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ThesisItem Open Access Protocol development for gel stabilization and nutraceuticals in aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2021) Maheswari R S Nair; KAU; Sreekala, G SThe investigation entitled “Protocol development for gel stabilization and nutraceuticals in Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.” was carried out in the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during March 2016 to December 2019. The project envisaged formulation of a low cost stabilization technique for aloe gel using herbal extracts and aromatic oils and development of protocols for the preparation of dried latex and marketable nutraceuticals using aloe gel. The study was carried out as four experiments. The first experiment was to study the keeping quality and natural spoilage flora of fresh gel while the second experiment was for the standardization of curacao aloe (dried latex). The third experiment was on gel stabilization using herbal extracts and essential oils. Preparation of nutraceuticals from the stabilized liquidized aloe gel juice was the final experiment. The keeping quality and natural spoilage flora of fresh gel were assessed by subjecting the liquidized aloe gel juice to storage in glass bottles under ambient condition for seven days. The liqudized aloe gel juice was off white in colour for first three days of extraction with mild vegetative odour and got sedimented with foul smell from fourth day onwards. The liquidized aloe juice could not be stored for more than a day due to increased microbial population from the second day of storage. Preliminary trails conducted by pasteurizing the liquidized aloe gel juice at 65 0C and 15 psi pressure for 13 minutes followed by flash cooling registered no microbial population even after seven days of storage. The latex collected from aloe leaves was subjected to different methods of drying such as boiling followed by cooling, sun drying, shade drying and oven drying. Appearance, colour and aloin content (271.62 mg/ml) of dried latex was significantly higher for shade drying. Liquidized aloe gel juice was pasteurized and added with varying concentrations of three forms (aqueous, tincture, decoction) of herbal extracts and essential oils after adjusting the pH to 3.5 by adding 0.5 per cent of citric acid for gel stabilization. The treated samples were kept for a month and based on microbial population and minimum inhibitory concentration best treatment of each form was selected from preliminary trials for aloe gel stabilization. Gymnema sylvestre aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (1 ml), decoction (2 ml), Centella asiatica aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (2 ml), decoction (1 ml), Achyranthes aspera aqueous extract (2 ml), tincture (2 ml), decoction (1.50 ml), Tridax procumbens aqueous extract (2 ml), tincture (2 ml) , decoction (1 ml), Terminalia chebula aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (1 ml), decoction (1 ml), Punica granatum aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (2 ml), decoction (1 ml), green tea aqueous extract (2 ml), tincture (1 ml) and decotion (2 ml) and 1 ml each of sacred basil oil, lemon grass oil, cinnamon bark oil, clove oil and cardamom oil were selected and added to pH adjusted , pasteurized and liquidized aloe gel juice (25 ml) for gel stabilization. The gel stabilization was thus done using the selected twenty six treatments in a Completely Randomised Design replicated five times and compared with 0.08 per cent sodium benzoate as control and stored for six months. Appearance, colour and odour of all forms of the herbal extracts reduced on storage while those treatments with aromatic oils showed lesser percentage reduction in these parameters. Total solids, amylase and lipase activity decreased on storage. The amino acid content was the highest for liquidized aloe gel juice added with aqueous, tincture and decoction of Achyranthes aspera (0.08 ppm).Vitamin A and C were highest for treatment with green tea leaf aqueous extract which decreased subsequently on storage. An increase in microbial load was observed for all the treatments with herbal extracts from first month of storage. But addition of 1 ml clove oil resulted in stabilization of liquidized aloe gel juice which could be stored upto five months without microbial contamination or affecting the nutritive and sensory parameters. Nutraceuticals were prepared using stabilized liquidized aloe gel juice containing clove oil blended with lemon juice, orange juice and honey in proportions of 50 : 50, 75 : 25 and 90 : 10 followed by pasteurization, flash cooling and stored for 6 months. Appearance, colour and vitamin C were significantly higher for Lemon juice (50 ml) + Liquidized aloe gel juice (50 ml) + 2 ml clove oil while odour, taste, overall acceptability, pH, TSS, carbohydrates and calories were significantly superior for Honey (50 ml) + Liquidized aloe gel juice (50 ml) + 2 ml clove oil. Growth of microbes could be detected from third month of storage for all the treatments. Aloe health drink with honey in the ratio 50 : 50 added with clove oil were selected as the accepted drink which could be preserved for two months without microbial contamination. The preparation of aloe herbal powder by solar drying, air drying, oven drying or freeze drying resulted in a sticky product which could not be reconstituted with distilled water for quality comparison with fresh gel, thus warranting further investigation. The present study revealed that liquidized aloe gel juice pasteurized and mixed with clove oil (4 per cent) is a low cost stabilization method which can be taken as a base material for the preparation of health drink. The nutraceutical with liquidized and stabilized aloe gel juice mixed with equal proportion of honey and preserved with clove oil is a palatable drink having higher calories which could be stored for two months. The dried aloe latex a byproduct produced by shade drying is superior with high aloin content and can also be used for the development of marketable product.ThesisItem Open Access Growth, yield and secondary metabolite production responses to microbial elicitation in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2021) Ragin, Shaji; KAU; Deepa, S NairThe study entitled “Growth, yield and secondary metabolite production responses to microbial elicitation in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal.” was conducted at the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram during 2019-2021 with a view to evaluate the effect of bacterial inoculants on seed germination, seedling vigour, growth, yield and secondary metabolite production in W. somnifera. Seeds of W. somnifera were primed with B. amyloliquefaciens (Bam), B. pumilus (Bp) and B. velezensis (Bv) at 1x 108 cfu mL-1 individually and in combination for 24 h. Among these treatments, T7, the trio combination of Bam+Bp+Bv recorded the earliest germination (5.33 days) highest germination per cent (96.67), survival per cent (92.67) seedling vigour index (958.93), basal shoot girth (0.81 cm), number of leaves (6.07), leaf area (13.38 cm2 ), shoot length (5.77cm), root length (4.16 cm) and root volume (0.54 cm3 ). All the biopriming treatments with Bacillus spp. recorded superior germination and seedling parameters over the untreated control (T9) and hydropriming (T8). The seedlings from the first phase were subjected to root dip with the respective bacterial suspension for 30 min on transplanting. The morphological and yield determining parameters such as shoot length(78.99 cm), root length (21.27cm), number of branches (8.78), number of leaves (71.00), collar girth (3.91 cm), leaf area (5146.81 cm2 ) number of flowering branches (7.89), stem fresh weight (61 .85 g plant -1 ), stem dry weight(9.78 g plant -1 ), leaf fresh weight (45.89 g plant -1 ), leaf dry weight (5.07g plant - 1 ), root fresh weight (5.47g plant-1 ), root dry weight (1.44 g plant-1 ) 100 seed weight (0.26g ) root diameter (1.33cm), root volume (5.39 cm3 ) and harvest index (0.10) were observed to be significantly higher in T7, the trio combination of (Bam+ Bp+ Bv), which was observed to be on par with T5, dual combination of (Bam+ Bv). T5 was found to be superior in shoot fresh and dry weight, berry fresh and dry weight, number of berries and 133 seed yield per plant and total dry matter production (97.48, 17.51, 8.85 and 5.32 g plant-1 , 90.56, 7.35, 18.89 g plant-1 respectively, which was observed to be on par with T7. All the said parameters were significantly lower in untreated control. Seedlings treated with bacterial suspension of B. velezensis (Bv) recorded highest chlorophyll content in the leaves of W. somnifera at the time of harvest. The highest total alkaloid content in leaves (7.86 µg 100 mg-1 ) was recorded in dual combination of Bp+Bv which was on par with the other combinantions, Bam+Bv (T5) and Bam+Bp+Bv (T7). T5 recorded the highest protein and carbohydrate content (2.96 and 23.30 mg 100 mg-1 respectively) in the roots which was on par with T7. The withanolide content was superior (7.46 µg mg-1 ) in T7, Bam+Bp+Bv which was on par with T5, Bam+Bv and T6, Bp+Bv. The yield of biochemical parameters on per plant basis viz., total leaf alkaloids, total root withanolides were the highest (397.44 µg plant-1, and 10.77 mg plant-1 respectively) in trio combination of T7 which was on par with dual combination T5. The control treatment recorded significantly lower values in all the biochemical parameters observed. In the first phase of the study, the trio combination of Bam + Bp+ Bv (T7) gave the best performance in terms of seed germination, seedling growth and seedling vigor index, In the second phase, Bam + Bp+ Bv (T7) and Bam+ Bv (T5) gave superior performance, in terms of plant growth, yield and biochemical parameters.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of medicinal plant-based formulations for growth, yield and pest management in chilli (Capsicum annuum Linn.)(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2021) Shafreena Shirin, P; KAU; Lissamma, JosephPest management is one of the important components of crop management to mitigate economic losses of agricultural crops and commodities. The harmful effects of chemical pesticides on environment and health concern have caused a shift to adapt various ecofriendly ways of pest management. Therefore, botanical pesticides are gaining popularity because they are safe to use on crops produced for human consumption and recently there is a lucrative market among consumers willing to pay more for organically produced food. This positive trend has encouraged the research field to focus more on ecofriendly and effective pest management strategies. A study entitled “Evaluation of medicinal plant-based formulations for growth, yield and pest management in Chilli (Capsicum annuum Linn.)” was carried out at the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara during the period from October 2020 to May 2021 with Chilli variety Anugraha as the test crop. Three medicinal plant based trial products (P1, P2, and P3) and their combinations (P4, P5 and P6), developed and screened at Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Research Station (AMPRS), Odakkali were utilized for the study. P1 was developed from Vayambu (Acorus calamus), P2 from Manja Koova (Curcuma zedoaria), P3 from Erukku (Calotropis gigantea), P4 from Acorus calamus and Curcuma zedoaria, P5 from Curcuma zedoaria and Calotropis gigantea and P6 from Acorus calamus and Calotropis gigantea. Solid soap formulations of these three and their combination were evaluated at one and two per cent concentrations at ten days intervals along with an absolute control (T13- 1% soap solution without any botanicals) and positive control (T14-1% Neem garlic extract). The growth parameters like plant height (cm), leaf length (cm), breadth (cm),and days to 50 per cent flowering and fruiting, yield characters like fruit length (cm) and breadth (cm), fruit weight (g), number of fruits and fresh fruit yield per plant and qualitative characters like Vitamin C (mg 100g-1 ) and oleoresin content (%) were recorded. Statistical comparison of morphological and qualitative parameters under various treatments was done through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using KAU GRAPES software. Effect of spraying the liquid formulations of medicinal plant based products and their combinations against sucking pests like thrips, whitefly and aphids during the experimental period (December, 2020 to May, 2021) were studied. Population density of sucking pests viz. thrips, white fly and aphids were recorded. Data on mean population of sucking pests were tested by analysis of covariance (ANOCOVA) using R studio software, taking population counts prior to the treatments application as covariate. The result obtained was subjected to Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) and treatments were analysed. The plant height showed an increasing trend from one month after transplanting to five month after transplanting. The increment in plant height was reduced from three months onwards after attaining the reproductive stage. The maximum cumulative plant height of 61.05 cm was observed in T3 (Calotropis gigantea at 1%) among the treatments.The maximum cumulative leaf length of 5.82 cm was observed in T2 (Curcuma zedoariaat 1%). The maximum cumulative leaf breadth of 2.87cm was observed in T14 (Pest management as per Organic POP). Days to 50 per cent flowering for different treatments varied from 42.66 to 47.66 days. The minimum days to 50 per cent flowering recorded in T5- Curcuma zedoaria at 2 per cent and T6- Calotropis gigantea at 2 per cent. Days to 50 per cent fruiting for different treatments varied from 55 to 62.66 days. Treatment T9- Curcuma zedoaria and Calotropis gigantea at 1 per cent recorded minimum days to 50 per cent fruiting (55 days). Fruit length of chilli variety Anugraha under different treatments varied from 6.13 cm to 6.80cm. The maximum fruit length of 6.8 cm was recorded in T6 (Calotropis gigantea at 2%). Fruit breadth (cm) varied from 2.16 to 2.76 cm. The maximum fruit breadth of 2.76 cm was recorded in T5- Curcuma zedoaria at 2 per cent. Per fruit weight ranged from 1.22 to 1.63 g. The maximum per frit weight of 1.63 g was recorded in T3 (Calotropis gigantea at 1%).The number of fruits per plant ranged from 35.15 to 104.95 and the maximum number of fruits per plant (104.95) was recorded in T6- Calotropis gigantea at 2 per cent. The fresh fruit yield per plant ranged from 54.95 to 121.90 g. Treatment T6 (Calotropis gigantea at 2%) recorded the maximum fresh fruit yield per plant. Factors which influence the yield of the crop like maximum plant height, earliness (minimum days to 50 per cent flowering and fruiting), maximum fruit length, maximum number of fruits per plant were recorded in T6 (Calotropis gigantea at 2%). There was no significant difference for the qualitative characters like Vitamin C (mg 100g-1 ) and oleoresin content (%) with respect to the application of the medicinal plant based formulations. Efficacy of medicinal plant based formulations was studied against various sucking pests during the experimental period. Calotropis gigantea based pesticidal soap formulation showed comparatively good results against thrips population in chilli variety Anugraha under different treatments. Minimum population of whitefly was observed in the treatment T4- Acorus calamus at 2 per cent among various treatments. Acorus calamus based formulation also showed good results with lower pest load against aphids. In general, over all disease incidence in the treatment plot was negligible during the experimental period and Calotropis and Acorus based formulations were showed comparatively good performance in the aspects of growth, yield and pest management in chilli variety Anugraha.ThesisItem Open Access Germination and plant growth responses in Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera (L.) Dunal) and Kiriyathu (Andrographis paniculata (Burm.F.) Nees) to seed pretreatments(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2020) Namitha, Nadesh; KAU; Deepa S, NairGermination and plant growth responses in Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) and Kiriyathu (Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees) to seed pretreatments. The present investigation entitled “Germination and plant growth responses in Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) and Kiriyathu (Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees) to seed pretreatments” was conducted in the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2018-2020 with the objective to standardize pretreatment of seeds for enhanced germination and plant growth in W. somnifera and A. paniculata. The seeds of W. somnifera and A. paniculata used for the study were sourced from Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat, India. The study was carried out in two phases: Phase 1- Pretreatment of seeds for enhanced germination; Phase 2- Evaluation of transplanted seedlings obtained from pretreated seeds for enhanced plant growth. The seeds of W. somnifera and A. paniculata were subjected to various pretreatments viz., physical treatment, hormonal priming, biostimulant priming and biopriming (using microbes). The seeds kept for germination without any pretreatment were taken as the control. In the first phase of the study in W. somnifera, seeds subjected to water soaking recorded higher germination (84.00 per cent), seedling length (13.30 cm) and seedling vigour index (11.16) which were on par with that of hot water treatment. Among the hormonal priming treatments, seeds exposed to GA3 @1500 μM recorded the highest germination (82.00 per cent), seedling length (14.40 cm) and seedling vigour index (11.80) which were found to be on par with GA3 @1500 μM. In biostimulant seed priming, PG @ 10μM primed seeds recorded higher germination (64.00 per cent), seedling length (10.57cm) and seedling vigour index (6.67) and were found to be on par with those of PG @ 1μM primed seeds. The biopriming treatments had no significant effect on germination and seedling length. However, significantly higher seedling vigour index was observed in all the biopriming treatments over the control treatment. Among all the pretreatments tried, water soaking treatment, hot water treatment, GA3 @ 1500μM was recorded significantly higher germination, seedling length and seedling vigour index. In the second phase of the study, the 30 day old seedlings of W. somnifera raised from pretreated seeds and untreated (control) seeds were transplanted and evaluated for plant growth and yield (shoot and root biomass), at harvest (120 DAS). Among the physical treatments, W. somnifera plants derived from water soaked seeds were observed to give higher plant height (60.80cm), number of branches (5.00), collar girth (0.47 cm), shoot biomass (fresh-37.61 g plant-1; dry -7.17 g plant-1) and root biomass (fresh-5.60 g plant-1; dry-0.79 g plant-1). These were observed to be on par in plants from hot water treated seeds, except for the number of branches and shoot biomass. Among the hormonal priming treatments, plants from GA3 @ 1500 μM primed seeds recorded higher plant height (55.57cm), shoot (fresh-27.73 g plant-1; dry-5.09 g plant-1) and root (fresh-5.60 g plant-1; dry-0.79 g plant-1) biomass. The plant height and shoot biomass were found to be on par with that of GA3 @ 1500 μM. In biostimulant priming, plants generated from PG @ 10 μM treated seeds gave the highest plant height (46.37 cm), shoot (fresh-21.40 g plant-1; dry-3.96 g plant-1) and root (fresh-4.36 g plant-1; dry-0.64 g plant-1) biomass. The plant height and shoot biomass were observed to be on par with that of PG @ 1μM. However, the highest number of branches and collar girth were recorded in plants raised from PG @ 1μM and SA @ 1500 μM primed seeds. Among the biopriming treatments, plants derived from the seeds treated with B. pumilis, recorded higher plant height (47.63 cm), number of branches (3.00), shoot (fresh-23.07 g plant-1; dry-4.39 g plant-1) and root (fresh-4.43 g plant-1; 0.63 g plant-1) biomass. The plant height and shoot weight was on par with that of P. fluorescens and the plants from the same treatment recorded the highest collar girth. Among the various pretreatments tried, plants raised from water soaked seeds gave better performance with respect to plant height, number of branches, collar girth and shoot biomass. The plants from hot water treated and GA3 @ 1500μM primed seeds gave the highest root biomass, which was observed to be on par with that in plants from water soaked seeds. In the first phase of the study in A. paniculata, seeds when exposed to physical treatments, higher germination (84.67 per cent), seedling length (15.93 cm) and seedling vigour index (13.38) were recorded in hot water treatment followed by scarification. Among the hormonal priming treatments, GA3 @1500μM primed seeds recorded the highest germination (82.00 per cent), seedling length (16.37 cm) and seedling vigour index (13.42). With respect to biostimulant seed priming, seeds treated with PG @ 1μM recorded higher germination (66.67 per cent) and seedling vigour index (6.03), while seedling length did not show any variation among the biostimulant treatments. Among the biopriming treatments, seeds primed with B. velezensis recorded the highest germination (82.67 per cent), seedling length (11.33 cm) and seedling vigour index (9.29). In A. paniculata, among all the pretreatments tried hot water treated as well as GA3 @ 1500 μM primed seeds recorded higher germination, seedling length and seedling vigour index. In the second phase of the study in A. paniculata, the 30 day old seedlings from pretreated seeds and untreated (control) seeds were transplanted and evaluated for plant growth and yield (whole plant biomass) at harvest (110 DAS). Among the physical treatments, A.paniculata plants derived from hot water treated seeds recorded higher plant height (55.77 cm), number of branches (21.67), collar girth (1.83 cm) and whole plant biomass (fresh-59.60 g plant-1; dry-21.90 g plant-1) at harvest. These were on par with those of scarified seeds. In hormonal priming, the highest plant height (56.80 cm), number of branches (20.00), collar girth (1.90 cm) and whole plant biomass (fresh-56.63 g plant-1 and dry-23.60 g plant-1) were observed in plants raised from seeds primed with GA3 @1500μM. Among the biostimulant priming, higher plant height (48.57 cm), number of branches (16.00), collar girth (1.20 cm) and whole plant biomass (fresh-38.97g plant-1 and dry-13.14g plant-1) were observed in plants raised from PG @1 μM primed seeds. On evaluation of plants derived from bioprimed seeds, those from B. velezensis primed seeds recorded the highest plant height (55.77 cm), number of branches (19.33), collar girth (1.50 cm) and whole plant biomass (fresh-53.97 g plant-1; dry16.87 g plant-1). Among all the seed pretreatments tried, plants generated from hot water treated and GA3@1500μM primed seeds recorded higher plant height, number of branches, collar girth and whole plant biomass. Among the various seed pretreatments tried, W. somnifera seeds exposed to water soaking, hot water and GA3@1500μM and A. paniculata seeds exposed to hot water treatment and GA3@1500μM recorded superior performance with respect to seed germination, seedling vigour, plant growth and yield.ThesisItem Open Access Economic Feasibilityb of Betelvine as an Intercrops in Rubber Holdings of Mavelikkara Taluk(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture,Vellanikkara, 1993) Vijayakumari, P R; KAU; Nazeem, P AA study has been conducted to analyse the economic feasibility of betelvine as an intercrop in the rubber holding of Mavelikkara taluk . Only five units having betelvine as intercrop could be identified in this area. One hundred other holding 20 each of betelvine as pure crop, plantain as intercrop, plantain as pure crop having covercrop and without any intercrop were also selected for the study . The study revealed that only a small portion of the holding was occupied by the betelvine, when it was treated as an intercrop. The cost of cultivation was found to be very high when compared with other cash crops. This might be the reason for limiting the cultivation to a small portion. This was confirmed by the fact that betelvine as pure crop was also limited in extent. The benefit cost analysis of the above crops revealed that betelvine cultivation was highly profitable with a benefit cost ratio of 2.51 in the intercropped area and was significantly higher than that for plantain which is the other common intercrop. The soil analysis data showed that betelvine absorbed lesser nutrients than plantain . The rubber plants of betelvine intercropped area showed vigorous growth than other intercrops which was due to the regular irrigation and fortnightly application of organic manure to the betelvine. Though the cost of cultivation was very high for betelvine , it could be recommended as an intercrop in the rubber holdings where there is availability of water throughout the year since it ensures substantial weekly income for the grower and his family. Though betelvine could be treated as a perennial crop, the farmers choosing it as an intercrop in rubber holdings will have to sacrifice the same by the fourth year when the rubber canopy closes to the full extent. Hence, we can suggest betelvine as an intercrop in rubber holdings only if land is too scare for its monoculture.ThesisItem Open Access Comparative study of fertilizer recommendations based on soil and leaf analysis vis a vis blanket recommendations of rubber board(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1992) Rajendran, P V; KAU; Nazeem, P AA case study was made to assess the comparison of the dosage of fertilizer recommendation based on soil and leaf analysis vis-à-vis blanket recommendation of the rubber Board. Almost all estates in our country are practicing this method of fertilizer application and systematic data is available only from large estates.. Hence the case study was confined to Estate Sector. From the soil analytical values and economics of fertilizer usage of the nine estates studied, the following observations are made. 1. In general organic carbon status of the soil was found to be medium, though high values were also recorded in some fields. 2. The available phosphorus status of the soil was found to be low in most of the cases. 3. Except in one estate, all the estates were low in available potassium. The observation on the leaf analytical value are as follows: 1. Nitrogen status was in the medium range in most of the cases and only in few cases it is high. 2. Leaf phosphorus was found to be in medium to high range inspite of low available soil phosphorus. 3. Leaf potassium also followed same trend as leaf phosphorus. Economics of fertilizer usage based on soil and leaf analisis revealed the following: Savings in quantity as well as the cost of fertiliser could be made in seven estates. The cost of fertilizer saved per hectare was found to be Rs. 31.23. Eventhough in two estates no savings in quantity as well as in the cost of fertilizer could be made by adopting discriminatory approach, it was possible to maintain the balance among the nutrients in these estates preventing the likely drop of yield.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of ocimum lines for herbage yield oil content and eugenol(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1988) Maya, S Nair; KAU; Sreekandan Nair, GInvestigations on “Evaluation of Ocimum lines for herbage yield, oil content and eugenol” was carried out at the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 1985-86. Twentyfour Ocimum lines collected from different places from the state and the country along with one strain (Clocimum) released from RRL-Jammu were evaluated adapting simple lattice design with the following objectives. 1) To select better types based on leaf colour aroma and flavour, 2) To study the growth and flushing behaviour of each type and to isolate superior ones having better flushing characters; 3) To select a purple coloured O. sanctum line for the Kerala homesteads; 4) To select eugenol rich strains to undertake large scale cultivation of Ocimum for essential oil production; 5) To explore the possibility of growing Clocimum under Vellanikkara conditions. The crop was raised adopting the standard package of practices recommendations. The main growth parameters studied were plant height, spread, height at first branching, total number of branches per plant, number of days to blooming, intervals of flushing and leaf area. The yield parameters studied were herbage yield per plant, herbage yield per hectare, oil content, oil yield per hectare. An attempt was also made to relate leaf colour and aroma with the eugenol content of different Ocimum lines. The results indicated that the plant height increased with the age of plants. The plant spread and total number of branches per plant were maximum during July-August and afterwards a definite pattern was not observed. Clocimum and O. gratissimum lines branched at lower heights compared to O. sanctum lines. In general, all the lines tested took more time to initial flowering after transplanting, than after first or second harvests. Clocimum and O. gratissimum lines exhibited a tendency for quick flushing but took more days for flowering after each harvest compared to O. sanctum lines. O. gratissimum lines including Clocimum have higher leaf area. The studies on yield parameters revealed that Clocimum was most superior with regard to herbage yield, oil content and eugenol followed by O. gratissimum lines. Clocimum produced a herbage yield of 59.36 tonnes/ha/year. While the highest yielder of O. sanctum produced only 22.93 tonnes/ha/year. The different lines in general, produced maximum herbage and oil yield during second harvest, followed by the third and first harvests, whereas the oil content was maximum during the third harvest followed by the second and first harvests. The percentage of eugenol was maximum in Clocimum (71.82 per cent) followed by a purple coloured O. sanctum line (59.05 per cent) collected from Nellankara, near Trichur. Clocimum produced maximum eugenol per hectare followed by O. gratissimum lines. The scoring on leaf colour and aroma with respect to eugenol content revealed that, green leaved lines had better aroma than purple leaved with one purple coloured line as exception. Here also Clocimum proved its superiority. Economics of cultivation and distillation of different ocimum lines revealed that cultivation of Clocimum is more profitable than all other Ocimum lines evaluated. When we consider the various characters of 25 different Ocimum lines, it is very well clear that Clocimum can be groomed as a commercial crop under Kerala conditions. If there is a preference for purple coloured type of O. sanctum (Krishna Thulsi) the line from Nellankara can be recommended especially for the homesteads. Hence, further investigation to probe the possibilities of growing these promising lines as pure and mixed crops in Kerala and techniques for identifying valuable chemical constituents other than eugenol is suggested.ThesisItem Open Access Deficiency symptoms of mineral nutrients in clove (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. and Perry).(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1989) Nazeem, P A; KAU; Sivaraman Nair, P CExperiments were conducted at the College of Horticulture on nutritional aspects of clove, to study the nutrient deficiency symptoms as well as the distribution pattern of nutrients in starved clove plants. The deficiency symptoms were induced in clove seedlings in sand culture. The distribution pattern of P, S (anions) and Ca (cation) were studied in the nutrient-starved seedlings employing radio isotopes. Besides, the annual nutrient removal and the seasonal fluctuations in the foliar nutrient concentration were studied in bearing clove trees. Older leaves were the first to exhibit 'hunger signs' due to the stress induced by N, P, K and Mg starvation whereas the symptoms, were manifested on the younger growth due to deficiency of Ca, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn and B. General yellowing of the older leaves and early defoliation were the symptoms expressed by N-starved plants. Phosphorus stress resulted in small brownish spots to appear on older leaves of clove seedlings which later coalesced to form necrotic patches.ThesisItem Open Access Optimizing propagation techniques in neelayamari (Indigofera tinctoria L.)(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Mekha Mariam, Abraham; KAU; Krishnakumary, KIndia is acknowledged as one of the world’s richest treasure trove of medicinal plants. Neelayamari (Indigofera tinctoria L.) commonly known as ‘Indian indigo’, is a commercially grown leguminous plant of medicinal importance. The extract of the leaves is reported to have remarkable effect on hair growth and in preventing juvenile greying of hair. Due to the presence of many worthy phytochemicals, the crop is being documented in ‘Ashtangahridaya’ and is being cultivated by several pharmaceutical entrepreneurs, both in public and private sector. Like most of the medicinal plants, the cheapest method of propagation of this crop is through seeds. However, poor germination and vigour of seeds is a major problem in Neelayamari. In addition, heavy loss in seed yield occurs due to the splitting of pods at maturity. The study ‘Optimizing propagation techniques in Neelayamari (Indigofera tinctoria L.)’ was conducted in the Department of Plantation crops and Spices, with the objectives of standardizing the physiological maturity stage in Indigofera tinctoria L. for seed harvest, presowing seed treatments to enhance seed quality and longevity and vegetative propagation technique in Indigofera tinctoria L. through stem cuttings. In order to assess the stage of attainment of physiological maturity for seed harvest in Neelayamari, flowers were tagged on the day of anthesis and the pods were harvested at five days interval from 30 days of anthesis up to the pod splitting stage (63 days after anthesis). It was observed that the values of pod, seed and seedling characters increased up to 45 days after anthesis to reach their highest and thereafter declined till the pod splitting stage (63 days after anthesis). Germination and vigour indices at 45 days after anthesis were 73.80 per cent, 485 and 294 respectively and those at the pod splitting stage were found to be 31.33 per cent, 132 and 65 respectively. Hence, it was inferred that the seeds of Neelayamari reached physiological maturity stage by 45 days after anthesis. The seeds harvested at physiological maturity were dried to 8 per cent moisture content and subjected to various seed treatments before being packed in 700 gauge polyethylene bags. Untreated seeds served as the control. The seeds were stored under ambient conditions upto six months. The scarification treatments included treatment with Conc. H2SO4 for 5, 10 and 15 minutes, mechanical scarification with sand, hot water treatment at 80oC for 20 minutes and 60oC for 30 minutes and hydration for 24 hours. The quality parameters of the stored seeds were recorded at monthly intervals during the storage period and were put for germination test in sterilized sand media. Results pointed out that most of the seed treatments were effective in enhancing germination. High initial germination was recorded in mechanically scarified (95.83 %) and hydrated seeds (93.27%), while the untreated seeds showed a germination of 74.33 per cent. Vigour index I (703 and 698 respectively) and II (430 and 428 respectively) were also the highest in these treatments. Seed treatment with sulphuric acid, however, proved to be detrimental. Seed treatment also helped in extending the viability of the seeds. Mechanically scarified and hydrated seeds retained their germination above 60 per cent for six months during storage (65.67% and 63.67% respectively), while, in untreated seeds, germination reached 61.33 per cent at four months of storage and declined to 44.34 per cent by six months of storage. Seeds treated with sulphuric acid never attained the germination of sixty per cent throughout the storage period and those treated with sulphuric acid for 15 minutes failed to germinate at sixth month of storage. EC was found to be the lowest in hydrated seeds (0.0011 dSm-1) and mechanically scarified seeds (0.0012 dSm-1). The results thus indicated that mechanical scarification of seeds or hydropriming for 24 h can not only improve seed germination and seed quality but also prolong the longevity of the seeds. It was also noticed that all the seed quality parameters declined along the storage period. Attempt to assess the possibility of vegetative propagation in Neelayamari was carried out using hardwood, semi-hardwood and softwood cuttings, exposed to varying doses of IBA (250 ppm, 500 ppm, 750 ppm, 1000 ppm, 1500 ppm, 2000 ppm and 2500 ppm) and charcoal slurry dip. The cuttings were planted in polythene bags and were maintained in a mist chamber. Initially, the experiment was conducted during summer season and only the softwood cuttings treated with 2000 (8.89%) and 1500 ppm IBA (5.53%) survived after 60 days of planting, while all others withered and dried off. The experiment was then repeated during rainy season and the best results were obtained in the season. Softwood cuttings treated with 2000 ppm IBA during rainy season exhibited early sprouting (7.18 days) and a field establishment of 70.67 per cent. In comparison, the semi-hardwood and hardwood cuttings exhibited very low establishment rates of 21.77 per cent and 17.90 per cent respectively. Hence, it was evident that vegetative propagation using softwood cuttings treated with 2000 ppm IBA during rainy season can be relied upon as an alternative propagation method in Neelayamari.
