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Morphological and biochemical properties of garlic (Allium sativum L.) collections: Characterization of garlic collections
No full textGarlic (Allium sativum L.) is an important constituent of many of traditional medicines. The nutrient composition and biochemical ingredients of garlic vary among varieties and locations. The current experiment was conducted with 35 genotypes of garlic to study variation in morphological and biochemical properties among these genotypes. The weight of bulbs ranged from 6.9 g to 22.6 g. Highest number of clove bulb-1 was recorded in collection -286 (44.6) followed by GG-2 (40.6). Clove weight was higher in collection - 316 (1.41 g). The dry weight ranged from 28.6 per cent to 38.65 per cent. Highest total soluble solids were found in collection -79 (35.1°Brix). Potassium, iron and zinc content were higher in GG-2 (1.70%, 47 ppm and 19.2 ppm, respectively). Sulphur and copper content were higher in G-41. Manganese content ranged from 6.90 to 23.1 ppm. Highest anthocyanin pigment was found in the peel of cv. Godavari (5.35 mg). There was not much difference in anthocyanin content in pulp of purple and white colour varieties. Pyruvic acid content ranged from 20.9 µ mol ml-1 to 24.9 µ mol ml-1. Over all cvs. G-50, G-41, collection -316 were found superior over others
Influence of propagules and growth regulators on the performance of underutilized spice - Spiny coriander (Eryngium foetidum L.): Influence of propagules on the performance of Eryngium foetidum
No full textAn experiment was conducted to study the effect of propagules of spiny coriander (Eryngium foetidum L) as influenced by growth regulators in the Forestry Nursery of North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology during 2018 and 2019. Spiny coriander is an underutilized culinary spice; a medicinal and aromatic plant that belongs to the family Apiaceae. The study consisted of 14 treatments involving two levels of propagules like stem cuttings (S1) and suckers (S2) and seven levels of growth regulators namely Indole Butyric Acid (IBA) and Indole-3 Acetic Acid (IAA) [each at 0, 500, 1000 and 1500 ppm]. The results indicated that the treatment T9 involving sucker (S2 + IBA 500 ppm) was found better in terms of growth and it was comparable with T12 (S2 + IAA 500 ppm) during both years. Suckers treated with IBA 500 ppm and IAA 500 ppm showed significantly superior performance over the stem cuttings. It is concluded that suckers (7-10 cm) of Eryngium foetidum may be used as propagating material for commercial cultivation, as it is an easy, quick and economical method of propagation
Nutmeg - Origin, diversity, distribution and history: Journey of nutmeg
No full textNutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) a small holder’s crop, with 3500 years of antiquity originated in the Moluccas, Indonesia, is now grown in about 12 countries including some secondary centres of domestication. Centres of domestication overlap the centre of origin in nutmeg. Out of about 175 species in the genus, only five are economically important. Besides species diversity and cultivar diversity, ecosystem diversity is also a component of biodiversity of the genus. The genus is represented by six species including four endemic species and subspecies each in India. A comprehensive work on Indian Myristica is pertinent. The history of the spice is mired in bloody wars, piracies, privateers, clandestine collection trips, wanton felling of the heirloom trees besides inadvertent specimen identity, inaccurate chronology and a treaty of land swap. Though French and British colonial rulers took interest in popularising nutmeg in their colonies albeit for economic gains, the role of French was pivotal. The package of practices of nutmeg (Colonial Horticulture) in the new French colonies were a complex process of creolizing the expertise borrowed from the native people of the Moluccas with the horticultural knowledge of the colonists, traders, settlers, slaves and other local residents. Though nutmeg, a perennial tree of about 100 years of life span, has only about 300 years of domestication history in the country, the cultivar diversity is amazing as exemplified by the high frequency of farmer’s varieties. The nutmeg population of the country also exhibits good phenotypic plasticity as demonstrated by leaky dioecy. While the transnational spread of nutmeg is a legacy of colonial rulers, the settlers mainly Christians, are credited with the intrastate spread of nutmeg in Kerala, the major area of production in India. History of nutmeg is still in an emerging phase and there are gaps in our understanding
Response of paddy field cyanobacterium, Westiellopsis prolifica Janet to the inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers
Get PDFCyanobacteria are prokaryotic nitrogen fixing microorganism which played a significant role in the nitrogen fixation and contributed much to the submerged rice cropping system of the world. It can luxuriantly flourish in paddy fields and providing nitrogen as well as various growth promoting substances that influence the growth of paddy plants. India, being an important rice producing country of the world, depends upon various inorganic fertilizers for rice cultivation. The heterocystous cyanobacterium, Westiellopsis prolifca is a common inhabitant in most of the paddy fields of Kerala. The growth and other biochemical parameters upon the growth of cyanobacterium were assayed. The nitrogenous fertilizer ammonium sulphate influences the chlorophyll-a synthesis, protein content and growth rate. But the ammonia excretion was drastically reduced in cyanobacterial cultures upon the treatment with inorganic fertilizers.
 
A modified semi-selective medium for isolation and enumeration of Pochonia chlamydosporia (Goddard) Zare & W. Gams: A semi-selective medium for Pochonia chlamydosporia
No full textPochonia chlamydosporia, is one of the most promising biological control agents for managing phytoparasitic nematodes. Isolation and enumeration of viable colonies of P. chlamydosporia from soil and other substrates without contamination is a major limitation, when commonly available nutrient media are used. Development of a suitable selective/semi-selective media by incorporating one or more inhibitors of microbial growth can facilitate isolation of the fungus. In vitro studies were carried out to test the compatibility of commonly used pesticides, namely, metalaxyl, metalaxyl-mancozeb, carbendazim, copper oxychloride, and chlorpyrifos with P. chlamydosporia. The fungus showed relatively high tolerance to higher doses of metalaxyl and carbendazim and was used in the modified medium for better suppression of other soil borne fungi. In the present study, Kerry’s semi-selective medium was modified and evaluated by counting the viable fungal propagules in different substrates (rice, farmyard manure, maize, rice bran, barley, and sorghum) and soil artificially inoculated with the fungus. The results showed that the modified Kerry’s semi-selective medium can effectively be used for isolation and quantification of P. chlamydosporia in routine studies
Biological approaches of termite management: A review
Get PDFFor increased crop production, the role of chemical termiticides cannot be neglected as they have provided the efficient way to achieve green revolution. But the present scenario has forced mankind to search for alternative options. While keeping in mind the concept of sustainable agriculture, pest management including termites and other phyto-diseases etc. needs to be focused. For the achievement of the above stated goal, eco-friendly and cost-effective strategies need to be emphasized. Biopesticidal agents that mainly comprise of herbal and microbial formulations are known to exhibit anti termite activity and have a pivotal role in the production of organic food products. In order to reduce the chemical consumption, the vast area of biological alternatives needs to be explored as they provide us with many beneficial aspects like sustainability, suitable application, biodegradable nature, target specificity etc. Further, the bioactive components of such biological agents can later be used as commercially viable termiticides in the form of formulations. These herbal and microbial termiticides are effective and have immense scope to be used in future for sustainable development
Standardization of zygotic embryo culture from Nerium oleander L. and comparative analysis of biosynthesized cardiac glycosides within in vitro and acclimatized plants
Get PDFThe primary result of our experiment revealed that the germination percentage of N. oleander mature seeds is only 30%. From this observation, the concept of protocol standardization for zygotic embryo culture of this plant was originated. Zygotic embryo culture was proved an efficient in vitro multiplication system of N. oleander. The maximum germination percentage (96%) of zygotic embryos was observed on ¼ MS medium with 15 gm/L sucrose, whereas the best growth medium was optimized as ½ B5 with same sucrose concentration. The second part of this study was aimed to find out the cardiac glycoside accumulation pattern in both in vitro and acclimatized plants. For this purpose, one-month-old in vitro plantlets and acclimatized plants were subjected to LC-MS analysis and 09 cardiac glycosides were detected and quantified in both the systems. Most of the cardiac glycosides including odoroside A (32.71 mg/gm DW), odoroside H (4.69 mg/gm DW) and oleandrin (0.52 mg/gm DW) were found to be accumulated at maximum level within in vitro plantlets. CG 840b (1.89 mg/gm DW) is the only cardiac glycoside, which was maximally accumulated in acclimatized plants. From this study, it can be concluded that, zygotic embryo culture is a better choice for in vitro multiplication of N. oleander when compared to matured seeds and in vitro grown plantlets of this species favor cardiac glycosides biosynthesis in comparison to acclimatized plants. Therefore, all future research on the enrichment of cardiac glycosides from this plant may be conducted on zygotic embryos derived in vitro grown plantlets or cultures
Dyeing of cotton fabric by Caesalpinia sappan aqueous extract at different temperatures and mordants
Get PDFThe colour is one of the most important features in textile industry and customers requirements. Synthetic colours are available at affordable prices due to their bulk production. On the other hand, they pose undesirable taste (in case of foods) and harmful effects to ecosystem. The natural colours when used in textiles do not threat the environments and do not cause any skin allergy, toxicity and other hazards to living things as compared to the synthetic counterparts. In the present study, dyeing experiments were conducted with the aqueous extract of bark chips of Caesalpinia sappan at 60, 80 and100° C and using different mordant treatments. The fastness to washing for most of cotton fabrics showed fair grey scale rating. Among the mordants Alum, CuSo4 and Myrobalan used, the natural mordant myrobalan showed poor fastness properties compared to other two mordants. The staining tests showed that most of fabrics exhibited only slight/completely no pilling in majority of the treatments
A review on chemical constituents of essential oils of Aframomum genus
Get PDFAframomum K.Schum is a genus native to Africa belonging to Zingiberaceae. Members of the genus Aframomum are the aromatic and perennial rhizomatous herbs. Many plant parts of Aframomum species contain essential oils, including fruits, seeds, leaves, stems, rhizomes, pods, husks, pericarps, limbos and leaf sheaths. The major constituents of Aframomum plants are mainly composed of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes, oxygenated sesquiterpenes and monoterpene hydrocarbons. The present work provides the comprehensive information regarding the volatile components of various Aframomum species
Evaluation of Hararge coffee (Coffea arabica L.) landraces for moisture stress tolerance
Get PDFArabica Coffee is an important export commodity for Ethiopia, contributing 25 to 30 % of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings. Moisture stress is one of the major constraints of coffee production in Hararge, Eastern Ethiopia. Moisture stress affects the growth, yield and quality of coffee. Local coffee landraces are source of desirable traits including moisture stress tolerance. Accordingly, this study was conducted to evaluate Hararge coffee landraces for moisture stress tolerance. Treatments consisted of 200 coffee landraces (178 from seven districts of east Hararge Zone and 22 from two districts of west Hararge Zone). The coffee landraces were field planted in July 2005 at Mechara Agricultural Research Center using augmented design with six trees per plot or accessions. Moisture stress tolerance was recorded from three randomly selected coffee trees per plot, three times a day (in the morning, noon and night) from January 05 to 25, 2014. The stress tolerance was determined using 1-5 scale by visual scoring (1- all leaves green and turgid, 2- most leaves still turgid but younger leaves show leaf folding; 3- all leaves wilt or fold, 4- Leaves partially turning pales, and partly shed showing severe wilting and 5-leaves completely turning brown and dry, mostly dropping). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result of this study revealed that the coffee landraces varied in their level of tolerance to moisture stress. The 200 coffee landraces were grouped into seven clusters based on their level of tolerance to moisture stress. Nine coffee landraces (4.5%) were highly tolerant to moisture stress, 25 (12.5%) were tolerant, and 36 (18%) were moderately tolerant. On the other hand, 60 coffee landraces (30%) were less tolerant; while 57 (28.5%), 11(5.5%) and 2 (1%) were moderately sensitive, sensitive and highly sensitive to moisture stress, in that order. There was variation in coffee landraces for moisture stress tolerance both between and within areas of the collection. Hence, it is advisable to maintain and use promising coffee landraces in coffee breeding. Screening of the landraces under controlled conditions like green house and studying of mechanisms of moisture stress is also the way forward.