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ThesisItem Open Access Impact of bioagents and soil amendments on the performance of patchouli (pogostemon patchouli pellet.)(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2004) Smilu, Babu; KAU; Asha Shankar, MAn experiment entitled "Impact ofbio agents and soil amendments on the performance of patchouli" was conducted at the Department of Plantation crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2002-04 to elucidate the effect of application of bioagents, soil amendments and bioregulators on growth, yield and oil quality of patchouli. The study was also aimed at refming vegetative propagation technique to generate disease free quality planting materials. The investigations were conducted in two experiments. Results of the first experiment, " Impact of bioagents on the production of quality planting materials in the nursery "revealed that bioagents had a significant influence on the growth characters of the crop in the nursery stage wherein significant differences were observed among the treatments with respect to characters such as number of leaves, number of roots, length of roots and root volume. Root characters were markedly influenced by bioagents and bioregulators. Root length and root volume were found the highest for the treatment receiving combined application of Trichoderma and Pseudomonas fluorescens at the rate of 2 g each at the time of planting. This treatment also recorded earliest sprout emergence in 6.3 days after planting the terminalcuttings in the nursery. Terminal cuttings which were treated with IBA at the rate of 1000 ppm at the time of planting came to rooting earlier in 8 days after planting in the nursery. Root number was also recorded the highest with the same treatment. The highest leaf number in 45 days old patchouli plants was recorded in nursery with the incorporation of Trichoderma at the rate of 2 g per bag. This treatment also recorded the highest sprout length of 0.45 cm. Earliness in sprouting, length of sprout and earliness in rooting were not found influenced by bioagents in nursery experiment. Plants raised in the nursery by the combined application of Trichoderma and Pseudomonas fluorescens rated the best in the nursery were selected for main field experiment. Impact of bioagents and soil amendments on growth, yield and oil quality were studied in the main field and results obtained revealed that treatments ~----.-.- .. -- involving combined application of bioagents and soil amendments significantly influenced the growth and yield parameters of the crop plant .. Plant height was the highest with the combined application of lime, neem cake, Trichoderma and Pseudomonas fluorescens along with the application of recommended doses of FYM and NPK both in main crop and regenerated crop. Compared to control, this treatment also improved vegetative characters like number of leaves and yield attributes like fresh herb yield and fresh leaf yield both in main crop and regenerated crop. Combined application of control, lime, neem cake and Pseudomonas fluorescens along with the recommended doses of FYM and NPK recorded highest number of branches and greatest plant spread. Leaf area also was found varying significantly among treatments. Application of neem cake, Trichoderma and Pseudomonas fluorescens in addition to the recommended doses of FYM and NPK recorded the highest leaf area. Dry leaf yield recorded was also the highest with the same treatment. Oil yield and oil content in the plant were found to be significantly influenced by bioagents and soil amendments. The plants treated with a combination of neem cake + Trichoderma + Pseudomonas fluorescens along with the recommended doses of FYM and NPK recorded highest values of oil yield and oil content. Physicochemical properties of the essential oil of patchouli were analysed wherein it was, observed that specific gravity of oil between 0.940 and 0.953 and refractive index was recorded between 1.5032 and 1.5150 at 31 Qc. Gas chromatographic profile of oil samples were analysed and significant variation with respect to the application of various treatments was observed. Number of components present in the oil sample varied significantly among treatments. It is observed that when the number of peaks increases, the percentage of major components in the oil decreases. Treatments receiving neem cake along with NPK and FYM recorded maximum number of components in the oil sample. It is found that neem cake can add optimum level of nutrients to the soil at a slow and steady rate which finally resulted in the increment of oil components.ThesisItem Open Access Ex vitro establishment of gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus L.)(Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Sheena, A; KAU; Sheela, V LStudies were conducted to standardize ex vitro establishment techniques in Gladiolus grandiflorus L. variety Vinks Glory during 2002-2004 in the Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. The effects of various potting media (sand, soilrite, sand: soil, sand: soil: coirpith, sand: soil: leaf mould), triazole (0, 4 and 8 mg/l), mycorrhizae (Glomus fasciculatum and Glomus monosporum) and height of potting media in the container (4 and 6 cm) on ex vitro establishment of the micropropagated plantlets were studied. Among the different potting media used for ex vitro establishment, soilrite recorded higher survival rates of 86.11 and 80.55 per cent after the first and second fortnight respectively. Triazole application improved the survival rate over non-treated plants. Triazole at 4 and 8 mg/l concentrations recorded 54.16 and 55.83 per cent survival respectively after one month of planting. The two mycorrhizal fungi tried in the study exerted differential effect on survival. Colonization of the roots by mycorrhizal inoculation was found to be high and this enhanced the survival rate of plantlets. Leaf number and plant height was found to be affected by triazole application. Triazole treated plants exhibited a decrease in number of leaves and a reduced plant height due to its growth retarding action which in turn resulted in reduced leaf area index. Triazole application delayed leaf production of plants due to inhibition of leaf expansion. Fresh weight, dry weight, CGR and RGR were found to be high in treatments with triazole application. Growth of mycorrhizal fungi was affected by different potting media. But triazole treatment did not affect the colonization of AMF. Among the two mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus fasciculatum inoculated plants exhibited higher plant height, increased number of roots, delayed emergence of leaf and low stomatal conductance. A decrease in stomatal conductance observed during the later stages of planting out indicate the acclimatization of the plantlets to the ex vitro conditions. Potting media, triazole, mycorrhizae and their interactions affected the stomatal conductance significantly. Height of potting media in the container did not influence the survival and growth parameters. The estimated cost of hardened plants ranged from Rs. 4.50 to 5.25. Eventhough the cost is higher than that of conventional propagation method, this can satisfy the need for large scale production of disease free planting material.ThesisItem Open Access Screening banana (Musa sp.) varieties for leaf production(Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Selvakumar, K; KAU; Jayachandran Nair, C SThe present investigations on 'Screening banana (Musa sp.) varieties for leaf production' was carried out at the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram during 2002-2003 to evaluate the changes in leaf production pattern of banana varieties due to leaf pruning and to select banana varieties for commercial leaf production. Molecular characterization (RAPD analysis) of banana varieties was also carried out to obtain preliminary information on the genetic makeup of the varieties evaluated. Studies revealed that the plant height and girth were affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. Elavazhai, Palayankodan and Karpooravalli were less adversely affected when alternate leaves were pruned seven days after unfurling. Plant height and girth were higher with less severe pruning treatments. The leaf emission rate was affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and varieties. Elavazhai, Palayankodan, Njalipoovan and Vayalvazhai had higher leaf emission rate when all the leaves were pruned seven days after unfurling. In general, pruning all the leaves resulted in higher leaf emission rate. The total leaf production, number of harvested leaves, and the number of marketable leaves were affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. Leaf pruning in general increased the total leaf production, number of harvested leaves and number of marketable leaves. Elavazhai, Palyankodan and Njalipoovan attained higher leaf production, number of harvested leaves and marketable leaves when all leaves were pruned seven days after unfurling. The leaf length was not affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. Karpooravalli, Elavazhai, Monthan, Njalipoovan and Palayankodan had produced the lengthiest leaves. The leaf breadth and leaf thickness were not affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. Elavazhai, Vayalvazhai, Monthan and Karpooravalli had the highest leaf breadth while Elavazhai, Vayalvazhai, Monthan and Karpooravalli had more leaf thickness. The leaf area index was affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. Elavazhai, and Karpooravalli had the highest leaf area index. The duration of leaf harvest was affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. In general, pruning of leaves resulted in higher duration. Karpooravalli, Palayankodan and Njalipoovan, had the higher duration while Vayalvazhai and Monthan had the lowest duration. The occurrence of bunchy top disease was not influenced with the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. Njalipoovan and Palayankodan were affected by the disease. The occurrence of leaf spot disease was not influenced by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. The occurrence of rhizome weevil was not affected by the interaction effect of leaf pruning and the varieties. However, Njalipoovan was affected by rhizome weevil while other varieties were not affected. The interaction effect of' varieties and leaf pruning indicated that, pruning all the leaves seven days after unfurling was most profitable when income from both leaf and bunch were considered. The studies indicated that banana varieties Elavazhai, Palayankodan and Njalipoovan were suitable for leaf production in commercial varieties. The practice of pruning all the leaves seven days after unfurling was economically viable under Kerala conditions. DNA isolated from six varieties were subjected to RAPD analysis. Out of the 40 decamer primers screened for RAPD analysis, 32 could produce amplification. Totally 118 bands (average of 2.95 bands per primer) by thirty-two primers, of which 97.46 per cent (115 bands) were poly morphic. Three bands (2.54%) were monomorphic. Eight primers showed high level of polymorphism viz. OPA-03, OPA-Il, OPA-20, OPB-06, OPB-07, OPB-IO, OPB-II and OPB-I5 were used for RAPD analysis of six Musa sp. varieties. These primers yielded 89 scorable bands with an average of 11.13 bands per primer. A genetic dissimilarity matrix was constructed using the Jaccard' s coefficient method and the values ranged from 0.226 to 0.486. The genetic distance between the varieties ranged from 0.226 to 0.338. Dendrogram expressed three major clusters. Monthan, Vayalvazhai and Karpooravalli together formed the largest cluster. Within this cluster, Vayalvazhai and Karpooravalli were more close to each other. Palayankodan and Njalipoovan formed another cluster. Elavazhai formed a separate cluster, which was generally distinct from all other clones.ThesisItem Open Access Molecular characterization of ivygourd [Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt](Department of Olericulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Suresh, S; KAU; Abdul Vahab, MThe experiment entitled “Molecular characterization of ivygourd [Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt]” was conducted at the Departments of Olericulture and Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. The objectives were to assess the genetic divergence of the germplasm both at morphological and molecular level using RAPD markers in 25 ivygourd genotypes. Analysis of variance of the observations showed significant difference among the accessions for all the characters. The yield obtained in the range of 1.3 kg (CG 2) to 18.41 kg (CG 19) per plant. High PCV and GCV were observed for primary branch length, fruit per plant, total number of harvest and yield per plant. High heritability along with high genetic gain was observed in all the characters. The range of heritability was 98.83 to 63.02. All characters except days to first flowering are positively correlated with yield both at phenotypic and genotypic level. Primary branch length, average fruit weight, seeds per fruit and fruits per plant had positive direct effect on yield. In D2 analysis all the accessions are grouped into six clusters. The cluster III had maximum number of genotypes. The character yield per plant had maximum contribution to cluster formation. In molecular characterization the yield of DNA ranged from 1.44 ng/l to 9.24 ng/l. The purity was 1.29 to 2.28. A total of 41 RAPDs were generated when PCR amplification was carried out using 28 decamer primers (Operon Inc., CA, USA) of Kit A and Kit B. Of these 39 bands were polymorphic. Four primers, OPA 18, OPB 11, OPB 10 and OPB 6 produced reproducible banding pattern on atleast two runs. These primers yielded 48 scorable bands with an average of 12 bands per primer. The similarity coefficient values ranged from 0.421 to 0.918. From the dendrogram the 25 ivygourd genotypes were clustered into 10 groups. The largest group consisted the genotypes CG 11, CG 10, CG 18, CG 17, CG 2, CG 13, CG 9, CG 22, CG 21 and CG 6. The genotypes CG 16, CG 19, CG 12, CG 7, CG 4 and CG 1 formed individual separate clusters. The result of both morphological and molecular level characterization revealed similarity in the case of genotype CG 19, the highest yield. Though the genotype CG 13 was second in yield with other special attributes, it fell into a cluster along with other moderate to poor yielders. This shows the impact of environment on the expression of the characters and necessity of molecular markers in the characterization of landraces in ivygourd.ThesisItem Open Access Characterisation of landraces of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam.)(Department of Olericulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2004) Resmi, D S; KAU; Celine, V AThe present investigation on “Characterisation of landraces of drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam.)” was carried out at the Department of Olericulture and Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2002-2004. The experiment was carried out using 28 diverse accessions of drumstick collected from different agro climatic situations particularly from southern parts of Kerala. The objective of the study was to assess the extent of genetic variability in the landraces of drumstick using morphological characters and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. A survey was conducted to identify the morphologically distinct drumstick trees in the different regions of Kerala. Biometrical observations were recorded from the selected plants by conducting field visits. Morphological data was collected on vegetative characters, flowering characters, fruit characters, quality characters and reaction towards pest and disease incidence. Planting materials of each accession were also collected from the identified plants and planted them at the Department of Olericulture for further investigation and conservation. All the accessions showed variation for the morphological characters studied. Height varied from 5.0-12.5 m. The leaf length, width and weight showed variability with a mean value of 44.58 cm, 33.79 cm and 5.17 g respectively. Accessions MO 13, MO 24, MO 26 recorded 3 flowering peaks per year whereas all the remaining accessions showed two peak flowering except MO 16 which showed only one peak per year. The number of flowers per inflorescence varied from 65.23 (MO 28) to 25.4 (MO 22). The fruits per plant varied from 174 (MO 16) – 612 (MO 24) and the fruit yield ranged from 8.94 kg (MO 8) to 70.46 kg (MO 28). The range of values for the quality characters were 8107.86 (MO 1) to 13,215.79 I. U. (MO 26) for vitamin A in leaf, 94.59 (MO 25) to 184.74 (MO 10) for vitamin A in fruit, 175.21 (MO 5) to 225.56 mg / 100 g (MO 18) for vitamin C in leaf and 87.5 (MO 3) to 129.16 mg / 100 g (MO 18) for vitamin C in fruit. The leaves of MO 13 and fruits of MO 10 were organoleptically superior compared to others studied. A severe attack of fruit rot was noted in accession MO10 and MO 13. The fungus was identified as Fusarium pallidoroseum (Cooke) Sacc. All the accessions were observed for the incidence of bud borer and hairy caterpillar and all of them were equally susceptible. Based on important morphological characters, overall ranking was done in all the accessions and accession MO 26 and MO 28 were superior compared to others. Molecular characterisation of 25 accessions of drumstick which were identified distinct as per morphological characterisation was done. Out of 35 primers tested, 19 yielded amplification products. Five primers showed polymorphism among the accessions and finally three primers were selected (OPA 10, OPA 13 and OPB 7) for RAPD analysis. These primers gave 18 scorable bands with an average of 6 bands per primer. Dendrogram was generated by UPGMA cluster analysis. At about 65 per cent similarity index, the accessions formed five clusters. Accessions MO 1, MO 9, MO 10, MO 13, MO 7, MO 20, MO 21, MO 4, MO 12, MO 14, MO 17, MO 25, MO 26 and MO 27 grouped together to form the largest cluster. Accessions MO 7 and MO 20 which showed a similarity index value of 1.00 belonged to different locations. Accessions MO 12 and MO 14 were having a similarity index value of 1.00, but they also belonged to different geographical locations. Accessions MO 3, MO 22, MO 15, MO 23 and MO 24 grouped together to form cluster II. Accessions MO 22, MO 23, MO 24 belonged to same location, but they were not morphologically similar. Accession MO 28 and accession MO 2 formed each separate cluster respectively. Accession MO 28 was already distinct as superior as morphological ranking. Accessions MO 6, MO 18, MO 11 and MO 16 together formed cluster V. Accessions MO 11 and MO 16 were from adjacent locations and showed a similarity index of 1.00. Cluster formation was not fully in agreement with geographical locations. Morphological studies had shown that MO 26 and MO 28 were superior when compared to others. Molecular studies also confirms the distinctness of MO 28 and it can be used in further breeding programmes. The present study using morphological characters and RAPD markers have shown considerable variability in the available landraces. However, accessions with broader genetic base have to be studied with more number of primers for getting accurate results.ThesisItem Open Access Value addition in sapota [Manilkara achras (Mill.) Fosberg](Kerala Agricultural University;Thrissur, 2004) Maya, T.; KAU; John, P. JacobThesisItem Open Access Effect of organic manures and microbial inoculants on growth, yield and quality of ginger(Kerala Agricultural University;Thiruvananthapuram, 2004) Sreekala, G.S.; KAU; Jayachandran, B.K.ThesisItem Open Access Hybridization and molecular characterization of papaya (Carica papaya L.) varieties(Kerala Agricultural University;Thiruvananthapuram, 2004) Sereena, J.; KAU; Nair, C.S. JayachandranThesisItem Open Access Development of an integrated light (minimal) processing technology for tender coconut and tender coconut husk based products(Kerala Agricultural University;Thrissur, 2004) Subramanian, K.V.; KAU; Raju, V.K.