Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops
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Yield attributes and yield in somaclones of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.)
Get PDFTwenty five somaclones derived from two induced polyploids (Z-0-78 and Z-0-86) and diploid cultivar ‘Himachal Pradesh’ were field evaluated and subjected to yield and yield attribute analyses. Somaclones were highly variable in the yield and yield attributes. Extent of variation was more in somaclones when compared to check varieties (Karthika and IISR-Varada) rather than parent cultivars (Z-0-78, Z-0-86 and HP). Somaclones derived from Z-0-86 recorded superiority in rhizome characters over those derived from ‘Himachal Pradesh’ and Z-0-78. About 92% of somaclones showed higher yield over parent cultivars while 84% of somaclones showed higher rhizome yield over check varieties. Somaclones derived from Z-0-86 alone recorded higher driage and dry yield.
 
Crop improvement of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L. subsp. indicum var. indicum.) through crossing
Get PDFCoriander is the most important seed spice crop in India. Selection is the most common breeding procedure used in coriander and crossing is non-existent. The present study was conducted to promote crossing as a breeding technique in coriander. It was found that coriander was protandrous and the sex ratio was 1.75 to 2.07. The stigma was receptive from the 3rd day to 6th day of anthesis indicating that artificial pollination on emasculated florets must be done repeatedly on 3rd and 4th day of anthesis. Pollen was viable for two days in the field. Fresh pollen can be stored in incubator at 25oC for three weeks with 88% retention of viability. Emasculation of florets was carried out with the help of binocular loupe. Emasculation either in the morning before anthesis or previous day evening was found to be suitable. For demonstrating the technique, four parents were reciprocally crossed. Only three crosses were successful indicating the differences in combining ability of the parents. Mean success among the crosses was 23%, fruit set among the florets varied from 9.52-83.3% depending on the cross combination.
 
Management of anthracnose (Colletotrichum capsici) in chilli (Capsicum annum L.) through fungicides, bioagents and hand picking methods
Get PDFField trials were conducted on chilli variety LCA-355 for management of anthracnose (Colletotrichum capsici) through fungicides, bioagents and hand picking of initial set of green fruits. The pooled data of two year trials revealed that, minimum percent disease index (PDI) of anthracnose (13.33%) on red chilli fruits was recorded in thrice hand picking of initial set of green chilli fruits. The data also indicated that foliar spray of bioagent Aspergillus niger-V @0.5% with sticker @0.1% resulted in 29.83 PDI which proved to be the second effective treatment. However, highest total yield (1947.95 g plot-1) as well as healthy red chilli fruits (1286.66 g plot-1) was recorded in foliar sprays with Mancozeb @0.3% followed by Azoxystrobin @0.1% (1125.00 g plot-1) and lowest yield in control (550 g plot-1). The highest PDI (59%) of anthracnose on dry red chilli fruits with lowest total yield (1068.97 g plot-1) was recorded in control. The pooled data of field trials revealed that, the thrice hand picking of initial set of green chilli fruits performed better with lowest PDI and proved that hand picking is an effective method for management of anthracnose.
 
Response of transplanted fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) to potassium fertilization
Get PDFThis study presents the results of farmer’s field experiment on the effects of potassium (K) fertilization on transplanted fennel (Foeniculum vulgareMill.) production. Four treatments (K1 = 20 kg K ha-1, K2 = 40 kg K ha-1, K3 = 60 kg K ha-1, K4 = 80 kg K ha-1) were compared using four replications under Completely Randomized Design. Application of potassium @ 60 kg ha-1 recorded highest value of plant height primary branches plant-1, secondary branches plant-1, number of leaves, number of roots plant-1, tap root length, fresh weight of shoot, fresh weight of root and minimum root: shoot ratio. The maximum value of number of umbels plant-1, umbellate umbel-1, number of seeds umbel-1, test weight, seed yield, straw yield and harvest index was also observed in same treatment. All the quality parameters like, volatile and total oil content, soluble sugar, total carbohydrate, crude protein, potash content of seed and soil and overall quality of seeds were higher with application of 80 kg K ha-1, whereas disease incidence was significantly reduced with application of higher dose of K. The maximum gross return, net return and highest benefit: cost ratio was also recorded with application of 60 kg K ha-1.
 
Degradation of monocrotophos in cardamom under field conditions and during processing
Get PDFThe degradation pattern of monocrotophos (Dimethyl (E) -1-methyl-2-(methyl carbamoyil) vinyl phosphate) in small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) under field conditions and during processing were studied. Monocrotophos 36% SL was sprayed at the recommended dose of 0.072% as per standard foliar application procedures. The residues were determined by gas chromatography with flame photometric detector. The degradation of monocrotophos followed first order kinetics and the half life of monocrotophos in fresh cardamom capsules was found to be five days. Due to dehydration during processing of fresh cardamom capsules, monocrotophos residue in cardamom capsule was found to be magnified by 3.5 times. Monocrotophos residue was reduced by 11.5% on curing and 29.5% on polishing.
 
Response of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) to plant growth regulators and their time of application
Get PDFThe effect of plant growth regulators and their time of application on growth, yield and economics of fenugreek were studied during three winter seasons (Rabi) of 2005–06 to 2007–08. Plant growth regulators used were Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) 50 ppm, Triacontanol 1000 ppm & Triacontanol 500 ppm with three times of spray viz., one (40 DAS), two (40 & 60 DAS) and three (40, 60 & 80 DAS) along with absolute control laid out in factorial randomized block design replicated thrice. Based on three years study it was observed that growth regulator treatments significantly influenced growth, yield attributes, yield & economics of fenugreek. The highest pods plant-1, test weight, seed yield (1494 kg ha-1), straw yield (3381 kg ha-1), gross returns (Rs. 51582 ha-1), net returns (Rs.35586 ha-1) and benefit : cost ratio (2.25) were recorded with NAA 50 ppm which was significantly superior to Triacontanol 1000 ppm & 500 ppm & water spray. The seed yield was increased by 27.80%, 23.70% & 16.08% and net returns by 44.20%, 36.71% & 25.25% with application of NAA 50 ppm, Triacontanol 1000 ppm & 500 ppm over spray of water, respectively. Further, significantly maximum number of branches plant-1, test weight, seed yield (1409 kg ha-1), gross returns (Rs. 48546 ha-1), net returns (Rs. 32331 ha-1) and benefit : cost ratio (1.99) were recorded with three sprays at 40, 60 & 80 DAS closely followed by two sprays at 40 & 60 DAS over single spray at 40 DAS. Hence, the application of NAA 50 ppm twice at 40 & 60 DAS or thrice at 40, 60 & 80 DAS was found beneficial in terms of increased growth, yield and monetary returns of fenugreek.
 
Genetic analysis of paprika genotypes for dry fruit yield in chilli
Get PDFTen genotypes of paprika were evaluated for mean performance, variability parameters and association of characters towards dry fruit yield. Based on mean performance, genotype C-6 (‘U.S.609’) was the best for all characters except number of seed fruit-1, ascorbic acid, oleoresin content, capsaicin and capsanthin content. High estimates of genotypic coefficients of variation for numbers of primary branches, dry fruit yield plant-1, fresh ripe fruit yield plant-1 and fruit length indicated that the major part of variability was due to genetic makeup for these traits. Fruit length, fresh ripe fruit yield plant-1 and dry fruit yield plant-1 had higher genetic advance coupled with high heritability indicates the additive gene action. Among the characters analyzed for association it could be concluded that number of fruit plant-1, fruit length, plant height, days from anthesis to harvest and number of primary branches plant-1 would be appropriate selection parameters for improvement of fresh fruit yield.
 
Nutrient management in turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) in an integrated farming system in southern Kerala
Get PDFA field trial was conducted to assess the effect of different organic manures produced in situ in an integrated farming system at Farming Systems Research Station, Sadanandapuram during 2012–13 on the performance of turmeric, variety Suguna, grown as component crop in the system under nutrient recommendation of 30:30:60 kg NPK ha-1. Higher plant growth was recorded in the treatment integrating 75% recommended dose nitrogen as organic manures and remaining 25% as inorganic fertilizers. Rhizome yields were significantly highest (42.71 t ha-1) in the treatment receiving vermicompost along with chemical fertilizers followed by poultry manure substitution (33.08 t ha-1) and sole organics - integration of vermicompost enriched with PGPR Mix I with poultry manure and goat manure (31.61 t ha-1). Net returns per ha ranged between Rs. 1.82 lakh (inorganic fertilizers alone) and Rs. 5.8 lakh (vermicompost + inorganic fertilizers) and benefit cost ratios between 1.76 and 3.19.
 
Stability analysis of seed yield in coriander based on non-parametric methods
Get PDFThe present study consisted of evaluation of 42 genotypes in two environments –with full irrigations (called irrigated) and with half the number of normal irrigations (called drought) over three years. ANOVA has indicated significant influence of environments on the expression of seed yield. All types of interactions with genotypes were significant indicating non-linear response of genotypes to environments. Stability analysis indicated significant differences among the ranks of stability of the genotypes. Significant positive correlations were noted among the different non parametric statistics and between corrected and uncorrected seed yield. Similarly there was good correspondence between the scatters of the genotypes obtained with Si(1), Si(2), Si(3) as well as between the scatters of AMMI (mean vs IPCA 1).
 
Variability in fruit characteristics of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) under Kerala conditions
Get PDFForty one accessions of nutmeg collected from diverse locations of Kerala of age 15 years were evaluated at Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur during 2012–14. Among these accessions, 38 were females and three were monoecious. The accessions were evaluated based on 17 fruit characters recorded from two trees per accession during two consecutive bearing seasons. The statistical parameters viz., mean, range, phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV), genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), heritability (H2), genetic gain (GG) and genotypic correlation coefficients were calculated. High PCV and GCV were observed for the characters such as fruit weight, mace weight, mace volume, dry nut weight, kernel weight, fruit volume and number of fruits per tree. Heritability was high for all the characters except shell thickness. High GCV coupled with high heritability in the characters indicated the scope for yield improvement through selection based on these characters. Genetic gain was the highest for number of fruits per tree (144.3%) followed by mace characters viz., fresh and dry weight as well as volume of nut. Fruit weight was also significantly and positively correlated with fruit breadth, fruit volume and thickness of pericarp. Based on the results, accessions such as Acc. 9, Acc. 8 and Acc. 22 were found promising with respect to the economic characters viz., mace weight, nut weight, kernel weight and number of fruits per tree. These accessions can be used in further crop improvement programmes on nutmeg.