Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops
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High yielding nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) varieties: a farmer-centric research approach to select superior trees: High yielding nutmeg Varieties
No full textA comprehensive survey was conducted in the nutmeg-growing region of Kerala state to locate superior clones of nutmeg, by employing Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) method. Twenty-nine superior accessions were identified through mother tree characterization for four consecutive years. The characterized clones were female and produced fruits ranging from 628 to 2250 tree-1 year-1, dry nut weight varied from 3.27 g to 15.37 g, and assorted dry mace weight varied from 0.35 g to 4.80 g. Genetic variability analysis revealed high heritability with high genetic advance as per se mean (dry mace weight 76.30%, dry kernel weight 71.37% and the number of fruits tree-1 73.24%) which signifies the advantage of simple selection method of breeding. Based on the economic importance of yield contributing characteristics, five superior clones out of twenty-nine mother trees evaluated have been released as KAU- farmer’s varieties. All the superior trees identified based on yield traits had appreciable quantities of volatile oil (1.63-12.25% in nut; 3.31-16.97% in mace), oleoresin (17.60-41.77% in nut; 13.00-30.50% in mace) and fixed oil (22.45-40.70% in nut) in their nuts and maces as well as myristicin, elemicin, safrole and sabinene in the volatile oils. The characteristic features of mother trees and released varieties are discussed in this paper, and further, these varieties are recommended for commercial cultivation under tropical moist, humid climate conditions.  
Review on agronomic investigations on cardamom and cardamom-based cropping systems in Karnataka: Agronomic investigations on cardamom based cropping systems
No full textSmall cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), an eco-friendly high value spice and foreign exchange earner, is a native of Western Ghats of South India. India enjoyed near monopoly in its production till the seventies, but with the emergence of Guatemala as the main competitor, it has been relegated to second position both in production and export. The low production of cardamom up to eighties was due to lack of sound location specific agronomic package of recommendations. Hence, after a detailed survey of entire small cardamom growing areas in India and interaction with cardamom growers and other stake holders, a comprehensive location specific research programme was finalised and carried out for over 25 years. As a consequence of detailed agronomic investigations on cardamom and cardamom-based cropping systems, various agro techniques such as selection of elite lines of cardamom, rapid clonal multiplication technique, nursery techniques, systems and season of planting, irrigation, shade and weed management, apiculture, harvest and post harvest techniques, multistoried cropping system involving cardamom, coffee, arecanut, coconut etc. evolved. These high production technologies were effectively transferred to the cardamom growers based on local specificity which resulted in higher yields (average of 750 kg dry capsules ha-1 and a potential yield of 1945 kg dry capsules in demonstrations in farmers fields in Kodagu, Karnataka) from an initial benchmark average yield of 120-140 kg dry capsules ha-1
Performance of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) hybrids for yield and quality traits: Chilli hybrids for yield and quality
No full textTwenty-eight F1 combinations of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) obtained from half-diallel cross along with eight diverse parents were evaluated in a field study to elucidate the information on the extent of mean performance of various horticultural traits. The analysis revealed that all the genotypes possessed wide spectrum of variability and showed significant differences for parents and hybrids for the traits studied. For parents UHF CHI 13 (216.20), UHF CHI 15 (193.80), UHF CHI 5 (139.00) and for hybrids H1 (182.60), H9 (181.40) and H7 (172.80) hold highest fruit count per plant. The parents UHF CHI 5 (1047.13 g), UHF CHI 15 (949.62 g) and UHF CHI 7 (912.61 g) and cross combinations H17 (1535.10 g), H8 (1320.00), H6 (1229.76) and H18 (967.60) recorded the high ripe fruit yield per plant. As for earliness, parents UHF CHI 5 (43.33), UHF CHI 11 (45.00), UHF CHI 7 (45.33) and hybrids H27 (42.67), H26 (43.00) and UH28 (43.00) took minimum days for flowering. For pungency UHF CHI 12 (0.28%), UHF CHI 13 (0.26%), DKC-8 (0.24%) and H23 (0.33%), H5 (0.31%), H26 (0.26%) recorded high capsaicin content
Effect of different crop management practices for better economic returns from Kharif onion: Effects of NPKS fertilizer levels and spacing on Kharif onion
No full textThe present study was undertaken at the Agricultural Research Substation, Sumerpur-Pali to find out the effect of different fertilizer levels and crop geometry on kharif onion (Allium cepa L.) production. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with NPKS levels as main plot and crop geometry as subplot with three replications. Spacious crop geometry with highest dose of fertilizer (15 cm x 15 cm + 140 N: 80 P: 80 K: 40 S kg ha-1) produced maximum plant height (98.20 cm), leaves plant-1 (20), bulb polar diameter (79.34 mm), equatorial diameter (85.10 mm), bulb weight (137.44 g) and harvest index (51.30) with huge quantity of split/multiplier bulbs (6.54 t ha-1). Marketable yield (43.71 t ha-1), gross return (` 5.25 lakhs), net return (` 4.25 lakhs) and B: C ratio (4.25) were higher in the closer crop geometry (10 cm x 10 cm) with highest dose of fertilizer, whereas maximum biological yield (126.75 t ha-1) and total bulb yield (61.60 t ha-1) were reported in the closest spacing with highest dose of fertilizer (7.5 cm x 7.5 cm + 140 N: 80 P: 80 K: 40 S kg ha-1), which also produced the highest quantity (28.69 t ha-1) of unmarketable bulbs. It is concluded that for maximum production of better quality of kharif onion bulb, the seedlings should be planted at 10 cm x 10 cm spacing with the highest level of fertilizer dose (140 N: 80 P: 80 K: 40 S kg ha-1)
Characterization of Algerian turmeric and ginger based on their physicochemical, functional and biological properties: Characterisation of Algerian turmeric and ginger
No full textThe purpose of the study was to characterize (physicochemical properties, functional properties, antioxidant contents and biological activities) of two Algerian spices, turmeric and ginger. The results showed the richness of both spices in phytochemicals especially in polyphenols. Compared to ginger, which showed greater affinity for oil, turmeric powder had more affinity for water. In addition, turmeric swelled more (14.17 ml g-1) than ginger powder (8.33 ml g-1). The methanolic extract showed the highest total antioxidant activities of 470.72 ± 3.13 and 228.73 ± 42.19 AAE 100 g-1 for turmeric and ginger respectively. The aqueous extracts didn’t show anticoagulant activity while, the methanolic and acetonic extracts showed anticoagulant activity in a dose – dependent manner. As the butanolic extracts prevented the blood clot from forming, it could be used for medical application in future. Therefore, turmeric and ginger are a rich source of bioactive molecules and have functional and biological properties to be exploited in the food and pharmaceutical industry
Drying kinetics and activation energy for solar drying of ginger slices: Solar drying of ginger
No full textDrying is one of the oldest and most important preservation method for food in which by reducing the water activity the shelf life can be increased. In the present investigation, fresh ginger was pretreated in calcium oxide solution at different concentrations. Solar drying at three temperature levels viz., 55, 65 and 75o C at loading densities of 0.147 g/cm2, 0.176 g/cm2, 0.206 g/cm2 respectively were used for the investigation. Results of study revealed that the total time required for ginger drying in solar dryer curtails with rise in drying air temperature and increased as loading density increased. The activation energy was observed to be 20.45 kJ mol-1, 29.06 kJ mol-1 and 17.6 kJ mol-1 for 0.147 g/cm2, 0.176 g/cm2 and 0.206 g/cm2 loading density respectively. Also, the diffusivity increased with increase in temperature from 45 to 65 oC
Multiplex PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Phytophthora, Pythium and Fusarium associated with foot rot and yellowing diseases of black pepper: Multiple PCR for the detection of pathogens infecting black pepper
No full textIn this study, a multiplex PCR assay was developed to detect Phytophthora, Pythium and Fusarium infecting black pepper. Genus-specific primers were designed from the conserved region of ITS and a multiplex PCR was optimized by manipulating the annealing temperature and primer as well as MgCl2 concentrations. The black pepper 18S rRNA gene-specific primers were also included in the multiplex PCR assay as internal control. The assay successfully detected the pathogens from artificially inoculated black pepper roots and did not show any cross amplification with other fungal pathogens of black pepper such as Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii and Colletotrichum sp. Hence, the developed multiplex PCR assay will help in early diagnosis of the cause of black pepper yellowing leading to timely adoption of management strategies
Quality variation of turmeric during polishing in a power operated turmeric polisher: Quality variation of turmeric during polishing
No full textPolishing of turmeric is an important post harvest operation done after drying to improve the surface colour and to obtain a smooth surface finish. Turmeric (variety IISR Prathiba) was cleaned and cured for 1 h in a steam operated turmeric boiler and one batch was dried in a solar tunnel drier of size 9 m × 4 m × 2.6 m and the other batch was sun dried on cemented concrete floor until constant weight was obtained. The turmeric obtained by both the methods were subjected to polishing in a power operated turmeric polisher to obtain clean and yellow coloured turmeric. Based on the physical appearance and surface finish, it was revealed that turmeric polished for 30 min was optimum to obtain turmeric rhizomes of marketable acceptance and the degree of polishing for solar tunnel dried turmeric was 5.45% and for sun dried turmeric it was 5.20%
Studies on character association and path coefficient for quantitative traits to yield and its attributes in garlic: Character association for quantitative traits to yield in garlic
No full textAssociation between characters and path analysis in seventeen genotypes/lines of garlic (Allium sativum L.) was studied at the Vegetable Research Farm, BUAT, Banda during 2019 and 2020. The pooled data of correlation studies, revealed that gross yield plot-1 had positive and significant correlation with equatorial bulb diameter, weight of 20 bulbs and weight of 50 cloves at genotypic and phenotypic level respectively. This showed that improving these features could improve the crop’s physiological capacity to mobilise and translocate photosynthates to economically valuable organs (the bulb), perhaps increasing bulb yield as seen in the study. Yield was significantly and negatively correlated with bulb shape index, number of cloves bulb-1, and thrips plant-1 at genotypic level. The genotypic path coefficient analysis showed that equatorial bulb diameter and plant height had the highest positive direct effect on bulb yield. Weight of 20 bulbs and collar thickness had negative direct effect on bulb yield. Positive direct effect of equatorial bulb diameter and plant height indicated good scope for improvement in bulb yield by selecting genotypes having bigger bulb along with increased plant height
Physicochemical quality evaluation and drying characteristics of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) dried in a solar tunnel dryer with biomass backup: Quality evaluation of nutmeg dried in solar tunnel
No full textExperiments on drying of nutmeg was performed in a solar tunnel dryer with biomass back up and in a mechanical dryer under three varying temperatures of 45OC, 5OC and 55OC. Drying of nutmeg in solar tunnel dryer was completed in 147 h, while in a mechanical dryer, drying was completed in 105 h, 102 h and 78 h at drying temperatures of 45OC, 50OC and 55OC, respectively. Solar tunnel dried nutmeg had maximum physical quality retention of bulk density (484.88 kg m-3) and kernel recovery (70.63%) whereas dry recovery of nut (61.88%) and shell recovery (31.55%) were maximum in mechanically dried samples at 55OC and 45OC respectively. Secondary metabolites like essential oil (10.67%) and oleoresin (23.25%) were higher in mechanically dried nutmeg at a drying temperature of 45OC. Volatile oil constituents like β-pinene, safrole, terpineol, γ-terpinene, α-thujene, α-terpinene and myristicin content were highest in solar tunnel dried nutmeg