bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of humic acid and nutrients mixture on quality parameter of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) under polyhouse condition
Authors: Kumar Hareram , Kaushik R. A. , Ameta K. D. , Regar Arjun Lal , Singh Kuldeep , Rajawat Kuldeep Singh , Kumari Pinki
Published: April 2018

An experiment was conducted on Effect of humic acid and nutrients mixture on growth and yield parameter of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) under polyhouse condition at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur (Raj.). The data was analyzed statistically following completely randomized design. The results revealed that treatment T7 [(RDF + humic acid 10 kg/ha soil application + humic acid 0.1% foliar spray + nutrient mixture foliar spray (0.2% Ca + 0.5% Mg + 0.2% B + 0.5% Zn)] was recorded superior to enhance leaf nutrients analysis Ca (1.656%), Mg (0.763%), Zn (25.07ppm) and B (61.94ppm), fruit nutrient analysisCa (1.904%), Mg (0.877%), Zn (58.98ppm) and B (61.84ppm), total Soluble Solids (TSS) (6.020%), ascorbic acid content (39.85mg/100g), lycopene content (3.75 mg/100g) and cost benefit ratio (4.81).
Comparative evaluation of water budgeting parameters under different rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation methods
Authors: Vibhute Sagar Dattatraya , Sarangi A. , Singh D. K. , Bandhyopadhyay K. K. , Parihar S. S. , Kumar Dinesh
Published: April 2018

Water budgeting studies under different rice cultivation methods provides an insight into the amount of water used by the plant and percolated below the root zone for judicious water management. To undertake this study, a field experiment was conducted to estimate different soil water balance parameters under three rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation methods viz. Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Conventional Puddled Rice (CPR). The experiment was conducted during kharif 2013 and kharif 2014 season at research farm of Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. In this study, the rainfall and irrigation depth, Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc), percolation beyond root zone of the crop and surface runoff during the crop growth period were accounted in water budgeting. It was observed that the percolation be-yond root zone of the crop was the highest under CPR method amounting 963 mm and 831 mm, which was about 55% and 58% of total water applied during 2013 and 2014, respectively. However, the percolation beyond root zone of the crop was the lowest under DSR method of rice cultivation amounting 367 mm and 332 mm which was 43% and 39% of total water applied during 2013 and 2014, respectively. Water loss through Etc was around 30% of total water applied in all three cultivation methods for year 2013. However, it was 59%, 46% and 43% of total water ap-plied for DSR, SRI and CPR, respectively in the year 2014.This indicates more effective utilization of total applied water in the year 2014.The study highlighted that water loss through deep percolation beyond root zone is the major factor contributing to the high water requirement in CPR and SRI methods compare to DSR method. Moreover, different soil water balance components computed in this study will be helpful for estimation of irrigation water requirement in the rice growing areas of the agro-climatic region VI (Trans-gangetic Plains) of India.
Carbon storage potential of shelter belt agroforestry system in northern transitional zone of Karnataka, India
Authors: Swamy K. R. , Shivaprasad D. , Bammanahalli Shivaputra , Lamani Noorandappa , Shivanna H.
Published: April 2018

Carbon sequestration has been suggested as a means to mitigate the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. As agrisilviculture systems is one of the better options for stocking of carbon in plants and in soil. In the present study, carbon sequestration was quantified both biomass as well as in soil of agrisilviculture sys-tem six different tree species were selected such as, Pongamia pinnata, Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia auriculiformis, Tectona grandis, Casuarina equisitifolia, Azadirachta indica in shelterbelt of agroforestry system in arid region of Karnataka. Among six different tree species planted under shelterbelt, the growth performance with respect to gbh, height, clear bole height and basal area was highest in A. auriculiformis and A. indica. While maximum above ground biomass was observed in A. auriculiformis (59.75 t ha-1) followed by T.grandis (56.62 t ha-1), respectively. Whereas, below ground biomass was highest in T. grandis (20.25t ha-1) followed by A. auriculiformis (14.75t ha-1). Above ground carbon sequestration was highest in A. auriculiformis (13.30 t ha-1) followed by T. grandis (12.20 t ha-1), respectively. Whereas, below ground carbon sequestration was more in T. grandis (4.35 t ha-1) followed by A. auriculiformis (3.95 t ha-1). The Shelterbelt system sequestered 0.43 to 1.34% soil organic carbon stock in different depth. The carbon sequestered in different tree species was varying from 3.48 tons to 17.25 t ha-1.Growing tree crops in shelterbelts, bunds in the agroforestry systems will enhance accumulation of carbon stocking and provide additional benefits to the farmer’s income. It also regulates microclimate and increases the tree cover in agricultural field.
Efficacy of botanical formulations and fungicides against Botryosphaeria dothidea, causing white rot in apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.)
Authors: Sharma Kishor , Raj Harender
Published: April 2018

The present study was conducted to determine inhibitory effect of plant extracts, their botanical formula-tions (BF1 and BF2) and safer fungicides against Botryosphaeria dothidea cause white rot of apple (Malus × domes-tica) during storage. Poisoned food technique was performed to evaluate the efficacy of different plant extracts, their botanical formulations and safer fungicides. Out of twelve botanicals evaluated under in vitro conditions against the white rot pathogen, leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum was found most effective among all the treatments with 54.07 per cent average inhibition in mycelial growth. Out of twelve plants evaluated for their efficacy, six effective plants Karu (Roylea elegans), Artemisia (Artemisia roxburghiana), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Bana (Vitex negundo), Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) and Darek (Melia azedarach) were selected for making two botanical formulations (BF1 and BF2). While, BF1 was water based formulation and BF2 was cow urine based formulation. Among these botanical formulations, BF2 inhibited mycelial growth of white rot pathogen by 72.70 per cent and BF1 66.37 per cent at 100 % concentration. Whereas, among the tested fungicides, Score at 100 ppm concentration was found to be most effective with 75.01 % average inhibition in mycelial growth of the white rot pathogen.
System of wheat intensification (SWI) – A new approach for increasing wheat yield in small holder farming system
Authors: Rana Lalita , Banerjee Hirak , Ray Krishnendu , Sarkar Sukamal
Published: April 2018

Given the confluence of water scarcity, declining area under wheat and continuing increase in population, raising wheat productivity has become a serious concern to the wheat scientists. Yield contribution from irrigation is more significant in wheat. Increase in the irrigation management levels for wheat is probably more relevant and easier to improve water productivity. But transplanted wheat seems high water requiring and economically less feasible. Seedlings have usually poor survival rate, and are often more fragile than rice seedlings at the two leaves stage. Besides plants do not grow quickly and vigorously, and show a delay in development compared to the direct seeding treatment. All yield parameters are often lower compared to the direct seeding treatment due to transplanting of aged seedlings, greater shock of transplantation, high plant density, improper amount and timing of water deliveries. Therefore, applying SRI (system of rice intensification) practices is expected to have a positive impact on the wheat plants, similar to the impact on rice. SWI is a new concept and goes with the SRI principle. It can reduce weeding time to one-third and to one-half of the time needed for current weeding practice. Herbicide use is effective with SWI, but farmers are inventing or modifying tools that reduce the labour time required for weeding. Thus, SWI is a methodology aimed at increasing the yield of wheat, where all agronomic principles are put into practices to provide high wheat yield per drop of water and per kg of agricultural inputs like fertilizer, seed etc.
Soil moisture depletion and ground water use by bed planted barley as influenced by cultivars, crop geometry and moisture regimes
Authors: Kumar Naveen , Kumar Suresh , Kumar Parveen , Sewhag Meena
Published: April 2018

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season 2011-2012 at Research Farm, CCS Haryana Agri-cultural University, Hisar, Haryana (India) to study the periodic soil moisture depletion and ground water use by bed planted barley as influenced by cultivars, crop geometry and moisture regimes under shallow water table conditions. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications keeping combinations of three cultivars viz., BH 393, BH 902 and BH 885 and two crop geometries viz 2 rows per bed and 3 rows per bed (70 cm wide with 40 cm top and 30 cm furrow) in main plots and three moisture regimes (irrigation at IW/CPE 0.3, 0.4 & 0.5) in sub plots. The results revealed that maximum soil moisture depletion (105 mm) and ground water contribution (62 mm) were recorded in BH 902, followed by BH 393 and BH 885. Among crop geometries, soil moisture depletion (96.6 mm) and ground water contribution (61 mm) were recorded higher in 3 rows per bed than 2 rows per bed. Among three moisture regimes, the soil moisture depletion (108 mm) and ground water contribution (65 mm) decreased with increase in moisture regime from irrigation at IW/CPE 0.3 to irrigation at IW/CPE 0.4 or 0.5.
Evaluation of saturated hydraulic conductivity from soil properties in an Inceptisol using different land cover and depths
Authors: Kisku Tapan Kumar , Datta Ashim , Basak Nirmalendu , Mandi Sunil , Hembram Sandip , Roy Ratneswar
Published: April 2018

hree soil profiles from Regional Research Station of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Gayeshpur situated in New Alluvial zone of Nadia district, West Bengal were studied to assess the predictability of the hydraulic conductivity of the soil as influenced by different physical and chemical and properties of cultivated and forest land. The various statistical procedures were employed on the measured laboratory based data for comprehensive agree-ment of dependent hydraulic conductivity of soils as a model function of independent soil variables that is likely to be useful for different land cover systems. Soils are neutral in reaction, silty clay to silty clay loam in nature. Forest soil contained greater organic carbon (OC) (5.9 ± 0.16 g kg-1) compared to cultivated soil (4.4 ± 0.34 g kg-1). Jhau plan-tation recorded the highest value (6.8 g kg-1) of OC due to soil texture and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Soil hydraulic conductivity was greater in soil for cabbage and Sagun tree among the cultivated and forest soil studied with values 2.80 and 1.10 cmh -1. Correlation study showed a positive and negative relation with hydraulic conductiv-ity for sand (r= 0.68; P > 0.05) and clay (r= - 0.71; P > 0.05) respectively. Further, principal component analysis con-cluded that addition of bulk density with clay and sand can predict the hydraulic conductivity for different land uses.
Evolution in Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea Commers.) - A review
Authors: Salam Priyadarshini , Bhargav Veluru , Gupta Y. C. , Nimbolkar P. K.
Published: April 2018

Bougainvillea is a popular ornamental, mostly valued for its multi coloured bracts. It can be used in the garden as a shrub, climber, pot plant or as a specimen plant. By keeping the view of its multiple uses there is always demand for the new coloured and forms of bracts in bougainvillea. All the present day colourful bracted bougainvilleas are developed through bud sports, mutations and inter and intra specific hybridization. There is no record of varieties evolved in bougainvillea through classical breeding in different countries. Present article will provide maximum information generated in India by different re-search institutes on classical and mutation breeding on bougainvillea.
Entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate students of G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar
Authors: Yadav Amita , Kashyap S.K.
Published: April 2018

Entrepreneurship can positively impact human resource market by creating employment and economic opportunity, something that is of urgent need. Agriculture sector has immense untapped potential and huge busi-ness prospects for young entrepreneurs. Thus, to have an insight into these issues present study was undertaken to find out the socioeconomic, personal and psychological characteristics of undergraduate students along with their entrepreneurial intention. The study was conducted at College of Agriculture, G.B.P.U.A. and T. Pantnagar. Fifty five students from each, third year and final year of B.Sc. Agriculture were selected as respondents through simple random sampling technique using chit method. Analytical research design was used for the present study. Detailed pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 110 respondents for collection of data. Findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents (60.91 %) belonged to middle age group and were female (55.55 %), belonged to general caste (60.91 %) and had received their basic education in English (72.73 %). Regarding the entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate students of agriculture, it was found that majority of the respondents (59.09 %) had mod-erate level of entrepreneurial intention, while 23.64 % of the respondents had low entrepreneurial intention and only 17.27 % students had high entrepreneurial intention. The findings of this study may help all stakeholders (policy makers, researchers, private institutions, entrepreneurship educators and youth development practitioners) who are concerned with developing youth entrepreneurship in the country.
Qualitative ultrastructural changes and morphometry of deccani sheep spermatozoa preserved with egg yolk citrate extender
Authors: Rajashri Madishetti , Reddy Komati Ramchandra , Kumari Gangineni Aruna , Kumari Nagireddy Nalini , Kesharwani Surabhi , Srinivas Gandham
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was aimed to study the sequential changes in the sperm cell deterioration dur-ing liquid storage of Deccani sheep breed semen from dilution to 48 h of storage along with its seminal characteris-tics and sperm morphometric measurement. Thus the two Deccani adult rams (aged 2 years), were selected (six ejaculates/each ram) and the collected semen was diluted with Egg yolk citrate extender (EYC) (final concentration - 400 million spermatozoa/0.2 ml semen).Seminal characteristics were assessed along with sperm morphologi-cal changes by Electron microscopy immediately after dilution, at 24 and 48 h of storage, respectively. Sperm morphometry was analysed by Image analysis.The percentage of Individual motility, Live spermatozoa, Acrosomal integrity and Hos-test reactive sperm decreased significantly (P<0.05) from 80.41 to 49.16%, 82.75 to 51.25%, 94.16 to 83% and 76 to 48.58%, respectively during liquid storage of semen from initial dilution to 48 h of storage. The sperm head length (?m), Head width, sperm head area (?m2), sperm head perimeter (?m), mid piece length (?m), proximal mid piece width (?m), distal midpiece width (?m), volume of mid piece (?m3) and acrosomal cap length (?m) were 7.80, 4.33, 26.84, 20.63, 14.03, 0.74, 0.51, 4.54 and 5.24, respectively. Electron microscopic qualitative evaluation revealed that the main site of injury is the apical ridge of ram spermatozoa when stored at 5ºC. The electron density of the mitochondria reduced indicating concomittant depletion of ATP and loss of motility resulting in reduction of fertility.
Comparative evaluation of different pretreatment methods on biogas production from paddy straw
Authors: Garg Vishwas , Dar Rouf Ahmad , Phutela Urmila Gupta
Published: April 2018

The present investigations observed the effect of chemical, enzymatic, biological and micro-wave pretreatment on paddy straw for enhancement of biogas production. Chopped and soaked paddy straw was subjected to chemicals Na2CO3 (1%) and NaOH (2%) concentrations, microwave irradiation (720 watt, 30 min), fungal (spawn impregnated, 7 days) and crude silicase (24 hrs) pretreatment. The proximate and chemical analysis showed 16.0% and 12.1% reduction in lignin and silica content in the case of Na2CO3 pretreated paddy straw whereas 23.0% and 46.8% reduction was observed in enzymatic pretreatment with 43.7% and 31.1% enhancement in biogas production respectively. This clearly indi-cates that Pleurotus ostreatus MTCC 142 is silicolytic as well as ligninolytic in nature. Enzymatic pre-treatment was also compared with, microwave (30 min) and fungal pretreatment which showed 31.2% and 32.8% reduction in silica content enhancing biogas production by 19.7% and 42.6% respectively. NaOH pretreatment showed a maximum increase in biogas production i.e. 49.7% as compared to 1% pretreated sample which showed 28.5% enhancement. The results indicated that the NaOH pretreatment was one of the potential methods to increase biogas production of paddy straw.
Dynamics of Sclerotium rolfsii as influenced by different crop rhizosphere and microbial community
Authors: Ray K. , Sen K. , Ghosh P.P. , Barman A. Roy , Mandal R. , Roy M. De , Dutta S.
Published: April 2018

This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating pathogenicity of Sclerotium rolfsii to different crops influenced by different crop rhizosphere microbes and their population dynamics. Napier was found to be non-preferred host against S. rolfsii pathogen. Among the seven tested crops in micro-plot study, highest level of induction of sclerotial population was observed in groundnut and cow peas (21.81 and 20.06 numbers of sclerotia /100 g of soil, respectively), whereas, reduction in sclerotial number was observed in napier, maize and sorghum plots. S. rolfsii induced damping off was found to be significantly positively correlated with average sclerotial population irrespective of plant cover even at 1% level of significance (r = 0.985) and among the microbiological parameters, FDA was found to be significantly negatively correlated with damping off disease percentage at 5% level of significance (r = - 0.830). Therefore, Napier may be the potential crop to be incorporated in the sequence of rice/vegetable based cropping system in West Bengal for management of this dreaded pathogen.
Vermiwash: An effective nutritive boon to foliage and crops
Authors: Kaur Manpreet , Kaur Devinder Pal
Published: April 2018

Earthworms are often known as soil scientist. They are the main driving force that helps in sustainable production of food. They maintain the soil’s physical, chemical and biological health and act as a bio fertiliser. Their excreta and body fluids (vermiwash) has a significant effect in promoting the growth of the agricultural plants. The shoot length, root length, number of twigs, flowers, fruit, grains and biomass, were increased significantly in all the plants that were treated with this biofertilizer. The analysis of the wash showed the high content of various macro and micro nutrients like Ca, K, P, S, organic carbon, Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe etc. It also helps the plants for attainment of maturity and reproduction at faster rate, thus reducing the ‘life-cycle’ of crops and shortening their ‘harvesting time’. So, it can be concluded there is significant increase in vermicompost treated plants as there is reduction in the incidence of ‘pest and disease attack’, and we can now control pests without pesticides’ and ‘now we can have a better taste of chemical-free organic food products.
Character association and path analysis for yield and its related traits in finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) genotypes
Authors: Negi Shivangi , Bhatt Arun , Kumar Vineet
Published: April 2018

The present investigation was conducted during Kharif, 2014 at Research Block, Department of Crop Improvement, College of Forestry, Ranichauri Campus, V.C.S.G. Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry. The thirty-five diverse genotypes of finger millet, Eleusine coracana (L.) including three checks viz., PRM-1, PRM-2 and VL-149 laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with replication. The data on 14 quantitative traits viz., days to 50 per cent flowering, days to maturity, plant height (cm), flag leaf area (cm2), peduncle length (cm), number of leaves on main culm, number of productive tillers per plant, number of fingers per ear, finger length (cm), ear length (cm), biological yield per plant (g), harvest index (%), 1000 seed weight, grain yield per plant (g) were collect-ed randomly from 5 plants form each genotypes. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among all thirty five genotypes with a wide range of mean values for different characters. Grain yield per plant exhibited very strong positive association with biological yield per plant (0.6196, 0.6805), harvest index (0.4370, 0.3624), number of productive tillers per plant (0.3950, 0.4477), 1000 seed weight (0.3697, 0.3972) and peduncle length (0.2473, 0.2694) at phenotypic and genotypic level. Path-coefficient analysis indentified biological yield per plant (0.8983, 1.1590) and harvest index (0.7390, 0.9162) as major direct contributors towards grain yield per plant at phenotypic and genotypic level. The characters identified above merit due consideration in formulating effective selection strategy in finger millet for developing high yielding varieties.
Effect of Bacillus spp. on Gerbera plant growth and control of Meloidogyne incognita
Authors: Manju P. , Subramanian S.
Published: April 2018

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Bacillus spp. against Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood infesting gerbera plants (Var. Valletta). Investigations were undertaken in pots filled with 5 kg of sterilized potting mixture consisting of red soil:sand:FYM (2:1:1 v/v) to assess the effect of liquid and talc formulations of Bacillus spp. viz., B. subtilis strain BG42, B. subtilis strain BG37 and B. amyloliquefaciens strain B4. The results indicated that Soil drenching of liquid formulation of B. subtilis strain BG42 @ 1%/m2 (1x108 colony forming units/g) gave maximum reduc-tion of juveniles per 250g soil (67.40%), number of adult females/5g root (73.46%), number of eggmass/5g root (69.44%), gall index (1.67) and increased flower yield/m2 (127.03%). Soil drenching of liquid formulation of B. subtilis strain BG 37 were next in line in efficacy. Further liquid formulation of B. subtilis strain BG42 had a positive influence on growth parameters viz., shoot length, root length, shoot and root weight, number of leaves / plant and flower yield/m2 and quality parameters viz., flower diameter, colour of the flower, length of flower stalk and vase life . The endophytic colonization potential of the Bacillus spp. introduced into the soil was confirmed by reisolating them from gerbera roots.
Investigation on effect of time of planting in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under polyhouse conditions in Manipur, India
Authors: Longjam Mrinalini , Devi Ak. Bijaya
Published: April 2018

An experiment on the standardization of time of planting for growing cucumber(Cucumis sativus L.) inside polyhouse was conducted during 2010-11 at the Horticutural Experimental Field, College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal (Manipur), India. The experiment comprised of four dates of planting (September, October, November and December) and two cucumber varieties viz.Alamgir CT 280 and Alamgir CT 380, in Factori-al Randomised Block Design with three replications and eight treatments.Impact of time of planting was established on vegetative characters; flowering and fruiting characters; yield and yielding attributes. Effect of different time of planting and variety on growth of cucumber was found to produce significant effect (at 5% level of probability) on main vine length, numbers of leaves per plant and leaf area. For both the varieties, September planting gave maxi-mum values of main vine length (221.93 cm and 240.51 cm, respectively), number of leaves per plant (21.21 and 21.92, respectively) and leaf area (393.26 cm2 and 413.76 cm2, respectively). The treatment combination of Septem-ber planting with Alamgir CT 280 gave shorter number of days (12.6) from fruit set to maturity. The different time of planting and varieties and their interactions showed significant effect on number of fruits per plant, fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), single fruit weight (g), fruit yield/plant (kg) and fruit yield/ha (t). The results revealed that the treatment combination of September planting with Alamgir CT 380 gave the highest yield (47.31t/ha), as compared with October, November and December plantings. However, the maximum cost- benefit ratio (1: 2.24) was found in October planting. The present study suggests that cucumber can be grown successfully during winter months under polyhouse in Manipur, India condition.
Estimation of population mean in two– stage sampling under a deterministic response mechanism in the presence of non-response
Authors: Devi Monika , Sisodia B. V. S.
Published: April 2018

In the present paper, we have considered the problem of estimation of population mean in the presence of non-response under two-stage sampling. Two different models of non-response with deterministic response mechanism have been discussed in the paper. The estimators under two non-response models have been developed by using Hansen and Hurwitz (1946) technique. The expressions for the variances and estimates of variance of these estimators have been derived. The optimum values of sample sizes have been obtained by considering a suitable cost function for a fixed variance. A limited simulation study has been carried out to examine the magnitude of percent relative loss (% RL) in standard error due to non-response. An empirical study with the real populations has also been carried out to assess the % RL in standard error due to non-response.
Impact of laptop usage on symptoms leading to musculoskeletal disorders
Authors: Gautam Diksha , Chacko Nisha
Published: April 2018

Due to inherent portability of laptops, users frequently assume inconvenient postures while using them that may lead to discomfort or injury. The study was conducted to evaluate the postures and identify the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in girls using laptops for which 100 college going female students between 18 - 25 years age group were selected through random sampling technique. A self-structured questionnaire was used to assess the laptop usage among adolescents and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was used to assess the posture of students while working with laptop. Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (SMSQ) was used to assess the nature and severity of self-rated musculoskeletal symptoms. Results revealed that the maximum respondent’s (74%) posture came under Action level 3 and 26% respondents comes under Action level 2 which indicated that the posture needed “further investigation and may need change” or “changes needed soon”. There was a positive correlation in Normal (0.50), Mild (0.31), Moderate (0.56) and Severe users (0.60) between the posture adopted by the respondents and the incidence of pain in last 12 months and in Normal (0.76), Mild (0.52), Moderate (0.56) and Severe user (0.65) respectively in last 7 days. The Musculoskeletal Symptoms was prominent in various anatomic regions like Neck, Shoulders, Upper back and Lower back, respectively. These symptoms if not addressed at an earlier stage might lead to Musculoskeletal Disorders.
Optimization of cultural conditions for submerged state fermentation of di-gested biogas slurry for production of lignocellulolytic enzymes using Phanaerochaete chrysosporium MTCC 787
Authors: Kaur Ajit , Phutela Urmila Gupta
Published: April 2018

Growing environmental concerns and increasing demands from end-use sectors have increased the glob-al market for microbial products. Optimizations of production parameters hold great importance for the industry. The present study was aimed at optimization of submerged state fermentation conditions for production of lignocelluloly-tic enzymes from digested biogas slurry by Phanaerochaete chrysosporium MTCC 787. Enzyme activities for differ-ent enzymes i.e. endoglucanase, exoglucanase, ?-glucosidase; xylanase and mannanase; laccase, lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidise, using P. chrysosporium MTCC 787 were maximum at 50% concentration of digested slur-ry and showed maximum value of xylanase i.e. 187.41U/ml. Effect of temperature (25°C, 30°C and 35°C) on lignocellu-losic bioconversion showed that at 30°C, maximum value of manganese peroxidise (167.5 U/ml) was obtained. High-est enzyme activites were obtained at selected inoculum size i.e. 10?spores/ml, e.g. 85.29 U/ml xylanase was ob-tained. Incubation period of 8 days and pH of 7.0 came out to be best conditions for P. chrysosporium MTCC787 to produce maximum enzyme activity e.g. xylanase 95.47U/ml at pH 7.0 and xylanase 144.96U/ml at 8 day incu-bation.This work presents a novel concept in optimization of fermentation process to produce lignocellulolytic en-zymes as this work is focussed on utilization of digested biogas slurry as a substrate for enzyme production and enhancement of the production with microbial source, which is environment friendly.
Morphological and germination physiognomies of Carissa carandas seedlings influenced by seed storage at ambient conditions
Authors: Deepika Deepika , Vanajalatha K.
Published: April 2018

The present study was taken up to know the morphological and germination physiognomies of karonda (Carissa carandas) seeds influenced by seed storage period at ambient conditions (26 ?C temperature and 55 % RH). Seeds were subjected to store at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days at room temperature (26?C). Germination percentage and various morphological characteristics viz., vigour index, fresh weight of shoot and root, dry weight of shoot and root, root to shoot ratio were recorded. Among stored seeds 10 days old seeds recorded highest germina-tion percentage (57 %) and 60 days old seeds recorded lowest germination (20.33 %). At the end (90 days after sowing) 10 days old seeds again possessed higher fresh weight of root (0.300 g) and shoot (1.240 g), dry weight of root (0.103 g) and shoot (0.487 g), root to shoot ratio (0.212) and vigour index (1772.70 cm) among stored seeds. These physiological observations were quite similar with the freshly harvested seed which found maximum values for all the parameters owing to higher moisture content. Karonda seeds showed good viability upto10 days thereafter its value declined and it reached minimum after 60 days of storage.
Rhizosphere competence of native Rhizobium rhizogenes strain and its use in management of crown gall
Authors: Singh Randeep , Sharma Aditi , Gupta A. K.
Published: April 2018

Native Rhizobium rhizogenes strain UHFBA-212 [141/1A (NCBI: KC488174)]was isolated from rhizosphere soil of peach nursery plant of wild peach collected from Himachal Pradesh. In addition to this,159 isolates were also collected and were screened in vitro for their biocontrol potential against Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Out of these strain, UHFBA-212 showed maximum zone of inhibition i.e. 4.16 and 3.57cm without and after exposure to chloroform against C58.Sequence analysis (16SrDNA) of the strain showed nucleotide homology similar to Rhizobium sp. Amplification of total genomic DNA of the strain with Vir D2 andipt primers didn’t showed amplification with these virulence genes suggesting the absence of tumorigenic factors. In the field conditions, maximum population (329.33x106 cfu/g of soil) was observed in antibiotic resistant mutant of R. rhizogenes strain K84 applied on cherry rootstock Colt followed by 285.33 (x 106 ) cfu/g of soil in UHFBA-212 after 9 months at the time of uprooting of plants when applied alone as root dip. Minimum incidence of crown gall (2.00%) was observed in strain UHFBA- 212 co inoculated with strain C58 as seed treatment on behmi seeds. The data on population indices in rhizosphere and incidence of crown gall further suggested that for better management of disease R. Rhizogenes isolates should be either equal or more in population than that of A. tumefaciens isolates. Strain UHFBA-212 controls crown gall as effectively as strain K84 and can be exploited against tumorigenic isolates under field conditions.
Hydropriming -a useful technique for seed invigoration in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
Authors: Khan F. A. , Narayan S. , Bhat S. A. , Murtuza I. , Hussain K
Published: April 2018

Seed germinating ability and stand establishment determine the management options in crop production system. Physiological advancement of seeds through priming is a simple and cost-effective method to improve the germinability and stand of any crop. Studies were performed on seed invigoration through hydropriming at the division of PHT, SKUAST-Kashmir during the year 2016 to optimize the hydropriming duration for improved germi-nation and seedling vigour of okra (Pusa sawani) and parsley (curly type). Freshly harvested seeds were soaked in normal water for varying durations (okra- 12, 18 and 24 h; parsley- 24, 48 and 72 h) at (25±2°C) and re-dried to original moisture content at room temperature. Fifty seeds of each treatment were cultured in 14.0 cm Petri dishes lined with 5 layers of moist blotting paper. Observations on various germination parameters were recorded at (25±2°C). Priming of okra seeds for 18 h resulted in highest FGP (85.7%), GE (66.5%), GI (36.7), SDB (29.1mg) and SVI (2.49) coupled with minimum values of T50 (2.75 day) as well as MGT (2.38 day). However, the highest FGP (78.7%), GE (48.7%), SDB (3.13 mg), GI (12.8) and SVI (0.25) together with minimum T50 (7.2 day) and MGT (6.5 day) in parsley was recorded with 24 h priming duration. As such priming duration of 18 and 24 hours at 25±2°C were found optimal for enhanced and rapid seed germination with vigourous seedlings.
Assessment of genetic variability and character association in okra genotypes for yield and contributing characters
Authors: Kumari Meenakshi , Solankey S. S. , Akhtar Shirin , Neha Pallavi
Published: April 2018

A study of genetic diversity in 20 okra genotypes for 22 morphological and agronomic traits (13 quantita- tive and 9 qualitative) was laid out in randomized block design with three replications during 2015-16. The phenotyp- ic and genotypic variances, phenotypic (PCV) and genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV), heritability, genetic ad- vance of the characters were studied. The genotypes demonstrated wide range of variability for all characters. In this study PCV was higher than its corresponding GCV thus revealing the role of environmental factors. High heritability (h2b) was recorded for all characters except for days to first flowering (27.76%) and days to 50% flowering (34.67%) which have moderate values. Genetic advance in per cent of mean was high for all the characters ex- cept moderate for first flowering node (12.88%), fruit length (17.59%), fruit diameter (13.99%) as well as low for days to first flowering (1.69%) and days to 50% flowering (2.28%). The higher value of genetic advance indicates that selection of genotypes on the basis of these characters is desirable. Fruit yield showed positive and highly significant (at 1% level of significance) genotypic association with fruit diameter, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight and number of seeds per pod. The genotypes, viz. Kashi Kranti, Kashi Satdhari, VROB-159, Punjab-8 and Kashi Mohini were found promising for most of the yield contributing traits. These genotypes could be used further in hybrid breeding programme.
Molecular detection and characterization of phytoplasma associated with China aster (Callistephus chinensis) phyllody in India
Authors: Kumari Shweta , Prameela H. A. , Manjunath Manjunath , Hurakadli S. , Rangaswamy K. T.
Published: April 2018

China aster (Callistephus chinensis L.) is one of the most popular annual flowering plant grown through-out the world. Phyllody disease of China aster is a phytoplasma associated disease that induces severe economic losses. Phytoplasmal disease in China aster was assessed for phytoplasma by direct polymerase chain reaction primed by using phytoplasma universal primer pairs PI/P7. A 1.8 Kb DNA fragments encoding the portion of phyto-plasma 16SrDNA amplified by PCR was cloned and sequenced. Sequencing of the PCR product and BLAST analy-sis indicated that China aster phyllody phytoplasma strain shared maximum sequence identity (99%) with strains of Peanut Witches’ broom (16SrII) phytoplasma group. Phylogenetic relationship of 16SrDNA sequence of China aster phyllody phytoplasma strain in the present study confirmed association of Peanut Witches’ broom (16SrII) group of phytoplasmas with China aster phyllody disease in India.
Induction of systemic resistance (ISR) against sheath blight of rice caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn using biological seed treatment with Trichoderma
Authors: Sharma K. K.
Published: April 2018

Sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn has recently noticed one of the most important diseases of rice on almost all the high yielding varieties in major rice growing area. In our study morphologically and molecu-larly characterized thirty rhizospheric isolates of Trichoderma (T. harzianum and T. virens) from different locations of Uttarakhand were evaluated for their mycoparasitic ability, disease (sheath blight) suppressing potential and inducing systemic resistance against Rhizoctonia solani. Maximum inhibition in hyphal growth (58.9 %) against R. solani was recorded with isolate PB 2 followed by PB 3 (53.4 %) in confrontation assay. Under glass house con-dition, minimum disease severity (13.6%) was recorded in the treatment where seeds were treated with PB 22 and this treatment also exhibited highest total phenol content (394 ?l/g) 168 hours after pathogen inoculation. Total phenol content was also increased maximally (466 ?l/g) before pathogen inoculation in the treatment where seeds were treated with PB 22. Moreover, high quality ISR activity was recorded with isolates PB 21, 3, 1, 4, 23, 2 and 16 as they reduced more than 34 percent disease and total phenol contents 456 ?l/g, 449 ?l/g, 442 ?l/g, 440 ?l/g and 440 ?l/g, 438 ?l/g and 431 ?l/g were recorded for respective isolates indicated induction of resistance in paddy against sheath blight disease caused by R. solani.
Effect of paper industry effluent on enzyme activity and protein profiling of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
Authors: Chaudhary Rajat , Mishra Anurag , Kumar Kapil , Arya Sonam
Published: April 2018

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a legume which is mostly cultivated in India than other countries that can give significant amounts of dietary minerals and protein to humans. The effect of paper industrial effluent on chick-pea (C. arietinum L.) were analysed along with different concentration (10%, 20% 40%, 60% 80% and 100%) and pure tap water as a control to compare the effect of paper industrial effluent for one week. The amount of protein were comparable with control, their amount was increased at 40% in effluent treated seeds. The maximum activity of enzymes was found below 40% level of effluent. In this study protein profile of imbibed seeds, shoot, root and residual cotyledons were examined under the different concentration of effluent. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of total protein showed that the maximum number of protein bands seen in the imbibed seeds whereas minimum number of protein bands observed in the root. SDS-PAGE revealed that less degradation and/or more rapid accumulation of proteins occurred in higher molecular weight proteins. From this study, it is clear that the industrial effluent rich in organic matter and plant nutrients are finding their use in agriculture as the cheaper way of disposal.
Efficacy of botanicals and fungicides against Rhizoctonia solani inciting sheath blight disease on Rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Authors: Kumar Vipin , Chaudhary V.P. , Kumar Dharmendra , Kumar Ajay , Sagar Sushma , Chaudhary Sorabh
Published: April 2018

Among the fungal diseases, sheath blight, caused by multinucleate Rhizoctoniasolani Kuhn (teleomorph: Thanatephorus cucumeris Donk), a ubiquitous pathogen, is an important fungal disease of rice ranking only after blast and often rivalling it. The potential losses due to sheath blight alone in India has been up to 51.3%. In this study an attempt was made to investigate the antifungal efficacy of botanicals viz., neem (Azadirachtaindica), tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), garlic (Allium sativum), onion (Allium cepa), ginger (Zingiberofficinale) and various fungicides namely mancozeb, propiconazole, hexaconazole, carbendazim, and copper oxychlorideagainst Rhizoctoniasolani in vitro by poison food technique. R. solani was allowed to grow at 5%, 10% concentrations of botanicals and at 200, 500, 1000ppm of fungicides amended potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. The effect of botanicals and fungicides on mycelial growth inhibition was recorded after 36, 48 and 72 post hrs inoculation (phi). It was observed that bulb extract of Allium sativum and rhizome extract of Zingier officinal suppressed the mycelial growth (80.19 and 76.32, respectively) @ 10% followed by leaf extract of Azadirachtaindica (72.78 %) after 72 phi. Among the fungicides, the complete fungal growth inhibition was observed in propiconazole and carbendazim fungicides amended medium.
Studies on variability, heritability and genetic advance for yield and yield contributing characters in french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) germplasm under tarai region of Uttarakhand
Authors: Panchbhaiya Ankit , Singh Dhirendra Kumar , Jatav Vinod , Mallesh Sanganamoni , Verma Priyanka
Published: April 2018

Seventy four French bean germplasms were evaluated for twenty two quantitative traits to study the genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance during Jan-Feb in G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. Significant differences were observed among all genotypes. Higher genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variability were observed for plant height, seed yield per plant, pod yield per plant, pod yield per hectare, number of pods per cluster, number of pods per plant and 100 seed weight (42.45% and 43.30%, 39.72% and 42.34%, 27.59% and 32.12%, 27.59% and 32.12%, 25.01% and 28.14%, 24.56% and 26.76% and 22.65% and 22.96% respectively). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance over mean were observed for plant height, seed yield per plant, pod yield per plant, pod yield per hectare, number of pods per plant, 100 seed weight, number of pods per cluster, leaf length, single pod weight, pod diameter, pod length, number of pod clusters per plant, leaf width, seed length, number of seeds per pod and seed width (96.34% and 85.73%, 88.03% and 76.77%, 73.80% and 48.83%, 73.80% and 48.83%, 84.20% and 46.42%, 97.34% and 46.04%, 45.78% and 78.96%, 38.88% and 89.58%, 38.21% and 92.70%, 92.69% and 35.45%, 90.13% and 34.48%, 32.47% and 79.39%, 28.03% and 79.60%, 26.92% and 99.04%, 56.27% and 24.85%, and 97.82% and 24.01% respectively) indicate predominance additive gene action. Thus, there is ample scope for improving these characters through direct selection.
Genetic divergence analysis in bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.]
Authors: Chetariya C. P. , Vaddoria M. A.
Published: April 2018

The study was conducted during summer 2014-15 at the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh to assess the genetic diversity among 50 genotypes of bottle gourd (Ligenaria siceraria L.). The genetic diversity analysis revealed the formation of 13 clusters suggesting the presence of wide genetic diversity. The clustering pattern indicated that geographic diversity was not associated with genetic diversity. The analysis of per cent contribution of various characters towards the expression of total genetic divergence indicated that number of fruits per vine (22.45%) followed by number of primary branches per vine (13.80%), average fruit weight (11.51%), vine length (11.18%), fruit yield per vine (10.61%), number of male flowers (7.84%), fruit length (6.45%), ratio of male to female flowers (4.82%), days to first picking (4.49%) and days to opening of first male flower (3.84%) contributed maximum towards total genetic divergence. Based on the maximum genetic distance. It is advisable to attempt crossing of the genotypes from cluster XII(GP-14) with the genotypes of cluster IV (GP-25) and XI (GP-53), which may lead to the generation of broad spectrum of favourable genetic variability for yield improvement in bottle gourd.
Population dynamics of pink stem borer, Sesamia inferens (Walker) on maize as influenced by weather conditions
Authors: Sharma Hemant , Jaglan M. S. , Yadav S. S.
Published: April 2018

A field study on population dynamics of pink stem borer, Sesamia inferens (Walker) on maize was carried out during rabi, 2015-2016 at the research farm of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Karnal. Studies on population dynamics revealed that the maximum number of egg masses was observed during 46th SW (standard week), 2015. The larval population increased after 45th SW and reached the maximum during the 49th SW, 2015 and then declined till 7th SW, 2016. Maximum plant infestation by larvae was recorded 19.5 per cent in inbred HKI 1128 and 21.0 per cent in hybrid HQPM 1 during the 7th SW, 2016. No larval activity of S. inferens, plant infestation and dead hearts were observed during 2nd SW to 4th SW of 2016 (second week to last week of January). It could be due to the fact that insect might have entered the hibernation. Correlation of S. inferens population with various environmental factors revealed that larval population had a significant negative correlation with maxi-mum temperature (Tmax.) and minimum temperature (Tmin.), rainfall (RF) (r= -0.4992, -0.5183 and -0.5698) on HKI 1128 and (r= -0.4872, -0.4717 and -0.5242) on HQPM 1, respectively. Multiple regression analysis of S. inferens population with weather parameters showed that there was 80 per cent (HQPM1) and 82 per cent (HKI 1128) variability in larval population due to various environmental factors. The population dynamics revealed by this study have far reaching significance in pest management strategy as integrated control measures may be focused only during the period wherein population exceeds economic threshold level (ETL).
State space modelling and forecasting of sugarcane yield in Haryana, India
Authors: Suman Suman , Verma Urmil
Published: April 2018

Box and Jenkins’ Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models are widely used for analyzing and forecasting the time-series data. In this approach, the underlying parameters are assumed to be constant however the data in agriculture are generally collected over time and thus have the time-dependency in parameters. Such data can be analyzed using state space (SS) procedures by the application of Kalman filtering technique. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the usefulness of state space models in sugarcane yield forecasting and to pro-vide some empirical evidence for its superiority over the classical time-series analysis. ARIMA and state space models individually could provide the suitable relationship(s) to reliably forecast the sugarcane yield in Karnal, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and Panipat districts of Haryana (India). However, the state space models with lower error metrics showed the superiority over ARIMA models for this empirical study. The sugarcane yield forecasts based on SS models in the districts under consideration showed good agreement with State Department of Agriculture (DOA) yields by showing 3-6 percent average absolute deviations.