 2018

An experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of packaging materials and seed treatments on storability of cluster bean under ambient conditions of Bengaluru. The experiment consisted of six treatments viz. control (T1), bavistin @ 2 g kg-1 (T2), spinosad @ 0.04 ml/kg (T3), neem leaf powder @ 1:20 ratio (T4), Acorus calamus@ 10 g kg-1 (T5) and cow dung powder @ 10 g kg-1 (T6) and three packaging materials viz., cloth bag (C1) super grain bag (C2) and poly lined cloth bag (C3). Treated seed samples were stored in three containers under ambient storage conditions up to the duration of which seeds maintain minimum seed certification standards and samples were drawn at bimonthly intervals for ascertaining the seed quality parameters. The study suggested that seed treat-ment could be useful to prolong the storage life of cluster bean seeds. The seeds treated with spinosad (0.04 ml/kg) and stored in super-grain bag were better for maintenance of higher seed quality parameters [germination (80.00%), root length (11.70 cm), shoot length (13.60 cm), mean seedling dry weight (152 mg), seedling vigour index I and II (2024&12140) and TDH activity (1.224) with low electrical conductivity (0.368 dSm-1)] up to 18 months under ambient conditions of Bengaluru (room temperature). Super-grain bag proved to be better storage container with higher seed quality attributes viz., germination (72.38 %), seedling vigour index-I (1726), total dehydrogenase activity (1.201) and other seed quality parameters compared to cloth bag. The study suggested that use of appropriate packaging material and seed treatment could be useful to prolong the storage life of cluster bean seeds.
Estimates of combining ability and standard heterosis for grain yield and various agromorphological traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Authors: Kamboj Gaurav , Kumar Pradeep , Singh Devi
Published: April 2018

A study was conducted for estimating combining ability and standard heterosis for grain yield and various agromorphological traits involving 10 parents and their 45 F1s (half diallel) during 2012-13 and 2013-14. The results of present investigation revealed that additive gene action played a predominant role in the inheritance of most of the traits under study. On the basis of general combining ability (GCA) effects and specific combining ability (SCA) effects, three parents (Vallabh Basmati 21, Pusa Basmati 1, CSR 13) and three crosses (Vallabh Basmati 21 x Pusa 1121, Pusa 1121 x CSR 13 and Pusa Basmati 1 x CSR 13) were found good general and specific combiners. The best combinations mostly involved good x good and good x poor parental GCA effects suggesting that there is addi-tive x additive and additive x dominance type of gene action for yield and other component traits. The cross showing additive gene action can be improved by pedigree breeding and selection can be postponed to later generations. The most appropriate breeding method for the exploitation of non additive gene action will be heterosis breeding. The six best cross combinations (Vallabh Basmati 21 x CSR 30, CSR 30 x CSR 13, Vallabh Basmati 21 x CSR 13, CSR 30 x Pusa basmati 1, Pusa basmati 1 x CSR 13 and Vallabh Basmati 21 x Pusa basmati 1) had significant standard heterosis for grain yield and other component traits. The crosses which showed significant standard heter-osis is highly suitable for commercial exploitation of heterosis in rice crop.
Weed control in soybean (Glycine max L.) through resource management strategies and its influence on yield and nutrient uptake
Authors: Bali Aradhana , Bazaya B. R. , Rawal Sandeep
Published: April 2018

A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2011 at Research Farm, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Chatha, Jammu to evaluate the effect of weed management prac-tices on yield and nutrient uptake of soybean utilizing different resource management strategies. The lowest weed density and dry matter of weeds was recorded with hand weeding at 15 and 35 days after sowing (DAS) which was equally effective as imazethapyr @ 75 g ha -1 (PoE) fb hoeing at 35 DAS and quizalofop-ethyl @ 40 g ha-1 (PoE) fb hoeing at 35 DAS. All weed control treatments had significant effect on yield and nutrient up-take of soybean. Among the different weed control treatments, lowest N, P and K uptake by weeds were recorded in hand-weeding (15 and 35 DAS) which was statistically at par with imazethapyr @ 75 g ha -1 fb hoeing at 35 DAS. The maximum uptake by seed and straw were recorded in weed free which was statistically at par with twice hand weeding at 15 and 35 DAS, imazethapyr @ 75 g ha-1 fb hoeing at 35 DAS and quizalofop-ethyl @ 40 g ha-1 fb hoeing at 35 DAS. The highest seed and straw yield of soybean was harvested with hand-weeding (15 and 35 DAS) followed by imazethapyr @ 75 g ha -1 fb hoeing at 35 DAS. For the first time, soybean crop has been introduced in Jammu region for research purpose. Weed management varies with agro-climatic conditions. The study would be helpful to understand weed menace in this particular climatic condition of Jammu and to manage them combinedly and efficiently.
Effect of sowing dates and varieties on soybean performance in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India
Authors: Nath Anil , Karunakar A. P. , Kumar Arvind , Nagar R. K.
Published: April 2018

oybean production is widely fluctuating in response to agro-environmental conditions year to year in Vidarbha region. Weather variations are the major determinants of soybean growth and yield. It is also important to study the response of suitable soybean varieties to varying weather parameters. So a field investigation was carried out to study the crop weather relationship of soybean and to optimize the sowing date with different soybean varie-ties. The results revealed that soybean crop sown up to 27th MW accumulated higher growing degree days (1640.5 0C day), photothermal units (20498.1 0C day hour) and recorded significantly higher seed yield (839 kg ha-1) and biological yield (2773 kg ha-1) with maximum heat use efficiency (0.51 kg ha-1°C day-1) and water productivity (2.49 kg ha-mm-1). Later sowings i.e. 30th MW sowing caused decreased amount of rainfall and increased maximum temperature regime across the total growing period with consequently lower seed yield (530 kg ha-1), GDD (1539.2 0C day), PTU (18689.9 0C day hour), heat use efficiency (0.34kg ha-1 °Cday-1) and water productivity (2.05kg ha-mm-1). Soybean variety TAMS 98-21 recorded significantly higher seed yield (734 kg ha-1) and highest biological yield (2649 kg ha-1) with maximum heat use efficiency (0.44 kg ha-1 °C day-1), GDD (1650.5 0C day ) and water productivity (2.41 kg ha-mm-1). Thus, the results of this study illustrated the importance of early sowing with suitable variety of soybean and indicates that sowing upto 27th MW with variety TAMS 98-21 is optimum for maximizing the yield in the Akola region of Vidarbha.
Storage effects on flour quality of commonly consumed cereals
Authors: Goyal Preeti , Chugh Lakshman Kumar , Berwal Mukesh Kumar
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was conducted to study the effect of storage period on flour quality of wheat, maize and pearl millet. Their flour were stored at 15 °C and 82 % relative humidity RH for one month and changes in fat acidity (FA), activities of peroxidase (POX), lipoxygenase (LOX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in control and stored flour along with change in pH of water extract of flour were monitored. Increase in FA (mg KOH/100 g d.m.) and decrease in pH of flour was maximal in pearl millet (287.5 mg KOH/100 g d.m. and 0.4) followed by maize (151 mg KOH/100 g d.m. and 0.23) and wheat (61 mg KOH/100 g d.m. and 0.1) respectively. A decline in activity of POX, LOX and PPO was observed during storage. Pearl millet flour possessed almost double activity of POX (413 Units/g d.m.) in comparison to wheat (198 Units/g d.m.) and 1.3 fold higher than that of maize (153 Units/g d.m.) and even after decrease activity of POX was higher in flour of pearl millet compared to the other two. However, activity of LOX and PPO was found to be comparable in fresh flour of pearl millet, maize and wheat. Since pearl millet has poor shelf life and increase in FA, decrease in pH and activity of POX was found to be very high in pearl millet (poor shelf life) as compared to wheat and maize, therefore, these selected parameters might be used as biochemical markers to determine shelf life of flour.
Quality characteristics of white cabbage juice stored using thermal processing and addition of chemical additives
Authors: Kaur Gurpreet , Aggarwal Poonam
Published: April 2018

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) is one of the most important vegetables grown worldwide. Cabbage is valued for medicinal purposes in treating headaches, gout, diarrhea and peptic ulcers. The beneficial phytochemicals in cabbage help to activate and stabilize the body’s antioxidant and detoxification mechanisms that dismantle and eliminate cancer-producing substances. This seasonal vegetable can be made available for the consumers in off seasons also in the form of juice. The juice can be made shelf stable by using thermal treatment and various chemical additives. Therefore, the aim of the experiment was to compare the effect of different chemical additives namely Sodium benzoate, Potassium metabisulfite (KMS) and their combinations and the heat treatment, on the physicochemical, phytochemical parameters and antioxidant activity of Cabbage juice for a period of 6 months at room temperature at the regular intervals.The parameters like TS and TSS did not change significantly. The minimum increase in acidity was found in samples treated with combination of Sodium benzoate and Potassium metabisulfite. The color was best preserved by addition of KMS where the L value changed from 52.66 to 50.86 after 6 months. The ascorbic acid, total phenol content and antioxidant activity was best preserved by KMS with final values of 2.51 mg/100 g, 21.18 mg/100 g and 15.97 % respectively that were far better than the thermally treated samples with values 1.47 mg/100 g, 8.14 mg/100 g and 6.98 % respectively. Keeping in view all the parameters KMS was found to be the most appropriate agent for preservation.
Growth of mango (Mangifera indica L.) rootstocks as influenced by pre-sowing treatments
Authors: Patel R. J. , Ahlawat T. R. , Patel A. I. , Amarcholi J. J. , Patel B. B. , Sharma Kapil
Published: April 2018

An experiment was carried out at Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari during 2014 to evaluate the effect of pre-sowing treatments on survival percentage and growth of mango rootstocks. Mango stones were soaked in aqueous solutions of GA3 (100 and 200 ppm), Beejamruth (2 % and 3 %) and Thiourea (1 % and 2 %) for 12 and 24 hours. The trial was evaluated in Completely Randomized Design based on factorial concept and the treatments were replicated thrice. Imposition of treatments led to significant differences at 5 % level of significance for all parameters chosen in this study. Mango stones when treated with Thiourea at 1 % had the maximum shoot length (49.93 cm), root length (34.38 cm), shoot dry weight (21.08 g) and total dry weight (26.36 g). The highest number of lateral roots (10.90) and survival percentage (64.17) was observed in mango stones dipped in 100 ppm GA3. Between the two soaking duration, soaking mango stones for 24 hours recorded higher values for shoot length (45.03 cm), root length (32.79 cm), number of lateral roots (9.83), survival percentage (62.72), shoot root fresh weight ratio (4.30), shoot dry weight (21.33 g), total dry weight (26.28 g) and shoot root dry weight ratio (4.32). Thus, survival percentage and growth of mango rootstocks can be substantially improved by soaking mango stones in aqueous solutions of 100 ppm GA3 or Thiourea at 1 % for 24 hours before sowing.
Combining ability studies in restorer lines of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
Authors: Patil T. Rudra Gouda Mali , Kulkarni Vikas V. , Kenganal Mallikarjun , Shankergoud I. , Diwan J. R.
Published: April 2018

The restorer lines are used to get fertile hybrids in hybrid seed production system of sunflower. Improve-ment of R-lines for fertility and oil content of sunflower is required to get desirable hybrids upon crossing. In the pre-sent study, 6 restorer lines were crossed in full diallele and both direct and reciprocal crosses along with parents were evaluated for their combining ability. The analysis of variance revealed higher magnitude of SCA variance than GCA variance for all the characters studied except for days to 50 per cent flowering. Among six parents, GMU -520 and R-GM-41 were best general combiner for plant height, head diameter, test weight and leaf size in the desired direction. However, GMU-520 has advantage of yield per plant and oil content. From 15 direct crosses R-GM-41 x R -GM-49 exhibited significant specific combining ability for viz., days to 50 per cent flowering (-1.08), plant height (13.69), head diameter (4.79), leaf size (0.74), yield per plant (17.14), volume weight (2.54), test weight (1.75) and oil content (0.34) followed by RCR-630 x GMU-520, R-GM-41 x EC-602060, R-GM-49 x GMU-520 and EC-602060 x GMU-520 each exhibiting good specific combining ability for majority of characters. Among reciprocal crosses R-GM -41 x RCR-8 exhibited a high reciprocal effects for head diameter (4.57), yield per plant (15.16), test weight (2.02) and leaf size (0.75).
Comparative evaluation of different reference evapotranspiration models
Authors: Arya C. K. , Purohit R. C. , Dashora L. K. , Singh P. K. , Kothari Mahesh , Singh Bhim
Published: April 2018

The study was carried out to select best alternative method for the estimation of reference evapotranspi-ration (ET0). Accurate estimation of potential evapotranspiration is a necessary step in water resource management. Recently, the FAO-56 version of Penman-Monteith equation has been established as a standard for calculating ref-erence evapotranspiration (ET0) which requires measurement of a number of meteorological parameters namely, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed which may not be available in most of the meteoro-logical stations. Still there are different approaches (requiring less data) which estimate ET0 closely to Penman- Monteith (P-M) method for different climatological conditions. The present study is based on analysis of long term of 13 years (2000 to 2012) climatic data to calculate monthly reference evapotranspiration for Capsicum production (September–March) and also to compare the performance of evapotranspiration equations for Jhalawar district of Rajasthan with the standard FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method on the basis of the least root mean square error (RMSE) analysis. Hargreaves method and Pan evaporation (E-Pan) method overestimated the values of ETo when compared with FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method. On the basis of lowest value of RMSE, Pan evaporation method is found best alternative method to FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method in the study area.
Slip, trip and falls among women of different age groups: A case study from the northern hills of India
Authors: Bhatt Hema , Sharma Promila
Published: April 2018

Slip, trip and falls continue to be significant occupational safety concern, and causes of occupational injuries and fatalities in the workplace and daily activities. This paper shows the results of a comparative study done in the hill region of India. It explored the slip, trip and fall injuries in terms of activities leading to them and impact o f such injuries among the hill women of different age groups: young adults, middle aged and elderly. It was found that most of the slip, trip and falls were faced during the activity of carrying fodder (52.78 %), carrying firewood (49.44 %), collecting fodder (47.78 %), collecting firewood (43.89 %) and collecting dung (40.56 %). Most of the slip acci-dents were reported by elderly age group as compared to middle aged and young adults. Majority of the respond-ents got hurt their back and/or they suffered from back pain (76.67 %), faced general pain (72.22 %) and fractures (45.00 %). Most of the respondents reported the possible perceived reason for slip, trip and falls as slippery terrain (82.78 %), followed by 80.00 % of respondents who reported carrying excess load as the major reason. Other reasons reported were being rushed at work (77.77 %), awkward or unusual working posture (76.66 %).This study brings in light the dangerous working conditions of hill women, who often suffers from many injuries including slip, trip and falls even just for meeting her daily family needs such as water, fuel, fodder.
Melanosis and quality attributes of chill stored farm raised whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)
Authors: Senapati S. R. , Kumar G. Praveen , Singh Chongtham Baru , Xavier K. A. Martin , Chouksey M. K. , Nayak B. B. , Balange Amjad K.
Published: April 2018

Loss of market value of shrimp is mainly due to the formation of black spot called melanosis. A study was conducted for 14 days to determine the extent of melanosis and quality changes during that period of freshly har-vested whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) under chilled storage (2?). Among quality parameters, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBAR-S), were varied from 13.17 mg % to 44.50 mg % and 0.04to 2.57 mg malondehaldehyde/kg of fat respectively whereas melanosis score and metric chroma (C) exhibited significant increases during chilled storage (P<0.05). There was a slight increase in moisture, crude fat and pH from 73.96 % to 74.57 %, 1.05 % to 1.14 % and 6.52 to 7.60 respectively at 14th day of storage. Loss of protein from 22.51 % to 21.28 % may be due to decrease in available amino acids during chilled storage and total plate count (TPC) showed gradual increase of bacterial load up to 1.73*107 log CFU/g at the end of chilled storage. The sensory analysis by panellists indicated, the acceptability of white leg shrimp was up to 6 days in chilled condition and formation of black spot is one of the major parameter for rejection by the panellists.
Climate change and biodiversity; impacts, vulnerability and mitigation in Indian perspective : A review
Authors: Soni D. K. , Ansari Farid
Published: April 2018

As per the nature of law, changes are bound to be happening in the system if any component of the system gets altered by any means. Change of climate and subsequently loss of biodiversity threatens the existence of human being. The loss of biodiversity, which has been happening worldwide, poses a serious threat to the anthro-pological system. An investigation of the current trend and future scenario shows that this loss is likely to continue in the foreseeable times. India has a huge variety of biodiversity and in the last few decades, its biodiversity has come under threat from climate change which accelerated by the anthropogenic activities of various sources of pollution. The review shows that climate change is a serious environmental challenge that undermines the determination for sustainable development. Climate change has become the most crucial environmental concern of the decade. Much attention is rightly focused on reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases from industrial, energy and transport sector through reduction in fuel consumption and use of renewable/green energy. However, as countries are looking for mitigation and adaptation processes, protection of natural habitats is a key factor of climate change strategies. Strengthened support for protected areas and more sustainable resource management can contribute to strategies as well as for protection of the biological resources and ecosystem. Climate change is developing as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, increasing pressures on genetic resources, species and populations. Biodiver-sity conservation and sustainable development are the possible ways to curtail the impact of climate change. Although, adequate efforts have been made worldwide to tackle the environmental challenges, the adverse effects of climate change are still accelerating and the rate of loss of biodiversity is continuing globally.
Influence of size grading on physiological parameters in Tephrosia (Tephrosia purpurea) MDU (KO)-1
Authors: Sivasubramaniam S. , Ambika S. , Vetrivel M.
Published: April 2018

Seed grading is an important practice for better crop establishment and to improve efficiency of planting ratio in field and also useful in separation of quality seed in a seed lot. The influence of seed size on physiological and biochemical seed quality characters were evaluated in Tephrosia seeds using seeds retained on 5.5/64?, 6/64? and 7/64? sieves along with control. The estimations revealed that larger size seeds retained on 7/64" sieves recorded the maximum recovery (64 %), 100 seed weight (2.0 g), speed of germination (14.1) germination ( 86 %), root length (8.5 cm), shoot length (11.0 cm), dry matter production (15.92 mg seedlings-10), vigour index (1677) and protein (10.56 %) compared to BSS 5.5 / 64'', BSS 6 / 64'' and ungraded seeds.
Influence of growth, yield and quality of guava (Psidium guajava L.) by drip irrigation and fertigation
Authors: Rao K.V. Ramana , Gangwar Suchi , Bajpai Arpna , Chourasiya Lavesh , Soni Kumar
Published: April 2018

A study was conducted during 2010-2015 at Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, to find out effect of irrigation and fertigation scheduling on growth, yield and quality of guava (Psidium guajava ). The ex-periments were laid out in factorial randomized block design with six treatment combinations which include three irrigation level (100, 80 and 60 %) along with two fertigation level (100 and 75 % water soluble fertilizers) and repli-cated thrice. The nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers were applied through fertigation as well as soil ap-plication to test various attributes of five six old guava cv. L-49. The investigation indicated that the maximum plant height, Periphery of rootstock, yield per plant (kg/plant) and yield (t/ha) were higher under D1F1 (100 % irrigation with 100 % fertigation) followed by D2F1 (80 % irrigation with 100 % fertigation) and minimum under D3F2 (60 % irrigation with 75 % fertigation). Interaction effect was non-significant at 0.05 % level due to plant height (3.90 m) and Periphery of rootstock (26.26 cm) but significantly influenced by yield per plant (27.65 kg/plant) and yield (7.65 t/ha). Physico-chemical properties like fruit diameter (6.76 cm), fruit weight (182.10 g) and pulp weight (134.38 g) were significantly at 0.05 % due to different irrigation and fertigation level as well as interaction effects but fruit length (7.45 cm), TSS (13.22 %) and ascorbic acid (54.32 mg/100 g pulp) were non-significant due to different level of irri-gation and fertigation as well as interaction effect.
A study on analysis of yield gap in pulses of Nadia district of West Bengal, India
Authors: Jopir Ome , Bera B. K.
Published: April 2018

The study on yield gap in pulses (Lentil) of West Bengal revealed that the technology gap is accounted to be 346.23 kg/ha and technology index and the index of realised potential yield are estimated to 22.56 and 77.44 %, respectively. The extension gap and the index of realized potential farm yield are 215.12 kg/ha and 81.9 %, respectively. Lentil cultivation generates a net return of ` 47083.07/ha from an investment of ` 29640.30/ha in experimental field whereas an expenditure accounting ` 23240.76 and ` 18559.71/ha are made in demonstration and actual farmer`s field to realize a net return of ` 36171.44 and ` 30096.79/ha. Although, the most viable alternative crop, rape and mustard has marginal advantage over lentil economically, considering the long term beneficial effects of pulses soil fertility, programmes need to be taken to motivate farmers to allocate more area to pulses. Low productivity and non-availability of quality occupy the first and second position with 82.73 and 71.25 % Garrett`s score constructed based on the perception of sample farmers. Development of improved seeds responsive to modern crop production technology is the most vital for long term solution of the present crisis in pulses, but for the time being, programmes for technology dissemination and adoption through various extension methods is necessary in bridging the extension gap to improve the pulses situation of West Bengal.
Grain quality assessment of direct seeded basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) under different irrigation regimes in Indian Punjab
Authors: Kaur Jagmohan , Mahal S. S. , Kaur Amarjeet
Published: April 2018

Irrigation water, being a scarce resource, requires proper management for good quality aerobic basmati rice production. Field experiments were conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to evaluate the effect of different irrigation schedules on grain quality of direct seeded basmati rice ‘Pusa Basmati 1121’. Ten treatments comprising of conventional puddled transplanting and nine in direct seeding were tested in randomized block design with four replications. Direct seeding treatments comprised of combination of withholding first irrigation for 6, 9 or 12 days after sowing and follow up irrigations at 30, 50 or 70 mm cummulative pan evaporation (CPE). The milling quality characters of rice like brown, milled and head rice recoveries were highest in conventional transplanting (81.4, 70.9 and 52.4 %, respectively) statistically at par with irrigation schedule of withholding first irrigation for 6 days and subsequent irrigations at 30 mm CPE (80.3, 69.9 and 51.1 %,respectively) significantly better than rest of the treatments.The other quality characters like protein content, minimum cooking time, elongation ratio etc. were also significantly affected by different irrigation schedules at 5 % level of significance. The maximum values of protein content (7.26 %) and minimum cooking time (23.5 minutes) were obtained in irrigation schedule of withholding first irrigation for 6 days and subsequent irrigations at 30 mm CPE whereas elongation ratio was maximum in conventional transplanting (1.87). In Indian Punjab, good quality direct seeded basmati rice can be obtained by holding the first irrigation for 6 days and then irrigating at 30 mm CPE with yields comparable to transplanted rice.
Study on mitigation of ammonia volatilization loss in urea through adsorbents
Authors: Manikandan Angamuthu , Subramanian Kizhaeral S.
Published: April 2018

Volatilized ammonia loss (VAL) and toxicity are major disadvantages on urea amendment. In order to mitigate, slow (or) controlled release urea based fertilizers are prepared with low cost materials. Therefore, micro and nano-sized adsorbents such as zeolite, biochar were impregnated with urea @1:1 ratio for fertilizer formulations. The objective of the study was to evaluate the VAL rate. To study the effect of soil texture, incubation experiment on two different soils of Tamil Nadu (TypicHaplustalf and VerticUstropepts) with 4 physically mixed, 4 fabricated, conventional urea and control without urea determined. Fertilizer formulations were surface applied @ 250 kg N ha-1 and assessed the VAL rate for 16 days. The trapped ammonia was observed with colour change from pink to greenish and titrated with diluted sulfuric acid. Initial 3 days VAL rate was high on urea, physically mixed adsorbent fertilizers than urea impregnated fertilizers and colour change was observed on every 4-6 h of both soils. In contrast, the urea impregnated fertilizers had colour change after 9-10 h regardless of adsorbent and soils. The fabricated fertilizer observed VAL rate on gradual with low quantity on T5- Zeourea (13.5 days, 15.1 days) T6- Nano-zeourea (15.5 days, 16 days), T9- Biourea (7.5 days, 7.1 days) and T10- Nano-biourea (9 days, 9.7 days) than T2- Urea (5.5 days, 4.6 days) of Alfisols and Inceptisols respectively. Cumulative VAL rate percentage was low on T5- Zeourea (30 %, 34 %), T6- Nano-zeourea (28 %, 29.3 %) T9- Biourea (39 %, 41.5 %) and T10- Nano-biourea (36 %, 37.5 %) of Alfisols and Inceptisols, respectively on comparison with other fertilizer type.It is concluded that the surface amendment of physically mixed fertilizers not influenced any change on both soils. Urea impregnation influenced on days and cumulative VAL percentage. Our study elucidates that micro and nano porous adsorbents are potential substrate to reduce VAL rate of urea in both soils.
Effect of irrigation scheduling and nitrogen levels on growth, yield and water productivity of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) under Vertisols
Authors: Patel R.K. , Tomar G.S. , Dwivedi S.K.
Published: April 2018

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi season of 2015-16 at the Instructional cum Research Farm, IGKV, Raipur to study the effect of different irrigation scheduling and nitrogen levels on growth, yield attributes, yield, water and nitrogen productivity of linseed (Linum usitatissimumL.). The experiment was laid out in split plot design keeping four irrigation schedules viz., come-up (I1), one (I2), two (I3) and three irrigation (I4) in main plots and four levels of nitrogen viz., control (N0), 30 kg (N1), 60 kg (N2) and 90 kg N ha-1 (N3) in sub plots with three replications. Results revealed that highest seed yield was obtained with linseed provided two irrigations (1683 kg ha-1) and application of 90 kg N ha-1 (1604 kg ha-1). Moreover, crop supplied with two irrigations in combination with 90 kg N ha-1 (I3×N3) gave significantly (P=0.05) highest seed yield (2097 kg ha-1) compared to rest of the treatment combinations. The excessive use of irrigation and fertilizers also affects farmer’s economy, as the crop is relatively low yielder. Two irrigations are better than three irrigations in terms of seed yield and water productivity; and application of 60 kg N is better than 90 kg N ha-1 in view of nitrogen productivity. The WP and IWP were decreasing as increasing the number of irrigation, but increasing with increasing the levels of nitrogen, while NP was highest with two irrigations (11.09 kg, kg-1 N) and application of 60 kg N ha-1 (8.90 kg, kg-1 N).
Correlation coefficient analysis in twelve gladiolus (Gladiolus hybrids Hort.) genotypes
Authors: Singh Dhara , Mishra Ashutosh , Singh Jitendra , Khattik Vikas Kumar , Meena Balram
Published: April 2018

Study was undertaken to analyses the correlation co-efficient for twenty seven characters in twelve genotypes of gladiolus (Gladiolus hybridusHort.) grown atthe Instructional Farm, Department of Floriculture & Landscaping, College of Horticulture & Forestry, Jhalarapatan, Jhalawar. Spike length had highly positive association with rachis length (rg:0.92, rp:0.88), floret diameter (rg:0.94, rp:0.0.74), spike diameter (rg:0.66, rp:0.50), duration of flowering (rg:0.71, rp:0.42), number of florets per spike (rg:0.89, rp:0.84), number of cormels per plant (rg:0.69, rp:0.65), diameter of corm (rg:0.48, rp:0.41), weight of corm (rg:0.44, rp:0.40), weight of cormels per plant (rg:0.20, rp:0.19), size index of corms (rg:0.41, rp:0.38), florets remaining open at a time in vase (rg:0.56, rp:0.33). At both genotypic and phenotypic levels it had negative correlation with number of spikes per plot (rg:-0.56, rp:-0.48), number of corms per plant (rg:-0.72, rp:-0.50), number of corms per plot (rg:-0.60, rp:-0.54) and florets remaining unopened (rg:-0.39, rp:-0.37). It was observed that for most of the characters genotypic correlation coefficients were higher than phenotypic correlation coefficients.