Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops
Not a member yet
1089 research outputs found
Sort by
Documentation of fungal endophytes of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and their seed transmission studies
Get PDFThe present study envisaged to document the endophytic fungal association with black pepper through a series of in vitro and in planta investigations. Black pepper was found to harbour endophytic fungal flora belonging to the genera Alternaria, Acremonium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Chaetomium, Curvularia, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Humicola, Paecilomyces, Rhizoctonia, Phoma and non-sporulating forms. Further, it was found that the endocarp of black pepper seed is free from culturable endophytic fungi. This was evident from the absence of culturable fungi in in vitro grown black pepper seedlings. The growth of fungi from the seedlings grown under green house conditions reveal that the fungal endophytes establish from fungal propagules falling on the (test) plants that may enter the plant tissues as back ground inoculum and grow as endophyte. This was also supported by the study that the type of endophytic fungi that harbour black pepper plants varied with geographical locations from where the samples were collected
Screening small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) field gene bank accessions for phenotypic characters, yield potential and disease resistance
Get PDFEvaluation of 117 field gene bank accessions of small cardamom for phenotypic characters along with yield potential and disease resistance (rhizome rot and leaf blight) at ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research Regional Station, Appangala revealed significant variation with respect to phenotypic characters. The highest plant height (350 cm) and number of bearing tillers (36.4) were recorded in the accessions, field gene bank (FGB) 65 and FGB 16, respectively. The highest fresh weight of capsules (399.61 g) and maximum number of capsules (244.20) plant-1 were recorded in the accession, FGB 13. Further, based on screening for disease resistance, 35 and 15 accessions of cardamom were identified as resistant to leaf blight and highly resistant to rhizome rot, respectively. Based on the multivariate cluster analysis, 117 FGB accessions were classified into 5 clusters viz., clusters 1 and 2 encompassing equal number of accessions (44), cluster 3 with one accession (FGB 10), clusters 4 and 5 with 8 and 20 accessions, respectively
Growth, nutrient uptake and yield of ginger as impacted by potting media, foliar nutrition and microbial inoculants
Get PDFExperiments were conducted during 2017-19 at the Integrated Farming System Research Station, Karamana, Kerala Agricultural University for assessing the impact of quantity of potting media, foliar application of multinutrient mixture IISR Power Mix G and microbial inoculants Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) and Trichoderma on the growth, nutrient uptake and yield of ginger variety Karthika grown as pot culture. The study revealed that 12 and 15 kg of potting media filled grow bags could produce comparable yields of ginger significantly higher than that obtained with 9 kg of potting media. Application of IISR Power Mix G @ 0.5% at 2 and 3 months of planting enhanced the yield of ginger to the tune of 11 per cent in comparison to control. Microbial inoculants AMF (5 g plant-1) and Trichoderma (1 kg mixed with 90 kg FYM and 10 kg neem cake and 250 g of the mixture used) applied at planting time followed by Trichoderma at 1 month after planting resulted in higher fresh ginger yield of 596.67 g bag-1 and was comparable to 550 g of fresh ginger obtained with application of AMF and Trichoderma at planting
Spice bioactives in edible packaging
Get PDFEdible packaging received significant attention in recent years. The main advantage of edible packaging over synthetic packaging is that they are environment friendly. The material used in edible packaging (lipids, polysaccharides, proteins) is generally recognized as safe and it acts as a barrier to gases, light and moisture. Spices have been traditionally used for its medicinal value. Spice extract or its essential oil possesses various bioactive compounds which are known for their antioxidant and antimicrobial property. Incorporation of spice extract or its essential oil into edible packaging exerts antimicrobial activity against the food pathogens thus preventing food spoilage and enhances the shelf-life and also increases the nutritional value of the final product. Antioxidant properties of spices retard the lipid oxidation. Dietary allergy and intolerance are also associated with packaging material and spices. Because of the high cost of film-forming material, scaling-up of edible packaging has remained a problem
Impact of water activity and temperature on the growth and afb1 production by two isolates of Aspergillus flavus on ginger
No full textImpact of interacting effect of water activity (aw) and temperature on lag phase prior to growth, growth rate and aflatoxin production (AFB1) of two toxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus (AFg and AFt) on ginger was studied. A full 5 x 6 factorial design with five temperature regimes (20, 25, 30, 35 and 37C) and six aw levels (0.85, 0.90, 0.93, 0.95, 0.982 and 0.995) replicated three times and basic media 5% milled ginger agar media was used in the study. A 6-day-old mycelia + 9 ml sterile water supplemented with 0.05% (w/v) Tween 80 was used as inoculum for each treatment. 2 μL of the inoculum was one-point centrally inoculated in each plate and incubated appropriately. Evaluation of fungal growth was done daily and AFB1 production analysed after 10 days. Data showed that in all cases, no growth was observed at 0.85 aw at all temperatures and at 0.9 aw at 20oC, suggesting limits for growth could vary. Optimum conditions for growth of A. flavus was 0.98–0.995 aw and 30-35oC, while the level of AFB1 production varied considerably among the isolates. Maximum AFB1 production was observed at 0.98 aw at 20-30oC in both isolates. This result could be useful in the post-harvest handling of ginger in stores against A. flavus colonisation and AFB1 production
Price behaviour of black pepper in Indian and international markets: a comparative analysis
Get PDFBlack pepper, being a trade dependent commodity, shows high degree of price fluctuations. The present study examined the price behavior of black pepper in the pre-liberalisation and postliberalisation periods. The study revealed that the variation in prices increased in the postliberalisation period. Seasonal nature was evident in prices and the harvesting period was found to be coinciding with the trough phase in the price cycle, while the off-season synchronized with the peak phase. The prices exhibited cyclical behavior and the periods of low prices endured longer than that of the price spikes. The occurrence and amplitude of random factors exhibited in the prices of black pepper were more in the pre-liberalisation period
Development of a Real-Time PCR based protocol for quantifying Radopholus similis in field samples
Get PDFThe burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis, is an obligate migratory endoparasite. Currently detection of this nematode is carried out mostly by physically extracting them from soil and then observing under a light microscope. To identify this nematode, a thorough knowledge about their morphological features is quite indispensable. Developing a DNA based detection technique makes it more convenient and accurate in detection. Though PCR based methods have been reported by earlier workers, developing a Real-Time PCR based method will enable estimating their population in field samples. In this study, Real-Time PCR primers were designed using the DNA sequences from the ITS region of R. similis. It can detect R. similis up to the limit of 100 fg μL-1 DNA. The real time PCR based detection serves as an efficient tool for the detection and estimation of this nematode from soil samples
Understanding plant-beneficial microbe interactions for sustainable agriculture
Get PDFA better understanding of the specific molecular interactions between plants and microbes is crucial to develop newer strategies for sustainable agriculture. The productivity of wide range of agricultural crops under decreasing land resources and shrinking biological potential of the soil need to be improved. Search for useful microorganisms associated with the plants has been highly productive for sustainable agriculture. We take a close look at the current level of molecular interactions that mostly involve specific molecular patterns of microbes and their cognate receptors in plants and development of efficient biofertilizers for improving crop yields. This article covers the broader aspects of plant-microbe interactions with more focus on plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Further upcoming strategies to understand the plant-PGPR interactions are discussed
Instrument-based detection methods for adulteration in spice and spice products – A review
Get PDFSpices play an important role as flavorants, colorants, preservatives and bioactive compounds in medical, food and cosmetic applications. India is the spice bowl of the world and spice production is scattered across the country. Almost every stage of production, including cultivation, harvest, handling, storage, transportation and distribution has impact on spice quality. Adulterants are often intentionally added to fetch better market value through inferior/ unacceptable quality products. Adulterants are a concern to quality, market compliancy and food safety. Over the years, several approaches for quantitative and qualitative detection of adulterants have been developed. Though basic and simple testing methods are available to detect the presence of adulterants, instrument based techniques are often adapted to detect the adulterants quantitatively. The objective of this work is to present a detailed note on these approaches with emphasis on the various analytical techniques used in the detection and quantification of adulterants in spice and spice products
Comparison of quality of dry turmeric (Curcuma longa) produced by slicing and other curing methods
Get PDFThe study determines the effect of slicing and curing turmeric (var. Alleppey Supreme) on the quality of dry turmeric rhizomes produced. The turmeric rhizomes were sliced to 5 mm and the curing methods followed were steam curing in TNAU model turmeric boiler for 60 min and traditional water boiling for 60 min. The drying characteristics curves obtained indicated that the time required for drying was significantly reduced by slicing to 127 h (5 days) and the maximum time of 288 h (12 days) was required for complete drying of steam cured turmeric in TNAU boiler. Quality analysis of the dried turmeric samples indicated that the maximum retention of primary metabolites i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, fat and starch was found in turmeric samples cured by water boiling method for 60 min corresponding to 53.15, 3.16, 2.72 and 49.14%, respectively and the maximum retention of secondary metabolites i.e. essential oil, oleoresin and curcumin content were observed in sliced samples and the values corresponded to 6.23, 10.51 and 3.74%, respectively