eChapters

Calibration is the process of measuring and adjusting the amount of pesticide your equipment applies or delivers to a specific area. The purpose of calibration is to ensure your equipment is applying the correct amount of material uniformly over a given area.

Equipment is manufactured to be adjustable. Charts or tables may be provided to assist the operator in making adjustments to the settings. These recommended settings, however, are only approximate and may not be appropriate for all situations. Therefore, your equipment must be calibrated periodically. This depends on the type of equipment and the frequency of use. The application rate of the sprayer is affected by travel speed, nozzle size, and sprayer pressure. Equipment is calibrated by making a trial run on some premeasured area and measuring the output. For example, using a hand-held sprayer, spray a premeasured test area with water using the same pressure and techniques (i.e., travel speed and equipment) you would use when applying the pesticide. After spraying the test area, determine how much water was used. This volume can then be used to calculate the amount of water and pesticide needed to cover the intended application area.

The time invested in calibrating your equipment is time well spent. Accurate calibration to determine the application rate under your operating conditions is important for cost, efficiency and safety.

Solid formulations such as dust, wettable powder or granules, the active ingredient is mixed with inert material. The concentration is expressed as:

Active ingredient (%) in the total weight of commercial product.

Proper selection of a fungicide and its application at the correct dose and the proper time are highly essential for the management of plant diseases. The basic requirement of an application method is that it delivers the fungicide to the site where the active compound will prevent the fungus damaging the plant. The fungicidal application varies according to the nature of the host part diseased and nature of survival and spread of the pathogen. The method which are commonly adopted in the application of the fungicides are discussed.

1.Soil treatment

2.Seed treatment

3.Foliar or vegetative application

Gaseous poisons use to kill insects are called as fumigants. Fumigants are pesticides that form poisonous gases when applied. Some active ingredients are liquids when packaged under high pressure but change to gases when they are released. Other active ingredients are volatile liquids when enclosed in an ordinary container and so are not formulated under pressure. Still others are solids that release gases when applied under conditions of high humidity or in the presence of water vapor.

Introduction

While Indian agriculture has evolved to provide food to our ever growing population, nutritional security had remained a distant dream. Vegetables, an important component of a healthy diet, are rich source of nutraceuticals such as flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamins, anthocyanins, polyphenolics etc. Such constituents provide health benefits of disease prevention through antioxidant activity and reduced disease risks. Since perishable food commodities and light sensitive nutraceuticals have a specific shelf life, these run the risk of getting spoilt beyond a specific time. Excessive quantities of these must therefore, be processed and converted into value added products with improved shelf life and nutrition value after fortification with nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals are also referred to by different terminologies like functional foods, fusion foods, dietary supplements, designer foods etc. Nutraceutical products include food supplements, dietary supplements, value-added food products, processed food commodities as well as non-food supplements such as tablets, soft gels, capsules etc. A survey related to nutraceutical rich vegetables has revealed that farmers are growing only the conventional vegetables and there is little awareness about the use of nutraceutical rich vegetables.

Vegetables are rich sources of important phytochemicals, which provide essential nutrients and enhance the body’s ability to prevent and fight disease. There is a multitude of phytochemicals, in unique combinations, in different vegetables, and each functions differently in the body as anti-oxidant, as anti-allergenic, as anti-carcinogenic, as anti-inflammatory, as anti-viral, and/or anti-proliferative. Being of natural origin, some of the phytochemical pigments are increasingly sought after as food colorants. Some of the nutraceutical rich vegetable crops include red and black carrot, beet root, tomato, chilli, and broccoli.

Introduction

Modern life style has taken the fitness out of the men. In ancient times, our life was labour oriented, whereas now we have lots of gadgetry to support our day to day living, thus making our life least labour oriented and we are now more susceptible to diseases diabetes, blood pressure and asthma were, until recently, associated with rich people only, however, these have now become common in urban and even rural areas irrespective of social status and age. The minimum physical exercise, coupled with carbohydrate and fat rich and fiber free diet and lots of tension in day to day life has given way to these diseases.

Since ages, plants have been mainstay medicinal support either in the form of herbal therapy (Like Ayurveda, Unani) or in the form of isolated active substances as being used in allopathic system of medicine. As per a WHO calculation, at least 80% population, in developing world, is dependent on direct use of medicinal plants.

Many of herbal therapies are very simple to use. It is therefore worthwhile to know about some of medicinal plants available commonly around us. The herbal preparations from these plants may not be dramatically effective to palliate disease, as allopathic medicines do, however, with judicious and regular use, we can avoid conversion of some of simple diseases into a major treatment problem.

It is fortunate that side effects of allopathic medicines have compelled us to reconsider the use of herbal remedies and physical exercise in the form of ‘Yoga’, aerobics or whatever you call it. The arid region of Northwest Rajasthan, although vegetated sparsely, is rich in medicinal plants. Some of the species, which are abound in the extreme arid ecosystem, have unique curative and therapeutic properties and some of them are getting a lot of mileage as nutraceuticals as well.

Introduction

Functional food or medicinal food is any healthy food claimed to have a health-promoting or disease-preventing property beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients. The general category of functional foods includes processed food or foods fortified with health-promoting additives, like “vitamin-enriched” products. Fermented foods with live cultures are considered as functional foods with probiotic benefits. Functional foods are an emerging field in food science due to their increasing popularity with health-conscious consumers. The term was first used in Japan in the 1980s where there is a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU) (Benkouider, 2005).

Distinguishing functional foods from dietary supplements and natural or herbal medicine is especially difficult, and cultural perceptions on this vary. Further complications are the large number of terms often used interchangeably and in a confusing manner such as health foods, nutraceuticals, designer foods, pharmafoods, and so forth. Much of the basic fortification (such as iodization of table salt) is no longer considered “Functional food” but new specialized extracts and ingredients for functional food fortification have emerged, including dietary fibres, plant sterols and probiotics. There is growing research on the potential of biotechnology to develop functional foods for improved health effects of the staple foods in developing countries—for example, high-iron rice, high-vitamin A rice, improved oil content in oil crops, and improved protein.

Introduction

Fruits, vegetables and some non food crops are rich source of natural antioxidants, food colorants and other bioactive natural products. Nutraceuticals and natural food colorants exhibit anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-proliferative properties. They tend to enhance ability of the body to fight, cure and prevent diseases. Natural anti-oxidants are particularly important because they scavenge harmful superoxide, hydroxy, and/or peroxide free radicals, and protect the body against a variety of cancers, heart and other life style related diseases. Vegetable like orange carrot, red carrot, black carrot, beet root, tomato, chilli, and fruits like pomegranate, cherries, berries, watermelon and jamun are rich source of natural antioxidants and food colorants. While tomato and red carrot are rich in lycopenes, and carotenes; black carrot is a major source of stable acylated anthocyanins. The dark red colour of beet root is associated with anthocyanin, betacyanin and betaxanthins. Similarly, the red colour of chilli is attributed to the carotenoid pigment capsanthin. Capsaicinoids in chilli are responsible for the hot flavour and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidant and other beneficial health effects of pomegranate, cherries, berries, etc. have been attributed to anthocyanins and related polyphenols. Jamun, an under-utilized tropical fruits is rich in anthocyanins and flavonoides. Like anthocyanins, flavonoides and carotenes, lycopene helps to prevent various types of cancer particularly the prostate cancer.

Microalgae represent a promising alternative to renewable source of feedstock for natural food colorants and nutraceuticals and functional food production. With over 40,000 identified species, microalgae are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on earth. They naturally produce large quantities of many biomaterials. Out of the diverse compounds produced by microalgae, the algal pigments such as phycobillins, carotenoids and xanthophylls have gained commercial importance owing to their unique and multiple applications as food and cosmetic colourants, antioxidants and several beneficial effects of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical value. Microalgal research over the years has geared up significantly from outdoor mass culture in algal ponds, refinement of the cultivation process and life cycle assessment, downstream processing of biomass (i.e., harvesting, dewatering, and drying), to extraction, to systems/process scale-up analysis and development of an economic feasibility model for commercialization of algal biomaterials with nutraceutical properties. Among the various microalgae, Spirulina and Haematococcus are the major source of naturally occurring biopigments which are gaining importance as natural pigments in food, drug and cosmetic industries as an alternative to currently used synthetic colour. Improvement in the cultivation methodologies and use of closed photobioreactors of different configurations, fermentation reactors, open reactors and tubular reactors have opened up new vistas for the development of microalgal biotechnology and bioprospecting. The main constraints in non-exploitation for mass cultivation of microalgae are their slow growth rate, low biomass yield and inadequate culture methodologies and these issues remain to be addressed.

Human being as a hunter has depended mostly on animal food and some fruits. With the progress of civilization, he settled down and

started agriculture around 7000-10,000 B.C. He started depending on plant grains to take care of his energy and nutritional requirements in addition to animal foods. Initially cereal grains must have mostly accounted for his staple food requirements. Taste and health requirements must have prompted him to diversify his crop production programme. It is this need that must have made him to cultivate oilseeds, fibre and other crops.

Oilseeds, thus, have been under cultivation since antiquity. Rapeseed and sesame have been described in the Indian Sanskrit writings of 2000 BC. Historically, extraction of oil seems to have been a batch process. Seeds kept in gunny bags or boxes were pressed to remove oil. The separated oil on clarification was used for food and non food purposes. The resulting cakes were utilized as animal feed or thrown away into fields which helped in improving the soil fertility. Human beings slowly discovered the uses of oil and other oilseed products for various food and non-food purposes.

There are several species of plants in the world whose oil can be utilized for human consumption. Though around 40 oilseeds are known, only around a dozen oilseed crops have become commercially important. There are ten seed crops and three tree crops. The seed crops are groundnut, rapeseed- mustard, sesame, soybean, sunflower, cottonseed, safflower, niger, castor and linseed. These are mostly annual crops. The three major tree oil crops are palm, olive and coconut.

Ripe

This word is derived from Saxon word ‘Ripi’, which means gather or reap. This is the condition of maximum edible quality attained by the fruit following harvest. Only fruit which becomes mature before harvest can become ripe.

Ripening

Ripening involves a series of changes occurring during early stages of senescence of fruits in which structure and composition of unripe fruit is so altered that it becomes acceptable to eat. Ripening is a complex physiological process resulting in softening, colouring, sweetening and increases in aroma compounds so that ripening fruits are ready to eat or process. The associated physiological or biochemical changes are increased rate of respiration and ethylene production, loss of chlorophyll and continued expansion of cells and conversion of complex metabolities into simple molecules.

It is a most deteriorating biological process of the harvested fruits and vegetables that leads to the oxidative breakdown of the complex material (carbohydrates or acids) of cell into simpler molecules (CO₂ & water) with production of energy. Respiration includes glycolysis metabolism, aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism, trycarboxilic acid cycle and electron transport metabolism processes.

Packaging is an important consideration in vegetable and fruit market. The use of properly designed containers for transporting and marketing of vegetables is significantly reduce losses and maintain their freshness succulence and quality for longer period. Packaging also provides protection from mechanical damage and undesirable physiological changes and pathological deterioration during storage, transportation and marketing.

Many vegetables are transported in gunny bags and bamboo baskets. Packaging material such as polythene films, paper boars, and boxes lived with polythene and other materials can effectively prolong the shelf life of vegetables. By using plastic films vegetables can be protected from dry air. Polythene packaging provides modified atmosphere and consequently reduces decay, softening, and loss of solids. The thickness and permeability to CO₂, O₂ and water vapour of films needs to be standardized for each vegetable.

Food additive is any chemical substance that is added to food during preparation or storage. A food additive either becomes a part of the food or affects its characteristics for achieving a particular effect. For instance, substances that are used to enhance the appearance, texture, or to keep qualities of a food are considered food additives.

Freezing is one of the easiest and least time consuming methods of food preservation. The freezing process is a combination of the beneficial effects of low temperatures at which microorganisms cannot grow, chemical reactions are reduced, and cellular metabolic reactions are delayed.

Methods of Freezing

1. Sharp freezing (slew freezing)

In sharp freezing commodities are exposed at -15 to -29⁰C. It required 3-72 hrs. Here the thawed tissue cannot regain its original water content. The ice crystals formed are large and rupture the cells. The thawed tissue cannot regain its original H₂O content.

The preservation of food in common salt or in vinegar is known as pickling. It is one of the most ancient methods of preserving fruits and vegetables. Pickles are good appetizers and add to the palatability of a meal. They stimulate the flow of gastric juice and thus help in digestion. They are prepared with salt, vinegar, oil or with a mixture of salt, oil, spices and vinegar.

Introduction

Germination is the process by which a plant grows from a seed or similar structure. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. Quick germination is the various ways and means that really fastened the process of seed germination. Through various ways, it is possible to reduce the time of germination by 70 per cent and also the success rate of germination can also be doubled.

Sickle: Used for cutting grass, fodder and harvesting crop. Sickle made of steel is better and lasts longer.

Purpose-Multiplication of plants by cutting includes stem, root and leaf cuttings. The stem cuttings are of four different types i.e. hard, semi hard, soft wood and herbaceous wood cutting consist in producing new individuals after the piece of stem has been detached from the mother plant and planted in conditions suitable for regeneration to the missing organs. Stem cutting have to develop a new root system as they already have buds to give rise to shoots. Many cells of the cutting are capable of becoming meristematic and thus are able to produce new roots. The success in the stem cutting multiplication depends upon factors such as condition of the mother plants, part of the tree from where the cuttings are made, time of the year, care while planting and after care. Cuttings can be made during monsoon (July-Sept.) and spring (Feb. -March) season when active cell division is taking place.

i. SHIELD OR ‘T BUDDING

Materials and equipments- Budding knife, tying material and petridis.

Procedure

Operations on the stock- Select healthy, uniform stock plants of about a lead pencil thickeness and about one to one and half years of age. Remove the thorns (if any) and side branches up to a height of 20 to 25 cm from the soil surface. Select a spot at height of about 15 to 20 cm from the soil surface in between two internodes, which is smooth, other than the southern aspect. With the help of a sharp knife make a horizontal cut of about 1.25 to 1.80 cm in length, deep enough to cut bark only. Starting from the centre of the horizontal cut make a vertical cut, deep enough to cut the bark only of about 2.5 to 3.5 cm long making the shape of english letter ’T’. Open the flaps with the help of knife blade or the back of the budding knife.

Important Commercial Mango Varieties

Northern Region: Langra, Dashehari, Chausa, Bombay Green, Amrapali, Sukul, Sipia

Eastern Region: Himsagar, Langra, (syn. Malda), Krishna-Bhog, Zardalu, Gulabkhas, Fazli.

Southern Region: Banganapalli, Bangalora, Mulgoa, Neelum, Swarnarekha,

Western Region: Alphonso, Kesar, Pairi.

Problem 1: Prepare a lay-out plan of model kitchen garden for a family having five (5) members. Calculate the total amount of vegetable required per year and area of the same kitchen garden. Give the suitable crop rotation and show by diagrammatic representation.

Ans.: Total amount of vegetables required annually

Important insect-pests of vegetable crops

1. Aphids: (Myzus persicae)

The aphids damage the crop by sucking the cell sap from the leaves as stems. The affected leaves in severe cases curl-up and rolled. The plant may be stunted, wither and die. There are three different species of aphids. They are greenish or black in colour.

Lawn

Lawn is a natural green carpet, and it is important feature of a landscape and a garden without a lawn is not considered complete. Lawn is an area of land closed mowed grasses it is primarily developed for aesthetic and recreational purpose. A lawn is an integral part of a garden and landscape besides aesthetic and recreational purpose and several other purposes. Lawn provides a place for taking rest after tiring of the day, holding parties, social functions, passive and active recreation. Distinguishing characteristic of turf grasses is the ability to with stand close mowing and still providing a functional dense healthy ground cover. Lawn is also called as heart of garden. J.B. Olcoth designed first experiment in lawn grass at Monchester in USA in the 19th century. Festuca and Agrostis species were used to make turf (Lawn) during 1880 in U.K. In the early 19th century lawn become wild spread out side of parks golf course. Now a day in many metro cities of India lawn has become a cultural of the passion of many homes.

5.1 Introduction

The different qualitative chemical tests can be performed for establishing profile of given extract for its chemical composition. The following tests may be performed on extracts to detect various phytoconstituents present in them.

5.2 Detection of Alkaloids (Evans, 1997)

Solvent free extract, 50 mg is stirred with few mL of dilute hydrochloric acid and filtered. The filtrate is tested carefully with various alkaloidal reagents as follows:

The increasing awareness of the deleterious effects of indiscriminate use of artificial inputs in agriculture such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides hasled to the adoption of organic farming as an alternative method for conventional farming. Farmers are adopting organic farming due to the advantages like,

• It is self-sustaining and socially and ecologically superior over the conventional farming.
• It makes use of cost effective management practices involving the use of farm inputs produced within the farm.
• It is less expensive.
• It is environment friendly as there is no pollution of soil and water.
• It enriches the soil and the local ecology.
• The produce is free of contamination from chemical residues has better taste, flavour and nutritional value.
• Seeds have more vitality and are good for successive generations.
• Growing markets for safe food

The concept of Centers of Origin given by Russian scientist N.I. Vavilov (1935) is based on his studies of vast collection of plants at the Institute of Plant Industry, Leningrad. According to him, crop plants evolved from wild species in the areas showing great diversity and termed them as primary Centers of Origin; but in some areas, certain crop species show considerable diversity of forms although they did not originate their, such areas are known as secondary Centers of Origin of these species. He identified 8 primary centers (Chinese, Indian, Inner Asiatic, Asia Minor, Mediterranean, Abyssinian, South Mexico, Central America and South America Andes Center) and three sub-centers (Indo-Malayan, Chilean and Brazilian-Paraguayan sub-center) of origin for crop plants. Basilevskaya (1960) first investigated the geographical origin of garden plants. Coats (1968) first stressed out the ornamental herbs whereas Hui-Lin-Li (1974) wrote about the introduction of woody plants. According to Tay (2007) survey of thirty common flowers and their related species show a similar pattern of concentrated occurrence of species in certain geographic regions.

Exploration and exploitation of gene centers need to be proceed with the systematic cooperation of taxonomists, geneticists and plant pathologists. The 17 centers of origin identified for different flower and ornamental crops are given (Table 2.1)

These centers coincide to a significant extent with the regions of the Conservation International’s Biodiversity Hot spots in the world. No one single country is self sufficient in all the germplasm of flowers. The centers of origin of ancient flowers from China and Turkey coincide with the Vavilov’s food crop centers of origin. Domestication of food crops might also lead to the domestication of those flowers. Flowers were part of crop weed complex from the beginning and those with beautiful flowers would have been selected for domestication.

Eswaran (2007) made genetic analysis of six parents and their 30 hybrids of Okra with the method of analysis proposed by Hayman (1954b). He estimated the various genetic parameters viz., _D?, _F?, H?₁, H?² and Ê as well as the various genetic ratio. The results are presented in Tables 69 and 70.

The estimates of _D? were significant for seven out of ten characters studied. This indicated that the component of variation due to additive genetic variance was important for days to seedling emergence, number of first fruiting node, height of first fruiting node, plant height, days to first picking, number of fruits per plant and fruit weight. These characters could be improved by resorting to simple selection. The estimates of H? ₁and H? ₂were positive and significant for almost all the characters studied. It indicated that there were unequal frequency of alleles i.e., u ¹ v at all the loci, in this context, ‘u’ refers to the frequency of alleles which increase the mean expression of the character and are situated at loci which exhibited dominance. On the other hand, ‘v’ corresponds to the frequency of alleles at loci that decreases the expression of the character. Further proof for the unequal distribution of the alleles over loci was obtained

Introduction

‘Protected cultivation’ is a method of cultivation of plants or crops in artificial environment (Polyhouse/ Greenhouse/Glasshouse) to protect the plants or crops from the natural calamities viz. wind, hailstorm, excessive radiation, temperature extremes, insect-pests and diseases. For matching ever growing needs of human population in the country, it has become imperative to provide the not just cereals but also fruits, vegetables, flowers and other horticultural products to fulfill their requirements. In the present scenario of perpetual demand of horticultural produce in order to increase their production round the year and shrinking landholdings drastically, protected cultivation is the best alternative and drugery- less approach for using land and other resources more effeciently.Protected cultivation comprised of selection of crop and media, climate control,marketing, post harvest technology, plant protection and irrigation/ fertigation.

In India, states like Karnataka, Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are the best suited for protected cultivation of horticultural crops due to their pleasent climatic conditions. Apart from these states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Delhi and Jharkhand are also fore runners in adopting protected cultivation. Protected cultivation is a key for sustainable production in the country due to its various ecological regions viz., Western Himalayan region, North eastern Himalayas, Eastern Plateau hill regions, Central Plateau hill regions, Western Plateau hill regions, Southern Plateau hill zone, East coast hill zone, West coast hill regions and Gujarat hill regions (Gupta et al., 2003). Control of light through polycover has become a significant part of horticulture technology because quality, intensity and duration of light is involved in many physiological processes of the plants. A plastic film or fibre glass covering over a green house acts like selective radiation filter which allows solar radiation to pass through but traps radiation emitted by the plants inside the greenhouse which is known as ‘Greenhouse effect’. Carbon dioxide released by the plants at night also trapped, this raises the level of CO₂ there by enhances the photosynthetic activity (Ahmed, 1996).

Bael [Aegle marmelos (L) Correa.], a native fruit of religious importance, is well known to the Indian people for its nutritional and medicinal values. Leaves are used as sacred offering to ‘Lord Shiva’. All parts of plant viz., leaves, roots, bark, fruits, seeds etc. are used in preparation of various Ayurvedic medicines. Bael fruit is rich in protein, fat, minerals (Ca and Fe) and vitamins (riboflavin, β carotene and Vitamin C). Fruits are used to improve the digestive system and to cure stomach diseases. Fruits can be processed into various beverages and preserves (Jauhari and Singh, 1971). In spite of its Indian origin and high medicinal and nutritional values, well organized orcharding of bael is not commonly seen in the country. It is mainly found in wild and semi-wild condition throughout the India. Besides, it is also grown in the homestead gardens, backyards, religious places and farmer’s fields (Misra and Uniyal, 2013).

Tomato is one of the most popular and widely grown nutritious vegetable in the world. Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Linnacus Karst.) belonging to the family Solanaceae is one of the most nutritious and remunerative vegetable crop. It is the world’s important vegetable next to potato. The crop is cultivated throughout the year. In Northern plains, the crop is cultivated during autumn, spring and summer. In South India, the crop is grown in June – July, October – November and January – February. The optimum season for seed production in southern India is October – December. Nursery raised in late October and transplanted in the first week of December will produce a good seed crop.

The brinjal, eggplant or aubergine (French name) has originated in the Indian sub-continent and China (Thomson and Kelly, 1957, Purewall, 1957 and Martin and Rhodes, 1979). Brinjal is an important vegetable crop of the Far East, Bangladesh, India, China and the Philippines. Brinjal belongs to the family Solanaceae and is known under the botanical name Solanum melongena L. (2n = 24). There are 3 main botanical varieties under the species melongena(Chowdhury, 1976). The round or egg-shaped cultivars are grouped under var. esculenturn, the long slender types are included under var. serpentintumand the dwarf brinjal plants are put under var. depressum.

Chilli or Pepper (Capsicum Sps.) originated in South America and spread into the New World tropics before subsequent introduction to Asia and Africa. Chillies are now widely grown throughout the tropics, sub-tropics and warmer temperature region of the world. The genus Capsicum is a member of the family Solanaceae.

Lablab purpureus usually knowna s Dolichus bean, Hyacinth bean or Field bean belonging to the family fabaceae, one of the most ancient crops among cultivated plants. It is a bushy, semi-erect, perennial herb, showing no tendency to climb. It is mainly cultivated either as a pure crop or mixed with finger millet, groundnut, castor, corn, bajra or sorghum in Asia and Africa. It is a multipurpose crop grown for pulse, vegetable and forage. The crop is grown for its green pods, while dry seeds are used in various vegetable food preparations.

Season:Seed is very sensitive to weather. A grain crop can be sold for a lower price even if it damaged by rain. But a seed crop, if affected will lead to low seed quality. Hence selecting the right season is necessary. Generally, the seed should mature in cool dry climate. Seasons should be selected with this idea in mind. In Tamil Nadu the best seed crops are grown during March--April and September - October as the seeds mature during the cool months of January - February.

The great Indian epic ‘Ramayana’ says that ‘Lord Rama’ has tried to cross over the Bay of Bengal so as to reach Sri Lanka from India from three points along the southeastern fringe of the Indian coast. Firstly, he is said to have tried to cross from Vedaranniyam which is mythologically called as ‘Kodiyakkarai’ Secondly from Manamelkudi and finally crossed over to Sri Lanka from Rameswaram Island (Fig.1), as the former two coastal locations were widely separated from Sri Lanka by Bay of Bengal and the Rameswaram Island was nearer to Sri Lanka during that period. But, the recently acquired satellite data shows the huge accretion of sediments and rapid land building activity off Vedaranniyam coast (Fig. 2 and 3). The geomorphic interpretations carried out using IRS 1A imagery and 14^C archaeological dating of such geomorphic features have shown that such ongoing sediment accretion phenomena off vedaranniyam nose might in future connect the Vedaranniyam part of Indian Peninsula with Jaffna Peninsula of Sri Lanka if the sediment accumulation continues unabated. The sediment accretion in this area, therefore, requires detailed studies particularly in the context of the coastal ecosystem (Fig. 1).

ABSTRACT

Studies on the behaviour of animals are of utmost importance in the conservation of species. Ecology of the communities and individual species has to be examined in terms of different activities to understand the requirements of the species. Foraging and breeding are the major activities while resting and flight maintenance are also essential, although the time spent might vary in different species or situations.

Bird community studies conducted along with my students in different habitats in the Western Ghats since 1995 showed how the species are associated with each other and the impact of habitat changes on them. Endemic and threatened birds of the Western Ghats were specific about selection of habitat and food in different seasons. Identification of such critical habitats is crucial for conservation and management.

The studies on the bird community and drongos at Thekkady, Periyar Tiger Reserve conducted by me during 1979 to 1982, examined the association of drongos with other species in the area, especially while foraging. They fed mostly in mixed foraging flocks which is beneficial to all the participants. The strategy adopted by them for ecological isolation to reduce competition was by selecting different strata and substrate of the vegetation, varying sizes of insects, and methods of feeding.

In the case of wetland birds also habitat selection is a major behaviour limiting their numbers. For the threatened birds such as the Siberian Crane and the Andaman Teal, habitat quality and food availability were critical. Habitat degradation with over abundance of grass and reduction in sedges resulted in spending long duration for feeding and less returns.

Breeding behaviour of birds is interesting because of their strategies such as when to nest and where to nest. Studies on the seasonality have shown the importance of climatic factors. Many of our land birds nest during summer. Nest-site is also crucial as selection of the site with suitable macro and micro-habitats determine the success of the brood. The habitat patches for the individual pairs or groups of breeding birds which are defended against intruders are termed as territories which play a vital role in the distribution and density of birds. Thus the strategies adopted by species are dependent on the environment and species specific constraints affecting the survival of the species.

Botany :The cabbage plant, Brassica oleracea, is an herbaceous annual or biennial vegetable in the family Cruciferae grown for its edible head. The head of the cabbage is round and forms on a short thick stem. The leaves are thick and alternating with wavy or lobed edges and the roots are are fibrous and shallow. The plant produces large yellow flowers. The densely leaved heads can range in size from 0.5 to 3.6 kg (1-8 lb) depending on variety. The plant is usually grown as an annual.

Introduction

The common mycorrhizal association in most of the plants is the arbuscular type occurring in the majority of agricultural and horticultural crops. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) are formed by non-septate Zygomycetous fungi belonging to the genera Glomus, Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Sclerocystis, Entrophospora, Scutellospora, Archaeospora and Paraglomus in the order Glomales. These fungi are obligate symbionts and have not been cultured on nutrient media. These endophytes are not host specific although evidence is growing that certain endophytes may form preferential association with certain host plants. Several investigations indicted that even in unsterile soils plants do respond to inoculation with efficient strains of arbuscular mycorrhizae. Numerous experiments have been conducted in different parts of the world confirming this growth improvement. The increased growth of mycorrhizal plants is favoured in soils with low to moderate fertility. More specifically, soils favouring mycorrhizal growth stimulation usually have one or more essential nutrients, especially phosphorus, in limiting concentrations.

The mechanism of improved plant growth caused by mycorrhizal inoculation has been investigated by many workers. Greater soil exploration by mycorrhizal roots as means of increasing phosphate uptake is well established. They also improved the uptake other diffusion-limited elements like Zn, Cu, etc. The other beneficial effects are their role in the biological control of root pathogens, biological nitrogen fixation, hormone production and greater ability to withstand water stress (Bagyaraj, 1984).

ABSTRACT

Techniques could be standardized for the induction, initiation, maturation and germination of somatic embryoids from the nucellar tissue isolated from 30-45 day old fruits of mono embryonic mango variety Neelum and poly embryonic variety Vellari Manga. The treatment half strength Murashige and Skoog basal medium containing 2,4-D 5.0 mgl^-1, GA3 5.0 mgl^-1, glutamine 400 mgl^-1, coconut water 200 mll^-1, activated charcoal 500 mgl^-1, sucrose 60 gl^-1and agar gl^-1was found to be the best in induction of embryogenic callus. The treatment 2,4-D 4.0 mgl^-1 + BA 1.0 mgl^-1+ GA3 5.0 mgl^-1in half strength MS basal medium supplemented with glutamine 400 mgl^-1, casein hydrolysate 500 mgl^-1, sucrose 60.0 gl^-1, coconut water 200 mll^-1and agar 6.0 gl^-1was the best in initiating somatic embryos from the induced nucellus of the three varieties. In the variety Neelum BA (8.0 and 16.0 mgl^-1) and kinetin (8.0 to 32.0 mgl^-1) were as effective as 2,4-D in inducing somatic embryogenesis. Polyembryonic variety Vellari Manga showed better response to induction treatments than the mono embryonic varieties. B5 major salts with MS minor salts in combination with 40 gl^-1sucrose, 10 gl^-1PVP, 200 mll^-1coconut water, 5.0 mgl^-1 ABA, 100 mgl^-1 casein hydrolysate and 6.0 gl^-1agar were the best suited for the maturation of the somatic embryos. The positive influence of cobalt chloride, casein hydrolysate and coconut water on the germination of embryoids of both mono and poly embryonic mango varieties could be well established. A basal medium consisting of B5 major salts and MS minor salts supported the highest percentage of germination of somatic embryoids in Neelum and Vellari Manga. However, abnormalities in germination were observed in most of the cases. Excellent germination of somatic embryos was observed in a liquid medium consisting of half strength B5 macro salts and full strength MS micro salts and supplemented with GA3 1.0 mgl^-1+ glutamine 400 mgl^-1 + sucrose 30gl^-1.

ABSTRACT

The totipotency of triploid endosperm tissue is exploited in many vegetatively propagated crops. Hevea brasiliensis, the most important commercial source of natural rubber, is a highly heterozygous perennial tree with a long breeding cycle. Conventional method of triploid production by crossing a diploid with an artificially induced tetraploid is a lengthy and laborious process. Hence in vitro regeneration of plants from endosperm tissue provides an easy and direct approach for the production of large number of triploids. Hevea fruits at different developmental stages were collected and sterilized using 0.1% HgCl₂ for 15 minutes. Seeds were dissected out and the embryos and inner integuments were removed. Endosperm is cut into small pieces and cultured over MS medium supplemented with various levels of sucrose, phytagel and growth regulators viz BA, Kin thidiazuron, 2,4-D, IBA, NAA, zeatin & GA. Organic supplements viz. yeast extract, casein hydrolysate, coconut milk and banana powder were used for callus and embryo induction. Optimum callus induction was obtained in media supplemented with 2,4-D (2.0 mg ^-1) and Kinetin (3.0 mg^-1). On further subculture of the primary calli to medium containing zeatin (1.0 mg ^-1), embryogenic calli could be obtained. Embryos were induced in MS medium supplemented with ABA (0.3 mg ^-1) , Kin (0.3 mg ^-1) and GA (0.5 mg ^-1). Maturation, germination and bipolar differentiation of the embryos were achieved in MS medium devoid of growth regulators. Root tips from the germinating embryos were subjected to cytological analysis and found to be triploids (3n=54). Regeneration from Hevea endosperm is being reported for the first time. The results indicates that like many other crops, Hevea endosperm responds well under in vitro conditions and endosperm culture could be utilized as a viable technique for triploid plant production.

ABSTRACT

Immature seeds of Garcinia indica were excised from the green fruits and cultured on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) with a combination of auxins and cytokinins. Somatic embryos were obtained on the media supplemented with BAP (0.5-5.0 mg/l) alone or in combination with NAA 90.5 mg/l) with 80 per cent frequency within a period of 2-3 weeks. Subculture of primary embryos on maturation medium containing BAP (3.0 mg/l) supplemented with IAA (0.5-1.0 mg/l) and / or Kinetin (1.0 mg/l) gave rise to clusters of secondary somatic embryos. In the subsequent subculture on hormone free half strength WPM the embryo clusters germinated with repetitive secondary embryogenesis. About 70 per cent somatic embryos germinated into complete plantlets, which were successfully transferred to the green house conditions.

ABSTRACT

The investigation was carried out to develop protocol for micropropagation of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia S) var. Sai-Sharbati. Shoot tip and nodal segment explants were obtained from axenically grown seedlings having 21 to 30 days age. Direct regeneration of shoots, roots and whole plant without intervention of callus was obtained from both the explants on MS basal media. In both the explants 100 per cent shoot proliferation was induced in nutrient medium MS + BA 0.25 mg/l + ME 200 mg/l. The shoot proliferation rate was more (5.0) in nodal segment as compare to the shoot tip explant (4.33). Regenerated shoots of more than 2.5 cm length with minimum of 4 leaves were transferred for rooting. Half strength MS medium supplemented with IBA 1.0 mg/l was best for root induction and root initiation within 15.66 days. More than 75 per cent plantlets were survived after hardening period of four weeks.

ABSTRACT

Jasmine is one of the economically most important flower crops cultivated for its fragrant flowers and valuable essential oil. In vitro studies to explore the possibility of regeneration of plantlets from different explants and to undertake biochemical analysis to detect the flavour compounds if present in the in vitro cultures were taken up with local varieties of Jasminum grandiflorum.

Among the different explants tried, leaf bits were found ideal for callus induction, followed by petals and shoot tips. MS medium with 2, 4-D at 1.25 ppm was the suitable medium for callus induction in leaf explants. Miller medium with NAA at 1.25 ppm and BAP at 1.25 ppm was the suitable medium for callus induction in petal explants collected from 18 days old buds of local varieties of Jasminum grandiflorum. Among the different media combinations tried, MS medium supplemented with 0.2 ppm NAA and 0.3 ppm GA₂ is the best medium for callus induction in shoot apex explants of 10mm size. Direct regeneration of plants was obtained in 10 per cent of shoot apex explants cultured in MS medium supplemented with 0.2 ppm GA₁ and 3 ppm BAP in 60 days. A maximum of 95 per cent embryogenicity is induced in leaf callus transferred to MS basal medium supplemented with 1.5 per cent sucrose from MS medium with 2, 4-D at 1.0 ppm.

The peroxidase assay indicated that embryogenic calli had six isoperoxidases while the non-embryogenic had only two. Biochemical analysis of the callus samples showed high Phenylalanine ammonia lyase and phenol indicating the initiation of phenolic pathway, which branches out and ultimately leads to the synthesis of flavour compounds in callus.

ABSTRACT

The present experiment was conducted in order to develop a protocol for rapid in vitro propagation of pomegranate Cv. Mridula. Shoot tip and nodal segment explants selected from mature plant were cultured in MS medium supplemented with NAA and BAP in different concentration and combinations. To control phenolic browning, sub- culturing of cultures was under taken at an interval of first and third day after inoculation. The MS medium supplemented with NAA 0.4 mg/l + BAP 1.0 mg/l showed highest percentage of shoot differentiation with 77.77 per cent and 81.25 per cent response from shoot tip and nodal segment explant respectively. In the same media, earlier shoot initiation as well as more number of multiple shoots/culture were obtained. The shoots when elongated up to 2.5 - 3.0 cm length were transferred for rooting in the ½ strength MS media supplemented with auxins. There was no significant difference for root induction among the type of auxin used either NAA, IBA or both in combination. The concentration of auxins 0.5 mg/l was found to be optimum. Rooted plantlets after hardening in green house gave 49 per cent survival.

ABSTRACT

Shoot organogenesis from several explant types excised from in vitro grown plants of local elite brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) cv. Co2 was studied in response to the supplementation of thidiazuron (TDZ), BAP, IAA and NAA. Cotyledons and leaves were found to be the most responsive explants. High shoot bud induction rate (>50 shoot buds/explant) was achieved in the presence of 0.044 mg/l TDZ. The organogenic calli were subcultured in the same shoot bud induction medium for shoot development. Among different growth hormones, TDZ @0.044 mg/l induced more number of shoots per explant compared to BAP, IAA and NAA combinations. Efficient rooting was observed on half strength MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l IAA. Higher percentage of rooting was achieved only when the well developed shoots were directly transferred to soil.

ABSTRACT

Immature zygotic embryos were isolated from field grown papaya fruits harvested at 90-105 d post-anthesis. The embryos were placed on half-strength Murashige Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2, 4-D (2.0 mg l^-1) and cultured under dark for a period of 2 months. The frequency of callus formation was around 66%. After 2 months, calli were transferred onto a half-strength MS basal medium and cultured for 3 months with frequent subculturing (once in 3 wk) on the same medium. The frequency of somatic embryo formation was around 36.6%. The somatic embryos on MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.4 mg l^-1) and NAA (0.02 mg l^-1) germinated and produced shoots. The emerging shoots of 2-3 cm height with 2-3 trilobed leaves were placed onto an MS basal liquid medium with IBA (1.0 mg l^-1) for root induction. The plants developed with shoots and roots were planted in a pot-mixture (sand:soil:FYM) containing VAM.

ABSTRACT

Aprotocol has been developed for the induction, maturation and germination of somatic embryos from leaf explants of Hevea brasiliensis (clone RRII 105). Leaf explants were cultured with their adaxial sides on modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different combinations of phytohormones such as 2,4-D & BA, NAA & BA as well as 2,4-D, BA and NAA. Compact calli could be developed from the cut ends of the explants on media containing 2,4-D (1.5 mg/l) and BA (1.0 mg/l) whereas pale yellow friable calli was obtained on media which contained NAA (0.2 mg/l) along with 2,4-D (1.2 mg/l) and BA (1.0 mg/l). The calli formed were detached from the explants and sub cultured for proliferation in medium containing reduced auxin (0.4 mg/l 2,4-D) and slightly increased level of sucrose (40 g/l). Proliferated calli were then sub cultured for embryo induction in modified MS medium supplemented with different auxins and cytokinins. Embryo induction could be achieved in modified MS medium containing BA (2.0 mg/l), GA (1.0 mg/l) and NAA (0.2 mg/l) and maturation occurred in WPM medium containing BA (0.3 mg/l), TDZ (0.5 mg/l) and GA (1.5mg/l). The cotyledonary stage embryos developed into plantlets on transfer to hormone free ½ MS medium. A distinct feature of this study is the induction of somatic embryogenesis from leaf explants of Hevea which has not been reported previously. This explant could be used further as an ideal target tissue for Agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation in Hevea.

ABSTRACT

In the studies on callus induction and somatic embryogenesis in acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia S.) var Sai-Sharbati, different ex-plants and different combinations of growth regulators (NAA, IBA and BA) in MS basal media were tried, the results indicated that cotyledonary segment was the best explant for callus induction among root tip hypocotyl stem, leaf, epicotyl stem and shoot tip explants tested of. The callus grown from epicotyl and hypocotyl stem explant was greenish white and compact. Whereas callus derived from cotylidonary segment and leaf segment was green and friable . Root tip and shoot tip did not exhibit callusing. The callus derived from epicotyl stem and hypocptyl stem explant responded shoot bud formation in MS medium supplemented with NAA 0.2mg/l + BA 0.5mg/l with or without ME 100mg/l. In somatic embryogenesis, full grown callus derived from epicotyl stem explant induced embryo formation within 28.33 days and more shoot bud (6.33) formation.

ABSTRACT

The present experiment was conducted to standardize the composition of nutrient media for callus regeneration. Shoot tip, internodal segment, leaf and hypocotyls of seedling grown under controlled condition were used as explants for callus induction. The study revealed that explants collected from younger seedlings showed greater proliferation of callus as compared to those collected from older one. The basal MS medium as well as WP medium fortified with different concentrations of auxins and cytokinins were tried. Initial better results of profuse callus growth with green colour and compact texture having regenerative capacity were obtained by using leaf explants. In all the treatments, the callus initiation occurred at the cut ends and then spread over the surface of the explant as a result of injury. The level of auxins presumable rises and quiescent cells were stimulated to divide rapidly producing callus. The leaf segment explant induced the callus after 9.50 days in medium WPM + NAA 2.5 mg/l with maximum callus growth (976.75 mg) with green, friable callus which was difficult to subculture. White and friable callus occurred within 12.00 days in MS + 2, 4 - D 5 mg/l. The green and compact callus having vigorous growth was observed in MS + NAA 2.5 mg/l within 12.75 days when subcultured on different regeneration media proved recalcitrant for shoot regeneration. On the regeneration medium the callus turned brown while some callus proliferates to produce white growth around it and dried later on.

ABSTRACT

Aquilaria agallocha Roxb. (Thymelaeceae), otherwise known as ‘Eagle wood’ is a large evergreen tree restricted to the eastern parts of India and Bhutan. The tree is valuable for its fragrant wood - ‘Agar wood’ which is tremendously used in the perfumery and incense stick industries. Lack of rapid natural regeneration and over exploitation has reduced its population drastically. Micropropagation offers a rapid means for clonal multiplication and conservation of this endangered species and attempts were made to standardize available protocol for in vitro multiplication. Media and conditions were standardized for culture establishment and propagule multiplication. Multiple shoots were induced in vitro from nodal segments of 10 yr old trees having enhanced axillary branching. Culture establishmnet was strongly influenced by the nature of the explant and the season of collecting the explants. Nodal segments collected during the period March- April from current season shoots showed a better response (90 %) in half strength Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1.0 mg l^-1benzyl adenine and 0.1 mg l^-1kinetin. The rudimentary multiple shoots induced, proliferated in the basal media supplemented with benzyl adenine (0.1 mg l^-1), naphthalene acetic acid (0.5 mg l^-1) and coconut water (10%). This media also supported further multiplication in serial subculturing with a multiplication rate of 1:6. There exists no earlier report on in vitro multiplication of this tree species valued in perfumery.

ABSTRACT

Kattupadavalam (Trichosanthes cucumerina) is regarded as a laxative and blood purifier, considered beneficial in the treatment of skin diseases. Its entire supply being met from wild, unscrupulous exploitation has led to erosion of genetic resources of this crop. Hence it is imperative that in vitro trechniques are employed to conserve this valuable medicinal species and to evolve feasible protocols for large scale multiplication of this crop. Nodal cultures were established from two months old seedlings of Trichosanthes cucumerina and Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, supplemented with BA @ 0.5 mg l^-1. Subculture of initiated shoots in the same medium at intervals of three weeks registered enhanced release of axillary buds producing 21 shoots from a single culture at the end of fifth subculture cycle. Elongated shoots were rooted in half strength MS medium, following a pulse treatment with IBA @ 1000 mg l^-1. A single stage root hardening process, wherein, rooted plantlets were subsequently transferred to half strength semisolid MS medium supplemented with 2 per cent sucrose, improved success rate. The rooted plantlets planted out in sterilized media and subjected to a hardening process in a phased manner, survived well.