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  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Management of foot rot of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) with mycoinoculant enriched vermicompost
    (Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2002) Divya, S; Sasikumar Nair
    The study, "Management of foot rot of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) with mycoinoculant enriched vermicompost" was done at the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Veliayani to explore the possibility of using vermicornpost as a carrier material for mass production of biocontrol agents and to test its efficacy in controlling the disease. The talc based inoculum of Trichoderma harzianum and soil based granular inoculum of Glomus Jasciculatum were mass produced in vermicompost either alone or in combination with farmyard manure or neem cake in the ratio 1 : 1 and 5 : 1 respectively and the efficacy was compared with the standard carrier material of FYM + neem cake (10 : 1). The population of T. harzianum 15 DAI was maximum in the treatment combination of VC + NC (5 : 1). However, the influence of these carrier materials on percentage of mycorrhizal infection 50 DAI was not statistically significant. Vermicompost as a carrier material for biocontrol agents was further tested in pepper var. Karimunda inoculated with P. capsici. Carrier materials as such had no significant influence on disease control. Reduction in foliar infection, disease index, stem infection and percentage mortality was observed in treatments with biocontrol agents. Disease control was maximum with the treatments involving T. harzianum while plant growth promotion was maximum with G. Jasciculatum. The physiological changes in pepper plants after inoculation with P. capsici and biocontrol agents were studied. The phenol and OD phenol content was more in pathogen inoculated plants. The defence related enzymes peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase were enhanced with pathogen inoculation as well as with the application of biocontrol agents. SDS-PAGE analysis of proteins with samples extracted from plants one day after inoculation of pathogen showed the presence of two novel proteins with molecular . weights of 78 kDa and 28 kDa in diseased samples which were absent in treatments without pathogen and also in plants treated with COC.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Study on marketing management of Sitaram ayurveda pharmacy Ltd. for Narasimham oil
    (College of Co-operation Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2017) Bhagyasree, K G; KAU; Smitha, Baby
    Marketing management is the organizational discipline which focuses on the practical application of marketing orientation, techniques and methods inside enterprises and organizations and on the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities. Marketing management employs tools from economics and competitive strategy to analyze the industry context in which the firm operates. The scope of a business' marketing management depends on the size of the business and the industry in which the business operates. Effective marketing management will use a company's resources to increase its customer base, improve customer opinions of the company's products and services, and increase the company's perceived value. The project entitled “A study on marketing management of Sitaram Ayurveda Pharmacy Ltd. for Narasimham oil” were undertaken with the objectives vii. To understand the marketing management practices followed by Sitaram Ayurveda Pharmacy Ltd for the promotion of Sitaram Narasimham oil. viii. To evaluate consumers, retailers and dealers perception towards the maketing of Sitaram Narasimham oil. ix. To suggest improved marketing strategies for Sitaram Narasimham oil. The sample size of the study was 60 consumers, 8 distributors and 15 retailres of Sitaram Narasimham oil , in Thrissur Corporation. Consumers were selected by using convenience sampling method. The study was based on primary data and secondary data, the primary data were collected from the sample respondents through personal interview. The collected data were analyzed using percentage and ranking index method. In order to keep the company vibrant and responsive to the needs of the customers, it is vital to regularly monitor the level of consumer satisfaction and marketing management practices.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Morphological variations of root knot nematode in vegetables and banana
    (Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Chinchu, P Babu; KAU; Narayana, R
    The study entitled “Morphological variations of root knot nematode in vegetables and banana” was conducted at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2015-17 with the objective to study the morphological and morphometric variations of root-knot nematode in brinjal, okra, tomato and banana in Kerala. Morphological and morphometrical studies of females, perineal pattern, second stage juveniles and males of root knot nematodes collected from Dhanuvachapuram, Kattakada and Vellayani of Thiruvananthapuram district; Balagram, Pampadumpara and Thovalappady of Idukki district; Chazhoor, Thalikulam and Thaniyam of Thrissur district infecting brinjal, okra, tomato and banana were done and the data was analysed to identify the species. M.incognita (Kofoid & White, 1919) Chitwood, 1949, M. javanica (Treub, 1885) Chitwood, 1949, M. arenaria (Neal, 1889) Chitwood, 1949 and M. chitwoodi Golden, O'Bannon, Santo & Finley 1980 were identified from brinjal, okra, tomato and banana in Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki and Thrissur districts of Kerala. The study indicated M. incognita as the major species of root knot nematode in Thiruvananthapuram district (91.66%) with highest percentage of occurrence in brinjal and tomato (27.77). In Idukki district, the major species of root knot nematode was M. javanica (66.66%) with highest percentage of occurrence from brinjal and banana (33.33). In Thrissur district, M. arenaria was found to be the major species (66.66%) with highest percentage of occurrence in okra (37.5). M. incognita was found to be the major species in brinjal (55.55%), okra (44.44%), tomato (55.55%) and banana (44.44%) in Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki and Thrissur districts. The extent of parthenogenesis of root knot nematode was found to be very high (97.22%) in these populations. Intraspecific morphological variations were observed within M. incognita, M. javanica and M. arenaria with respect to shape of females, length and position of neck, perineal pattern morphology, tail characters including rectum dilation. Interpopulation comparison of mature females, perineal pattern and second stage juveniles of M. incognita showed that the characters length, width, neck length, stylet length, LMB, WMB and ratio a of females, LVS, AVS, ATT and IPD of perineal pattern and body length, stylet length, H-MB, ABW, tail length, ratio c and c’ were recorded as stable characters. Interpopulation comparison of mature females, perineal pattern and second stage juveniles of M. javanica showed that all the characters of females, perineal pattern and second stage juveniles were stable characters and in M. arenaria, the characters like body length, width, neck length, stylet length, LMB and WMB of females, LVS, AVS, ATT and IPD of perineal pattern and length, stylet length, H-MB, ABW and tail length were recorded as stable characters and found useful in characterizing species. Intraspecific morphological and morphometric variations of M. incognita, M. javanica, M. arenaria were recorded from four host plants in three districts in Kerala. M. arenaria and M. javanica showed high variability between the populations compared to M. incognita in Kerala. The study indicated that M. incognita, M. javanica and M. arenaria were the major species infesting vegetables and banana in Kerala. Among the sampled populations, M. hapla was not identified which shows that M. hapla is not common in Kerala conditions. The study recorded the first report of species having morphological and morphometrical characters similar to M. chitwoodi from okra in Thiruvananthapuram which opens way to molecular studies in future.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Cryopreservation of chethikoduveli (Plumbago rosea L.) and assessment of genetic fidelity of regenerated plantlets using molecular markers
    (Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2014) Anand, Vishnu Prakash; KAU
    Investigations on “Cryopreservation of Chethikoduveli (Plumbago rosea L.) and assessment of genetic fidelity of regenerated plantlets using molecular markers” were carried out at the Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2011-2013. Plumbago rosea var. Agni plants were collected from AMPRS, Odakkali, Ernakulam and maintained at the Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani as source of explant during the course of the study. The objectives of the present study was to standardise cryopreservation protocol by encapsulation dehydration technique for long term conservation of P. rosea and genetic fidelity assessment of plantlets recovered and regenerated from cryostorage using molecular markers. The project was carried out in two phases viz., in vitro regeneration and in vitro conservation by cryopreservation of P. rosea. In vitro regeneration protocol was optimised for P. rosea var. Agni. Various steps of in vitro regeneration viz., surface sterilization, axillary shoot proliferation, in vitro rooting and acclimatization and planting out has been standardised. For surface sterilizing, single nodal explants (3-4 cm long) were subjected to fungicide treatment with 0.1 per cent carbendazim 50 per cent W. P. (for 30 min) followed by aseptic sterilisation dip with absolute alcohol. Further, the explants were surface sterilised with 0.2 per cent mercuric chloride (for 5 min) which gave 100 per cent survival without any contamination. Enhanced release of axillary buds from single nodal explants, with maximum shoot proliferation (5.28 shoots/culture) was obtained in the medium, MS + BA 1.5 mg l-1 + IAA 1.0 mg l-1. The best response (10.67 roots/culture) of in vitro rooting of plantlets was obtained in the medium, MS + NAA 1.0 mg l-1. In vitro rooted plants gave a maximum survival rate of 76 per cent and 72 per cent, when planted out in potting media consisting of red soil and coir pith (3:1) and red soil and coir pith (2:1) supplemented with VAM respectively at 25 per cent shade. In cryopreservation studies, preconditioning treatment (sucrose 0.5 M for 7 days) recorded maximum shoot proliferation (2.67 shoots/culture) when nodal segments with single axillary bud were cultured on MS + BA 1.5 mg l-1 + IAA 1.0 mg l-1 medium. Among different encapsulation treatments, maximum shoot proliferation of (2.31 shoots/culture) was obtained in beads formed with sodium alginate 2.5 per cent and calcium chloride 100 mM, when cultured on the medium, MS + BA 1.5 mg l-1 + IAA 1.0 mg l-1. Pre-culture medium supplemented with sucrose 0.5 M for 3days gave maximum shoot proliferation (3.44 shoots/culture) when cultured on the medium, MS + BA 1.5 mg l-1 + IAA 1.0 mg l-1. A desiccation duration of 5 h at 18.13 per cent moisture level was found to be most effective giving 66.67 per cent survival and 62.50 per cent regeneration on thawing and culturing on the recovery medium MS + BA 1.5 mg l-1 + IAA 1.0 mg l-1. The beads when stored in liquid nitrogen for different duration and cultured on recovery medium did not show any significant variation with respect to survival per cent. RAPD markers were tried to study the genetic fidelity of the regenerated plantlets from encapsulated and cryopreserved axillary buds. Six primers were screened and RAPD banding patterns of the cryoregenerated plantlets and control plants were compared. Polymorphism was not found with any of the primers tested. RAPD profiles of cryoregenerated plantlets were identical to those of the control. The in vitro regeneration protocol optimized included surface sterilization of single node cuttings with 0.2 per cent HgCl2 for 5 min, axillary shoot proliferation in MS medium supplemented with BA 1.5 mg l-1 and IAA 1.0 mg l-1, in vitro rooting in MS medium supplemented with NAA 1.0 mg l-1 and planting out in potting medium, red soil and coir pith (3:1). The protocol for encapsulation dehydration technique of cryopreservation was standardised for the axillary buds of P. rosea with preconditioning in semi solid MS medium supplemented with sucrose 0.5 M for 7 days, encapsulation using sodium alginate 2.5 per cent and calcium chloride 100 mM followed by pre-culture in liquid MS supplemented with sucrose 0.5 M for 3 days and 5 h dehydration (MC 18.13 %), rapid freezing in LN for at least 2 h and recovery in the medium MS + BA 1.5 mg l-1 + IAA 1.0 mg l-1. The cryopreservation protocol using encapsulation-dehydration technique standardised could be utilised for long-term conservation of P. rosea.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Management of bitter gourd mosaic by enhancing host resistance
    (Department of Plant Pathology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2015) Ashwini, K N; KAU; Vimi, Louis
    Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is one of the important vegetable crops that occupy a pivotal position among fruit vegetables, particularly in south India. The fruits of this crop which have high commercial value and are being used for culinary preparations and various medicinal preparations. In spite of the economic importance of this vegetable, the research work carried out on protection of crop from viral disease is quite scanty. In many case, cent per cent mosaic incidence was recorded in the crop resulting in substantial economic loss. So the present study was focused on screening of bitter gourd accessions and management of bitter gourd mosaic by enhancing host resistance using defense inducers. The three different viruses causing mosaic in bitter gourd are cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), potyvirus and bitter gourd distortion mosaic virus (BDMV). As these viruses causes mixed infection in field, the separation of individual viruses was carried out using systemic indicator host plants. For separation of CMV and potyvirus, systemic indicator host plants used were cosmos and papaya respectively. BDMV was separated by white fly transmission. The pure cultures of viruses were maintained on the susceptible bitter gourd variety Preethi. The symptoms developed by different viruses were recorded under natural and artificial conditions were recorded CMV produced mosaic specks, yellow-green mosaic patches, leathery leaves and downward rolling of leaf margin. Symptoms of potyvirus infection were vein clearing, puckering, malformed leaf with reduced leaf size and rugosity. BDMV infection produced mosaic, puckering, leaf distortion, hairy growth on leaves and vines with reduction in leaf size and internodal length. For the screening of bitter gourd accessions against CMV and potyvirus, potassium phosphate buffer pH 7.0 was found to be the most suitable buffer. Among 22 accessions screened, three accessions viz., TCR 285, TCR 39 and TCR 53 were highly resistant to CMV; one accession Biliagala was highly resistant to potyvirus and 11 accessions viz.,TCR 285, TCR 39, TCR 493 ,TCR 416, TCR 492, TCR 494,TCR 380, TCR 202 and TCR 149, Green long and Biliagala were highly resistant to BDMV. The field experiment was undertaken with the objective of management of bitter gourd mosaic by using defense inducers. The three different defense inducers viz., salicylic acid 25 ppm, barium chloride 0.1% and Pseudomonas fluorescens 2 % were evaluated on the moderately resistant cultivar white long and susceptible variety Preethi. The mosaic symptom was recorded after 51 days of sowing in salicylic acid treated plants and after 40 days of sowing in control. A time gap of 5-10 days after spray of defense inducer was required for development of resistance in plants. The lowest disease severity was observed in cultivar White long treated with salicylic acid. The highest yield was recorded in Preethi treated with Pseudomonas fluorescens.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Management of banana pseudostem weevil odoiporus longicollis oliv.using entomopathogenic fungi
    (Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2005) Sahi Beegum, M K; KAU; Anitha, N
    Investigation on “Management of banana pseudostem weevil, Odoiporus longicollis Oliv. using entomopathogenic fungi” was carried out in the Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. The study was conducted to screen four entomopathogenic fungi, to evaluate their biocontrol potential and to standardize the effective dose and method of application for the management of the banana pseudostem weevil. Four entomopathogenic fungi viz., Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana, Paecilomyces lilacinus and Nomuraea rileyi were tested against O. longicollis. Among them M. anisopliae and B. bassiana were found to infect O. longicollis grubs. Susceptibility of different stages of grubs to fungal infection was tested by using first, second, third, fourth and fifth instar grubs of O. longicollis and the results revealed that first and second instar grubs were more susceptible to fungal infection. Determination of effective dose of fungi against second instar grubs of O. longicollis was carried out by spraying the grubs with different concentrations of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana. The LC50 values of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana were 3.9 x 106 spores ml-1 and 1.6 x 105 spores ml-1 respectively. Evaluation of six naturally available solid media viz., rice bran, wheat bran, guinea grass, gingelly oil cake, coir pith, and neem cake were carried out for mass multiplication of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana. The results revealed that both rice bran and wheat bran were suitable for the mass multiplication of these fungi. The spore production was 9.26 x 106 spores ml-1 and 8.71 x 106 spores ml-1 respectively for M. anisopliae on first week after inoculation. For B. bassiana, the spore count was 503.42 x 106 spores ml-1 and 320.32 x 106 spores ml-1 respectively on first week after inoculation. Among the liquid media tried, coconut water and rice bran extract produced maximum mycelial growth and sporulation of fungi. For M. anisopliae the spore count was 7.77 x 107 spores ml-1 and 0.49 x 107 spores ml-1 respectively. B. bassiana recorded 440.03 x 106 spores ml-1 and 232.26 x 106 spores ml-1 respectively. M. anisopliae and B. bassiana grown in rice bran and wheat bran recorded maximum virulence on two weeks after storage and decreased thereafter. However, coconut water and rice bran extract showed maximum virulence on first week after storage and then found decreasing. Studies conducted to evaluate the compatibility of fungi with NeemAzal 0.4 per cent, chlorpyriphos 0.03 per cent, copper oxychloride 0.4 per cent and mancozeb 0.3 per cent revealed that all the pesticides tested inhibited the growth of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana. But the per cent inhibition was least in the case of NeemAzal 0.4 per cent. Field experiments were conducted with M. anisopliae and B. bassiana with chlorpyriphos (0.03 per cent) and NeemAzal (0.4 per cent) as checks. The plants were artificially infested with known number of grubs. Two experiments were conducted, one with prophylactic treatments and the other with curative treatments. Three application methods viz., leaf axil filling of spore suspension of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana, leaf axil filling of fungi in rice bran and stem injection of spore suspension were tested. Among these treatments leaf axil filling of B. bassiana spore suspension at 1.8 x 107 ml-1 as prophylactic treatment was most effective which gave 52.42 per cent mortality of grubs.
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Information education and communication (iec) for iodine defficiency disorders (idd) control
    (Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2000) Vishma, C A; Rajani, M
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Etiology and ecofriendly management of fungal diseases of thippali ( piper longum L)
    (Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2007) Poornima, R; KAU; Santha Kumari, P
    A survey was carried out at the medicinal garden of College of Agriculture, Vellayani and medicinal garden of Ayurveda Research Institute, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram to study the diseases associated with Piper longum L. (Indian long pepper or thippali). The major disease observed was anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz and Sacc. Pathogenicity test proved that C. gloeosporioides was the pathogen associated with the disease. Cross inoculation studies conducted using C. gloeosporioides isolate of thippali, black pepper and betel vine - the sister plants – showed that the thippali isolate was highly host specific. The colony and conidial morphology of the three isolates also showed considerable difference. C. gloeosporioides of thippali had very small conidia and the culture was also found to be shy sporulating. Studies on the survival of C. gloeosporioides showed that the pathogen survived for 105 days in the infected leaves, under laboratory conditions. In the soil, it survived for 150 days. Of the eleven fungal and four bacterial isolates tested against C. gloeosporioides, T. viride and A.terreus were found to be most effective under in vitro condition. Among the different resistance inducers tested in vitro, SA (1 g/l) was selected for field evaluation, as it had no direct action on the pathogen. Of the two plant based chemicals tested, Ovis reported the highest suppression of the pathogen. These four eco friendly materials selected from the in vitro studies and neem cake were tested in the field to determine their effectiveness in controlling the disease. Their combinations were also studied. Among the different eco friendly materials tested in the field, treatment T12 (T2T5 - A. terreus + neem cake) was found to be best in disease suppression at 45 DAT. Estimation of DRE showed that PO and PPO activity was highest in T3 (Ovis) where as PAL activity was maximum in T1 (T. viride). Combination of treatments revealed that maximum PO activity was in treatment T14 (T3T5 - Ovis + neem cake).The PPO and PAL activity was maximum in T7 (T1T3 - T. viride + Ovis).
  • ThesisItemOpen Access
    Nonlinear models for major crops of Kerala
    (Department of Agricultural Statistics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2007) Joshy, C G; KAU; Krishnan, S
    Nonlinear modelling techniques are the most suited tools for describing any time series phenomenon. Among the various nonlinear models in vogue monomolecular, logistic, gompertz and mixed-influence models find a prominent place. With this idea the agricultural scenario of Kerala was measured through the three important descriptors namely area, production and productivity of the major crops viz; coconut, rubber, paddy, pepper, tapioca, cashew and banana for all the districts and the state as such. Monomolecular model was the most apt model in most of the cases. The data sets were further explored based on the carrying capacity achieved by 2002-03 coupled with intrinsic growth rate. When none of the nonlinear models were found satisfactory either simple linear regression model or quadratic model was tried to explore the nature of trend. Coconut production was found to have reached its near maximum in all the districts where it was a major crop but the productivity figures gave a warning note for increasing the productivity. Rubber was found to be one of the most gifted crops, which was not devoid of proper attention. Even with this stature, production of rubber can be improved through uniform management practices. Usually nonlinear and quadratic models aptly describe a time series data on crop production. It is astonishing that simple linear regression model aptly described the paddy production in the state. The regressive value of the regression coefficients indicated that paddy production in the state is facing extinction.Paddy production in the state has at least to be protected. The lack of fit of most of the nonlinear models and even quadratic models to the data of pepper production indicate the various devastating hazards that the crop faced with. These contrasting features bring out the fact that pepper cultivation be not allowed to be toyed with. The area specific crops like cashew, cardamom, coffee and banana be made nonspecific through innovative technologies. A concerted effort with valid stresses specific to each crop will make the agricultural scenario bright.