Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Effect of organic and inorganic farming conditions on seed storage proteins in soybean based cropping system
Get PDFA field experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) and winter (rabi) seasons of 2011-13 to evaluate the effect of application of farmyard manure (FYM), recommended doses of fertilizers (RDF) and their combination on storage protein quality of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in soybean based cropping system in Punjab. Densitometric analysis of chromatograms revealed significant variations in relative densities of ?\u27 subunit of ?-conglycinin protein in soybean in year 2011 and ? subunit of legumins in chickpea among different treatments whereas other subunits of glycinin and ?-conglycinin in soybean and legumins and vicillins in chickpea did not vary significantly. Maximum value of 11S/7S ratio was observed in treatment with FYM @ 10t ha-1 and FYM @ 10t ha-1+100% RDF in soybean seeds in year 2011 and 2012 respectively and with RDF in chickpea. In wheat, the relative quantity of 55.7, 48.8 and between 11-13 kDa bands increased significantly in combined treatment of organic or inorganic fertilizer than their individual treatments, whereas relative quantity of 40.7 kDa band was significantly low in FYM @10t ha-1 +100% RDF treatment as compared to other treatments. Combined treatments of organic and inorganic fertilizer resulted in presence of additional bands corresponding to 61.4 and 22.5 kDa and disappearance of subunit band corresponding to 16.4 kDa in wheat grains. It is concluded that combined organic and inorganic treatments did not change major storage protein fractions and can be used to improve fertilizer management practices
Perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry among rural societies of Kashmir, India
Get PDFPeople’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry have become fundamental elements of sustainable agroforestry management. The study examined the multiplicities and dimensions of people’s perceptions about agroforestry values, attitudes towards agroforestry benefits and resources preferences in agroforestry and their socioeconomic determinants in rural societies of Kashmir. The data were collected from 142 households of 5 villages selected employing multi-stage random sampling. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used for the data analysis. Results indicated that the material values (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were perceived as the most important while the perception of the non-material values (rank 4th to 10th) were adjudged moderately important. People’s attitudes towards the tangible benefits (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were highly favourable whereas attitudes towards intangible benefits (rank 4th to 10th) were indifferent. The rural people expressed higher preferences for fuel wood, fodder, vegetable, fruit, and timber (rank 1st to 5th) while moderate or low preferences for medicine, cottage industry/ handicrafts, fiber/ floss, oilseeds and animals/ birds/ insects etc. (rank 6th to 10th). F statistics (p < 0.05) showed significant differences between the material and non-material values, tangible and non-tangible benefits and resources groups. Correlation co-efficients (r) confirmed the importance of socioeconomic attributes in influencing people’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry. The findings will help to refine and enrich the knowledge-base to provide an effective framework for decisions and policy making to sustain and maintain agroforestry health and services. The integration of people’s socio-psychological conditions in sustainable agroforestry management will be effective strategy commensurating the current development and future challenges
Effects of acclimation on the haematological indices of different groups of fresh water teleosts
Get PDFHematological parameters have been recognized as valuable tools for monitoring fish health. The aim of the present study was to obtain a basic knowledge of the hematological responses of different groups of fresh water teleosts during acclimation period. Haematological analysis was carried out in three different groups of teleosts namely Group I: Heteropneustes fossilis and Clarias gariepinus (Siluriformes), Group II: Anabas testudineus and Channa striatus (Perciformes), Group III: Labeo rohita and Cyprinus carpio (Cypriniformes). In all groups of teleosts, RBC and Hb were significantly (p<0.05) decreased after 7 days of captivity in response to stress factors raised in capture, handling and sampling procedure. WBC was found to be significantly (p<0.05) increased in group I (Siluriformes), group II (Perciformes) and group III (Cypriniformes) of teleosts after 7 days of captivity due to enhanced production of leucocytes in the hematopoietic tissue of the kidney and the spleen. RBC count and WBC count were found to be higher in H. fossilis and C. gariepinus than other groups of teleosts due to their active predacious nature. Hb values were high in 2nd group (Perciformes) consisting of A. testudineus and C. striatus by virtue of their possessions of accessory respiratory organs. PCV, MCV and MCHC were significantly (p<0.05) increased in three groups of teleosts during acclimation and values were high in second group of consisting of A. testudineus and C. striatus. MCH was higher in 3rd group of fishes consisting of L. rohita and C. carpio
Effect of organic farming practices on soil and performance of soybean (Glycine max) under semi-arid tropical conditions in Central India
Get PDFA field experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of organic farming practices on soil health and crop performance of Soybean (Glycine max).The crop cultivar JS-335 of soybean was grown with 30:26.2:16.6 kg ha-1 (NPK) recommended dose of fertilizers under three management practices viz., organic, chemical and integrated (50:50) in randomized block design, replicated three times. Soil organic carbon, available N, P and K, microbial enzymatic activities, total biomass, seed yield and harvest index (HI) were analysed during the study. It was observed that soil organic carbon (11.3 g kg-1), available N (125 mg kg-1), P (49.7 mg kg-1) and soil enzyme activities viz., dehydrogenase (DHA) (98.20 µ grams TPF/g soil/24 h) and alkaline phosphatase (178.2 µ grams p-nitro phenol/g soil/h) were found significantly higher in the plot managed organically while available K (320.1 mg kg-1) was not significant with respect to chemical and integrated practices. The total biomass (1927 kg ha-1) and seed yield (601 kg ha-1) of soybean was found highest in organic farming practices followed by integrated and chemical practices. Very poor microbial activities were observed in chemically managed plots. Thus, the study demonstrated that the organic farming practice improved soil health and performance of soybean crop
Eco-friendly management of anthracnose of chilli caused by Colletotrichum capsici
Get PDFThe anthracnose of chilli caused by Colletotrichum capsici is a widespread problem limiting the profitable cultivation and seed production of chilli throughout the major chilli growing regions of India. Four isolates (SCC1, SCC2, SCC3 and SCC4) of C. capsici were collected from different chilli growing areas of West Bengal. An experiment on efficacy of four botanical oils viz., Garlic (Allium sativum), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Polyalthia (Polyalthia longifolia) and Citronella(Cymbopogon nardus) at concentrations of 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.2% and two isolates each of three biocontrol agents (Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride and Pseudomonas flourescens) were carried out against these isolates of C. capsici in vitro. The result revealed significant (5% level of significance) antifungal activities of these botanicals and biocontrol agents. Garlic gave cent per cent inhibition of mycelial growth of all the four isolates of C. capsici at all the concentrations tested. However, neem showed cent percent inhibition of mycelial growth of C. capsici at 0.1%. Citronella was least effective among the botanical oils. Among the biocontrol agents tested T. harzianum isolate Th-2 was found most effective giving 77.78%, 100%, 83.33 % and 88.89% inhibition on the mycelial growth of SCC1, SCC2, SCC3 and SCC4 respectively followed by T. harzianum isolate Th-1 inhibiting 74.00%, 78.9% 81.7% and 80.90% of the mycelial growth of SCC1, SCC2, SCC3 and SCC4 respectively. P. fluorescens was least effective. Thus, garlic, neem, polyalthia, T. harzianumand T. viride can be utilized for management of anthracnose of chilli
Study on comparative efficacy of bio-organic nutrients on plant growth, leaf nutrient contents and fruit quality attributes of kiwi fruit
Get PDFThe comparative efficacy of bio-organic nutrients on cropping behavior and fruit quality of kiwifruit was analyzed using farm yard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC), biofertilizers (BF), green manure (GM), and vermiwash (VW). Among various treatments the combination of FYM at 15 kg/vine, GM, VC at 15kg/vine, BFat50-g/ vine and VW at 2kg/vine significantly improved cropping behavior. This superior combination also resulted in considerably greater amounts of leaf macro-and micronutrients: N (2.49%), P (0.26%), K (1.48%), iron (Fe: 208.0 mg/kg), copper (Cu: 17.8 mg/kg), zinc (Zn: 36.2 mg/kg), and manganese (Mn: 88.3 mg/kg),which might be responsible for better cropping behavior, productivity and nutrient profile for sustainable kiwi fruit production. It can be concluded that with use of various sources of bio-organic materials under organic farming regime, there will be sufficient improvement in fruit quality and plant nutrient contents
Nutrient management for jute-rice cropping system using soil test target yield equation
Get PDFA field experiment was conducted during the year 2011-13 to study the nutrient management based on soil test to achieve the target yield of jute and rice and their effect of soil nutrient status for jute-rice cropping system. The target yield of jute fibre (3.5 t/ha) with -6% deviation and target yield of rice (5.5 t/ha) were achieved with application of 100% NPK based on ST-TY based along with 5 t/ha Farm Yard Manure (FYM). The highest system productivity (11.7 t/ha) and benefit-cost ratio (3.16) was also recorded higher with application 100% NPK based on ST-TY based along with 5 t/ha FYM. The nutrient uptake by crops and soil nutrients status were higher after three year of jute-rice cropping sequence when NPK were applied with FYM. Hence, combination of inorganic and organic (FYM) fertilizer could achieve target yield and maintain the soil fertility status
Evaluation of genetic diversity for yield and quality parameters of different potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) germplasm
Get PDFAn investigation was carried out at Vegetable Research Centre, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar during spring-summer season 2011 and 2012 to study the genetic diversity using Mahalanobis’s D2 – technique among thirty five potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) germplasm for important yield attributing and quality traits. The D2 values were calculated and thirty five potato genotypes were grouped into nine clusters for growth characters and ten clusters for quality traits respectively. All the genotypes included in the present investigation, were indigenous, but their grouping in different clusters, suggested that genotypes did not follow the geographic distribution. The cluster I contained the maximum number of genotypes with respect to both yield attributing and quality traits. The inter cluster distance in most of the cases were higher than the intra-cluster distance indicating wider genetic diversity among the genotypes of different groups. Average tuber weight of potato plant contributed maximum (31.76%), followed by number of tuber per plant (27.56%), internodal length (14.45%) and plant dry matter content (13.61%) for growth characters. For quality characters, ascorbic acid content (24.70%), protein content of tuber (20.84%) and TSS of tuber (20.00%) contributed effectively towards genetic divergence. So, these traits will offer a good scope for improvement of yield and quality through rational selection of parental genotypes for future potato breeding. The findings indicated that use of parents selected from the same cross or from a cross involving a common parent should be avoided in hybridization. The results broadly showed there was no parallelism between geographical and genetic divergence
Larval growth, silk production and economic traits of Bombyx mori under the influence of honey-enriched mulberry diet
Get PDFThe impact of honey on the silkworm, Bombyx mori was demonstrated with reference to the larval growth, silk gland proteins and economic parameters of sericulture. The honey works well at a concentration of 2% in distilled water. At this concentration it promotes growth rates in the silkworm larvae during fifth instar development. It positively reinforces the day-to-day larval growth rate by 4.75 additional percentile points, silk gland growth rate by 4.45 additional percentile points and the gland-body ratio by additional 6.64 percentile points. It stimulates silk protein synthesis in all the three segments of the silk gland, viz., the anterior, middle and posterior parts. Under its influence, the silk gland protein profiles grew significantly by 14.85 additional percentile points in the anterior silk gland (ASG), minimally by 8.68 additional percentile points in the middle silk gland (MSG) and maximally by 15.17 additional percentile points in the posterior silk gland (MSG), compared to their control values. It also stimulates the core shell protein synthesis by 18% and retards floss protein synthesis by ~25% in the three segments of silk gland. In doing so, it contributes to sericulture industry by causing improvements in profit making economic traits such as gland-body ratio, cocoon weight, shell weight, raw silk weight, denier and renditta and by reducing the production of floss, which contributes to loss in the sericulture industry. Honey is suggested as a profitable supplementary diet forsilkworm
Genetic diversity assessment in Indian cultivated pea (Pisum sativum L.) varieties using RAPD markers
Get PDFIn the present study, the genetic diversity and inter-relationships among 12 varieties of pea were analyzed by using RAPD markers. A total of 118 bands were generated with 20 RAPD primers, of which 107 bands were polymorphic (90.81%). The PIC value ranged from 0.602-0.863 with an average of 0.754. High level of polymorphism and low genetic similarity within pea varieties suggested that they have a high level of genetic diversity. Unique RAPD fragments (700bp-1500bp) were also observed in five varieties i.e., AP-01, Aparna, Uttra, Rachna and Rachna-1D. In the dendrogram, 12 varieties were broadly grouped into 2 main clusters consisting of 5 (Cluster-I) and 4 (Cluster-II) varieties, respectively, while other three varieties i.e., KPMR-522, Aparna and AP-03 were out of group. In cluster-I, Ambika and AP-01 and Rachna and Vikas showed 62% and 58% similarities whereas, HUDP-15 grouped with 56% similarities with rest two varieties. In cluster II, Uttara and Prakash showed maximum similarity (65%) whereas, Rachna1-D showed (58%) similarities with them. KPMR-400 showed 52% similarity in this group. KPMR-400, Aparna and AP-03 were more diverse in comparison to others. A two-dimensional plot generated from principal co-ordinate analysis of RAPD data also supported the clustering pattern of dendrogram. This study indicated the presence of high genetic diversity among pea varieties, which could be used for developing core collections of pea germplasm for breeding and germplasm management purposes