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ThesisItem Restricted Development of lactic acid starter culture based fermented fruit and vegetable juices(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Modi, Ritika; Sahota, ParampalThe lactic acid fermented fruit and vegetable beverages have been developed through controlled fermentation using ten allochthonous high lactic acid producing (0.612-1.35%), phenotypically and genotypically characterized, homo-lactic- Lactic Acid Bacterial (LAB) strains as starter culture consortium. Value-added secondary metabolite enriched Turmeric, Amla, Black carrots (Kanji), and Black pearl grapes-based functional beverages were developed with improved nutritive value (15-35%) antioxidants, (21-63%) polyphenols, (20-42%) flavonoids and (24%) carotenoids; microbial quality (1010 LAB CFU/ml) and acceptability (8±0.2) with shelf life of 90 days. The optimized bioprocess parameters using Box-Behnken Design in Response Surface Methodology with 5% (v/v) (107 CFU/ml) active starter culture for Turmeric beverage -[turmeric 2%w/v), lemon juice (5%v/v), ginger juice (1.5%v/v); dilution ratio (1:3 with sterilised water); salt (1%w/v)]; Amla beverage -[amla juice: guava juice: ginger juice (1:1:1.5 %v/v); dilution ratio (1:3); salt (0.6%w/v)]; Kanji beverage -[black carrots juice (100ml); salt and rye (1.5%w/v); dilution ratio (1:3)]; Grapes beverage -[grapes juice (100ml), lemon juice (8% v/v); dilution ratio (1:1.5); salt (1.2%w/v)], pasteurized at 82ºC for 10-15 sec and fermentation at 37ºC for 28 hrs. A generic HACCP plan determining critical control points on the line was recommended as a food safety tool during the preparation of beverages. Unstructured kinetic model so developed depicts maximum LAB growth at 8th hour and highest ∆pH and Vmax on the 28th hour and 8th hour, respectively. The increase in lactic acid production (0.35, 0.55, 0.96, 0.63 %TA), reduction in pH (4.51, 4.96, 3.76, 2.64) with enhanced functional aspects based on total polyphenols (52.30, 45.58, 41.85, 52.29 gallic acid equivalents mg/100ml) and flavonoids (44.20, 31.13, 43.91, 46.96 quercitin equivalents mg/100ml) with significantly stronger scavenging activities for the 2,2diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical (74.25, 86.36, 86.91, 69.70%) and ferric reducing power (87.9, 94.4, 108.66, 100.3 μM FeSO4 equivalents) was observed for Turmeric, Amla, Kanji and Grapes fermented beverages, respectively. These bio-interventions showed antimicrobial activity against food borne pathogens Staphylococcus aureus MTCC3906, Listeria monocytogenes MTCC657, Klebsiella pneumonia MTCC109, Escherichia coli MTCC443, Aeromonas hydrophila MTCC173, as well arrested the initial phase of MOLT-4 and CaCo2 cancer cells lines, down regulating the expression of proto-oncogenes and up regulating the tumor suppressor gene exhibiting the antitumorigenic effect. Further, hepatoprotective and hypoglycemic effect studies showed administration of functional lactic acid fermented turmeric and amla beverages (10 ml/kg body weight) for 6 weeks, significantly reverse or reduce the physiological, metabolic damage, and histological alterations equivalent to the hepatoprotective drug Liv52 in alcohol-induced liver damaged and hypoglycemic drug glibenclamide in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats, respectively. Further, lyophilised freeze-dried turmeric and amla fermented powders were developed which can be consumed as ready-to-use fermented beverages by reconstitution @2% and @3.2% (with sterilized water) with retention of all properties of freshly prepared beverage prepared.ThesisItem Open Access Evalution of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria As potemtial Biofertilizer For Broccoli ( Brassica Oleracea L.)(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Sharma, Kavia; Jupinder KaurThe present study was carried out with the aim to develop a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial inoculant for improving the growth and yield of broccoli. A total of 24 bacteria were isolated from rhizosphere of broccoli collected from the fields of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and village Sangrur, Mansa, Barnala and Patiala. Biochemical characterization of these rhizobacterial isolates showed that most of these were oxidase, urease, indole, MR and catalase positive and were involved in starch hydrolysis and gelatin liquefaction whereas negative for citrate and VP test. These isolates were screened for multifarious plant growth-promoting traits viz. solubilization of phosphate and zinc, production of IAA, siderophore, ammonia, HCN and growth on nitrogen free medium. Out of 24 isolates, 17 isolates showed solubilization of phosphate on modified Pikovskaya agar with solubilization index ranging from 0.5-4.5 cm and 53.63-178.6 μg/ml in liquid medium. Eleven isolates showed solubilization of zinc oxide (solubilization index: 0.4-1.9 cm), five isolates showed solubilization of zinc carbonate (solubilization index: 0.3-1.2 cm) and zinc phosphate (solubilization index: 0.1-2.5 cm). Siderophore production was exhibited by fourteen isolates (0.3-1.4 cm). All the isolates were positive for auxin (without tryptophan: 2.04- 13.90 μg/ml; with tryptophan: 10.05-32.04 μg/ml) and ammonia production as well as ammonia excretion (1.803.65 μg/ml). The luxuriant growth on different nitrogen free medium was observed for all the isolates and higher HCN production was observed in three bacterial isolates. Out of these 24 isolates, two potential bacterial isolates RP4 and RP5 (which were named as CBF 2) were selected on the basis of PGP traits for evaluation of their potential to promote growth and yield of broccoli under pot as well as under field conditions. In green house experiment, these isolates when used synergistically showed a significant improvement in soil enzymatic activities (viz. dehydrogenase: 26.13 µg TPF formed h-1 g-1 of soil, alkaline phosphatase: 14.02 µg PNP formed h-1 g -1 of soil and urease: 370.80 µg urea hydrolysed formed h-1g -1 of soil) and plant growth parameters (plant height: 45.7 cm, root length: 6.3 cm, stem diameter: 3.9 cm, fresh weight of shoot :167.85 g, dry weight of shoot:35.70 g, number of leaves per plant: 26, days taken to visible curd:56 days, head compactness: 1.36 cm, number of heads/plant: 4 heads, mean head weight: 87 g and floret stalk length: 12.8 cm) over the control as well as other bioinoculants. The field evaluation of these bacterial isolates as consortium along with FYM and inorganic fertilizers was carried out using Palam samridhi variety of broccoli. The combined application of bacterial strains (RP4 and RP5) and FYM resulted in significantly higher soil microbial population and enzyme activities. Significantly higher available nitrogen (137.30 kg ha-1), available phosphorus (34.21 kg ha-1) and available potassium (170.15 kg ha-1) were also observed in treatment having FYM and bacterial inoculants (N75FYM+N25 + CBF 2). Significantly higher plant nutrient uptake of nitrogen (98.87 kg ha-1), phosphorus (24.84 kg ha-1), potassium (182.27 kg ha-1) was observed in (N75FYM+N25+ CBF 2) and higher uptake of micronutrients viz. zinc (75.5 mg/kg), iron (172.16 mg/kg) and manganese content (71.11 mg/kg) were found to be significantly higher in treatment (N100FYM+ CBF 2) having synergistic application of organic and bio-fertilizers. The various growth attributes of broccoli viz. plant height: 42.1 cm, root length: 11 cm, stem diameter: 4.9 cm, fresh weight of shoot: 214.20 g, dry weight of shoot:38.18 g, number of leaves per plant: 29, days taken to visible curd:44 days, head compactness: 1.11 cm, head yield: 153.15 q/acre, number of heads/plant: 6 heads, mean head weight: 88 g and floret stalk length: 12.8 cm was observed to be statistically higher in treatment T10 with combined application of FYM and bacterial isolates (N100FYM+ CBF 2). The study has led to the selection of a plant growth-promoting bacterial consortium as a potential bacterial inoculant for improving the growth, yield and nutrient content in broccoli.ThesisItem Restricted Production and physicochemical analysis of black tea based functional beverage(Punjab Agricultural University, 2022) Tanushree; Katyal, PriyaKombucha is a functional beverage which is usually prepared by fermenting sweetened black tea with Tea fungus (Symbiotic consortium of acetic acid bacteria and different yeast known as SCOBY). Aim of the research was to prepare a fermented kombucha beverage having higher antioxidant activity and sensory acceptance. To produce a sensory acceptable beverage, standardization of inoculum concentration was done, in which 5% inoculum concentration was considered to be appropriate. For production of a fermented beverage with higher amount of antioxidant activity, tea concentration (5-15 g/L) and sugar concentration (40-80 g/L) were statistically optimized by Central Composite Rotable Design in ―Response surface methodology‖ (RSM) using Design Expert 13. Kombucha beverages prepared with different concentration of tea and sugar were fermented for 7 days at 25º C. Kombucha with tea concentration of 15 g/L and sugar concentration of 80g/L was found to be the beverage having highest antioxidant activity. Physicochemical and microbiological properties of Kombucha beverages were analyzed during fermentation and results demonstrated that chemical characteristics such as pH, TSS (ºBrix), total sugars and reducing sugars decreased while titrable acidity, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, vitamin C and alcohol content increased with fermentation time. Developed Kombucha beverages were sensory evaluated by semi-trained panel of judges on a nine point ‗Hedonic scale‘. Fermented Kombucha containing tea concentration of 5 g/L and sugar concentration of 80 g/L received the highest overall acceptability sensory score of 8.15. Kombucha beverages selected by RSM and the one having highest sensory score were stored at refrigerated conditions for 7 week. The parameters viz., pH, TSS (ºBrix), total sugars, reducing sugars, titrable acidity, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, vitamin C content, alcohol content were analyzed at every 7 day interval. Beverage was also checked for contaminants such as coliforms and mold growth. It was found that overall acceptability of Kombucha beverage remained high during the period of 7 weeks.ThesisItem Embargo Compatibility study of Metarhizium rileyi (Farlow) Kepler, S.A. Rehner and Humber with other bioagents and its pathogenicity against Spodoptera frugiperda(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Bharti, Kajal; Joshi, NeelamThree Metarhizium rileyi isolates (M. rileyi NIPHM, M. rileyi MTCC 4254 and M. rileyi MTCC 10395), one local and one commercial formulations of Metarhizium anisopliae were evaluated for their pathogenicity against Spodoptera frugiperda. Maximum percent mortality 50.0% was recorded in M. rileyi MTCC 4254 @ 12 g/l which was at par with commercial formulation of M. anisopliae (53.33%) at same concentration. Bio-safety of M. rileyi formulations on emergence of T. chilonis was studied. Minimum percent reduction in adult emergence over control (17.09%) was recorded by M. rileyi NIPHM followed by M. rileyi MTCC 4254 (17.23%) at higher concentration. However, chemical insecticide Coragen 18.5% SC @ 0.4 ml/l (chlorantraniliprole) and Delegate 11.7% SC @ 0.4 ml/l (spinetoram) recorded 42.09 percent and 62.46 percent reduction in adult emergence over control respectively. Compatibility studies of M. rileyi with chemical insecticides, biological insecticides, azadirachtin and other entomopathogenic fungal strains were recorded. Maximum radial growth (4.7±0.28) was recorded by M. rileyi MTCC 4254 when media was supplemented with Delfin WG @ 6 g/l. The chemical insecticide Coragen 18.5% SC and Delegate 11.7% SC recorded 50.74% and 71.64% growth reduction over control (@ 0.4 ml/l) respectively. Neem based formulations, Ecotin (Azadirachtin 0.03% EC) and Indo neem (Azadirachtin 0.15% EC) recorded 44.77% and 53.73 percent growth reduction over control @ 1.5 ml/l and @ 5 ml/l concentration respectively. Compatibility of M. rileyi was maximum with M. anisopliae (Ma-35) and commercial formulation of M. anisopliae and was least compatible with commercial formulation of L.lecanii.ThesisItem Embargo Bioprocessing of corn stover for bioethanol production(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Mandeep Kaur; Kocher, Gurvinder SinghThe present study was conducted with the objective of standardization and evaluation of an efficient and ecofriendly, method for the pretreatment of corn stover and its subsequent conversion to bioethanol. The proximate analysis of corn stover (500 µ) revealed a composition of cellulose (57.4%), hemicellulose (17.5%), lignin (14.4) and ash (2.2%) in the raw corn stover. Among the different chemical pretreatment methods, acid (1.0% H2SO4) –autoclave (15 psi for 90 min) followed by alkali (2.0% NaOH) pretreatment resulted in 86.8 % and 79.4% decrease in lignin and hemicellulose, respectively and 66.0% increase in relative proportion of cellulose. Among the green solvent methods of pretreatment, organosolv pretreatment methods, acetic acid (40:60, 40%) resulted in 84.6 % and 53.6% decrease in lignin and hemicellulose, respectively and 53.7% increase in relative proportion of cellulose whereas deep eutectic solvent pretreatment, choline chloride-lactic acid (1:8 molar, ratio) resulted in 82.5 % and 33.0% decrease in lignin and hemicellulose, respectively and 69.3% increase in relative proportion of cellulose. For biological pretreatment of corn stover, a two fungal consortium of strains viz. Pleurotus ostreatus PAU03 and Phanerochaete chrysosporium MTCC787 was screened for ligninolytic enzyme production by plate assay on lignin modifying enzyme (LME)- basal medium (LBM), supplemented with 0.01 % (w/v) Azure B and 0.02 % (w/v) Remazole brilliant blue dye and inoculated with agar discs ( 10 mm) of active mycelia. Decolourization of the respective dyes was observed with ligninolytic index of 1.5 and 1.22 for Azure B and Remazole brilliant blue dyes, respectively. The consortium culture of two fungal strains viz. P. ostreatus and P. chrysosporium was used for ligninolytic enzyme production, by using corn stover as substrate. Maximum enzyme activity (U/ml) was recorded on 10th day as 48.33, 61.85 and 40.8 for LiP, MnP, laccase, respectively. The enzyme production was scaled upto 4000ml and the crude extract was concentrated (6.7 times) using acetone and 600 ml concentrated enzyme was produced having enzyme activities (U/ml) 68.89, 41.13 and 110.08 for Lacc, LiP and MnP enzymes, respectively. The latter was partially purified by Fast Performing Liquid Chromatograpgy (FPLC) technique. The enzyme activity (U/ml) of 131.96, 130.38 and 94.21 was recorded for Lacc, LiP and MnP enzymes, respectively in the partially purified enzyme, which was further concentrated (1.5 times) and the enzyme activities (U/ml) of 140.9, 168.53 and 98.05 for Lacc, LiP and MnP enzymes, respectively. This partially purified ligninozyme was used for nanoligninozyme synthesis. In the nanologninozyme (enzyme: sodium:silicate nanohydrate, 1:1) showed the enzyme activities (U/ml) of 128.93, 187.09 and 116.94 for for Lacc, LiP and MnP enzymes respectively. The pretreatment of corn stover with nanoligninolzyme under shake flask conditions (50 ml reaction volume) using optimized physico-chemical parameters viz. corn stover concentration, 2.5 g; enzyme volume, 8.0 ml; Mn2+ ions (0.5 mM) and incubation temperature, 45°C in 72 h of enzymatic action resulted in 87.2% and 67.4% decrease in lignin and hemicellulose, respectively and 80.3% increase in relative proportion of cellulose. The saccharification of pretreated corn stover at different concentrations of corn stover (1.0-10mg) with Arrowzyme (commercial cellulase) at enzyme loading of 30 FPU, resulted in maximum release of reducing sugars (0.396 g/gds) at 2.5g concentration of corn stover. Under these optimized conditions, saccharification of organosolv (acetic acid, 40:60) and biological (nanoligninozyme) pretreated corn stover resulted in release of 0.395 and 0.439 g/g, reducing sugars, respectively. The fermentation of organosolv as well as biological pretreated, and Arrowzyme saccharified corn stover hydrolysate resulted in 0.112 and 0.132 g/gds ethanol, respectively. The fermentation efficiency of 66.54 % [33.9 % yield (yps)] and 70.91 % [36.1 % yield (yps)] was recorded for organosolv and biological pretreatment, respectively.ThesisItem Embargo Evaluation of edible coatings for microbiological and physicochemical quality maintenance of freshcut carrot and cucumber(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Navneet Kaur; PoojaSix different edible coatings including chitosan, pectin, alginate, starch, carrageenan and CMC were evaluated to determine their effect on physicochemical properties and microbial growth inhibition over fresh cut cucumber and carrot. Microbial load over FCV was reduced by 1.03 log cfu/g total plate count, 0.49 log cfu/g yeast and mould, 0.61 log cfu/g coliforms count whereas microbial count over fresh cut carrot got reduced by 0.94 log cfu/g total plate count, 0.54 log cfu/g yeast and mould and 0.73 log cfu/g coliforms after disinfecting fresh cut cucumber and carrot with 100 ppm sodium hypochlorite solution for 23 minutes and 8 minutes at 10°C, respectively. After disinfection pretreatment, fresh cut vegetables were coated with above mentioned edible coatings. Evaluation of coatings showed chitosan and pectin showed comparable effects in restricting the microbial growth over fresh cut cucumber. However, chitosan coated FCV exhibited minimum microbial load over FCV after 9 days of storage as compared to other coatings and control FCV samples with maintaining all other quality attributes. Therefore, chitosan was selected for further optimization studies w.r.t coating concentration and dipping time that was statistically designed and analyzed using response surface methodology. Microbial analysis for TPC, Y&M and coliform count and physicochemical analysis viz. pH, TSS, total sugars, and firmness was taken. Fresh cut cucumber dipped in 1 percent (w/v) for 5 minutes and fresh cut carrot dipped in 1 percent (w/v) for 3 minutes was found to be optimum coating conditions, respectively. The validation investigations carried out at 3 kg scale resulted in firmness 4.5 and 24 (lb), total sugars 3.7 and 6.8 (g/100g), TSS 5.2 and 8.0 (ºB), pH 5.0 and 6.5, TPC 4.0 and 3.9 (log cfu/g) ,Y&M 2.0 and 1.8 (log cfu/g) and Coliforms 2.1 and 2.0 (log cfu/g) in fresh cut cucumber and carrot with desirability of 90 percent and 93 percent, respectively. Shelf life studies of pretreated chitosancoated fresh cut cucumber and carrot FCV cucumber and carrot were tested for a period of 12 days or till deterioration at a regular interval of 3 days under optimal coating conditions. Results revealed that chitosan coated FC cucumber and carrot can be consumed upto 12 days and 15 days, respectively while maintaining their desirable physicochemical and sensory characteristics with microbial loads under acceptable range. Microbial count over chitosan coated FC cucumber on 12th day of storage showed 4.54 log cfu/g TPC, 2.90 log cfu/g Y&M and 2.95 log cfu/g Coliforms under acceptable limits while uncoated samples had microbial count above acceptable limits on 6th day of storage. Microbial count over chitosan coated FC carrot on 15th day of storage showed 4.72 log cfu/g TPC, 2.90 log cfu/g Y&M and 2.95 log cfu/g coliforms under acceptable limits while uncoated samples had microbial count above acceptable limits on 6th day of storage. As a result, the present study found that preteated fresh cut cucumber coated with 1 percent (w/v) chitosan for 5 minutes and fresh cut carrot coated with 1 percent (w/v) chitosan for 3 minutes were able to inhibit the microbial load over FC cucumber and carrot during storage period under refrigeration conditions of 5-7º C maintaining its all physicochemical and sensorial characteristics.ThesisItem Embargo Fermentative production of whey based bread using functional starter yeast(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Gujral, Divya; KeshaniThree indigenous yeast strains namely, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GP4, 11815) and Klueveromyces marxinus (MH6), isolated from traditional fermented products of NorthWestern Himalayas were used in the present study for the production of fermented whey breads. Two commercial yeast (Dry yeast and Compressed yeast) were used as reference. After screening of yeasts, among the three lab yeast strains K. marxianus (MH6) was selected to ferment whey on the basis of its fermentation ability. All the yeast strains were screened for their baking traits (Growth rate, Acid tolerance, Maltose adaptation, Invertase activity, Latent time). S. cerevisiae (GP4) was selected to ferment bread dough on the basis of baking traits as it shows the maximum fermentation capacity in comparison to others. On the basis of physicochemical analysis, nutritional quality and sensory attributes of fermented whey bread using Saccharomyces cerevisisae (GP4) was selected. The conditions optimized for fermented whey based bread production were as following: temperature (230ºC), amount of inoculums (4g), first proofing of dough (2.5 hours), second proofing of dough (30 minutes), baking time (25 minutes). Shelf life of the breads was found to be 4 days , when stored at room temperature.ThesisItem Restricted Evaluation of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria As Potential Biofertilizer For Broccoli ( (Brassica Oleracea L.)(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Sharma, Kavia; Jupinder KaurThe present study was carried out with the aim to develop a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial inoculant for improving the growth and yield of broccoli. A total of 24 bacteria were isolated from rhizosphere of broccoli collected from the fields of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and village Sangrur, Mansa, Barnala and Patiala. Biochemical characterization of these rhizobacterial isolates showed that most of these were oxidase, urease, indole, MR and catalase positive and were involved in starch hydrolysis and gelatin liquefaction whereas negative for citrate and VP test. These isolates were screened for multifarious plant growth-promoting traits viz. solubilization of phosphate and zinc, production of IAA, siderophore, ammonia, HCN and growth on nitrogen free medium. Out of 24 isolates, 17 isolates showed solubilization of phosphate on modified Pikovskaya agar with solubilization index ranging from 0.5-4.5 cm and 53.63-178.6 μg/ml in liquid medium. Eleven isolates showed solubilization of zinc oxide (solubilization index: 0.4-1.9 cm), five isolates showed solubilization of zinc carbonate (solubilization index: 0.3-1.2 cm) and zinc phosphate (solubilization index: 0.1-2.5 cm). Siderophore production was exhibited by fourteen isolates (0.3-1.4 cm). All the isolates were positive for auxin (without tryptophan: 2.04- 13.90 μg/ml; with tryptophan: 10.05-32.04 μg/ml) and ammonia production as well as ammonia excretion (1.803.65 μg/ml). The luxuriant growth on different nitrogen free medium was observed for all the isolates and higher HCN production was observed in three bacterial isolates. Out of these 24 isolates, two potential bacterial isolates RP4 and RP5 (which were named as CBF 2) were selected on the basis of PGP traits for evaluation of their potential to promote growth and yield of broccoli under pot as well as under field conditions. In green house experiment, these isolates when used synergistically showed a significant improvement in soil enzymatic activities (viz. dehydrogenase: 26.13 µg TPF formed h-1 g-1 of soil, alkaline phosphatase: 14.02 µg PNP formed h-1 g -1 of soil and urease: 370.80 µg urea hydrolysed formed h-1g -1 of soil) and plant growth parameters (plant height: 45.7 cm, root length: 6.3 cm, stem diameter: 3.9 cm, fresh weight of shoot :167.85 g, dry weight of shoot:35.70 g, number of leaves per plant: 26, days taken to visible curd:56 days, head compactness: 1.36 cm, number of heads/plant: 4 heads, mean head weight: 87 g and floret stalk length: 12.8 cm) over the control as well as other bioinoculants. The field evaluation of these bacterial isolates as consortium along with FYM and inorganic fertilizers was carried out using Palam samridhi variety of broccoli. The combined application of bacterial strains (RP4 and RP5) and FYM resulted in significantly higher soil microbial population and enzyme activities. Significantly higher available nitrogen (137.30 kg ha-1), available phosphorus (34.21 kg ha-1) and available potassium (170.15 kg ha-1) were also observed in treatment having FYM and bacterial inoculants (N75FYM+N25 + CBF 2). Significantly higher plant nutrient uptake of nitrogen (98.87 kg ha-1), phosphorus (24.84 kg ha-1), potassium (182.27 kg ha-1) was observed in (N75FYM+N25+ CBF 2) and higher uptake of micronutrients viz. zinc (75.5 mg/kg), iron (172.16 mg/kg) and manganese content (71.11 mg/kg) were found to be significantly higher in treatment (N100FYM+ CBF 2) having synergistic application of organic and bio-fertilizers. The various growth attributes of broccoli viz. plant height: 42.1 cm, root length: 11 cm, stem diameter: 4.9 cm, fresh weight of shoot: 214.20 g, dry weight of shoot:38.18 g, number of leaves per plant: 29, days taken to visible curd:44 days, head compactness: 1.11 cm, head yield: 153.15 q/acre, number of heads/plant: 6 heads, mean head weight: 88 g and floret stalk length: 12.8 cm was observed to be statistically higher in treatment T10 with combined application of FYM and bacterial isolates (N100FYM+ CBF 2). The study has led to the selection of a plant growth-promoting bacterial consortium as a potential bacterial inoculant for improving the growth, yield and nutrient content in broccoli.ThesisItem Embargo Assessment of low-cost media for production of liquid wheat consortium biofertilizer(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Samredhi; Suman KumariDifferent media formulations of wheat bran and vegetable waste (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) were evaluated for growth of consortium biofertilizer cultures. The optical density (OD) enhanced gradually from 0 to 5th day followed by constant values onwards. Maximum optical density was recorded in the standard broth i.e., 0.73±0.06, 0.87±0.05 and 0.84±0.03 for Azotobacter sp., Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. respectively, where among the low-cost bioformulations, maximum OD was observed in 40% of wheat bran (WB) in case of Azotobacter sp. (0.63±0.03) and Bacillus sp. (0.67±0.04), while 30% WB was found superior for Pseudomonas sp. (0.83±0.04). Observations revealed that wheat bran portrayed comparatively higher OD for all the bacterial cultures. The viability of consortium biofertilizer cultures was then assessed on the 5th day of incubation where 40% WB exhibited the highest growth for Azotobacter sp. (8.15±0.12 log CFU/ml) and Bacillus sp. (8.77±0.03 log CFU/ml). However, in the case of Pseudomonas sp. 30% WB (8.73±0.21 log CFU/ml) had the highest viable cell density compared to standard broth i.e., 8.34±0.02 log CFU/ml, 8.84±0.40 log CFU/ml and 9.86±0.20 log CFU/ml for Azotobacter sp., Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. respectively. Analysis of different liquid media formulations for indole acetic acid production, ammonia production, phosphate and zinc solubilization revealed that 40% WB followed by 30% WB were found to be the foremost media formulations where among the vegetable waste (VW) concentrations, 40% of VW exhibited the highest values, but were comparatively lower than that of the WB formulations. On the basis growth and multifunctional traits, the treatments were narrowed down to 30% and 40% of WB and 40% of VW and standard broth i.e., Jensen’s broth for Azotobacter sp. and nutrient broth for Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. Assessment for the seedling emergence, shoot and root length of wheat (PBW823) under axenic conditions showed 40% WB to be the most prominent media formulation significantly comparable to standard broth. Additionally, the viable population of consortium biofertilizer cultures was also monitored at monthly interval where gradual decline in the viable cell count for all the treatments in consortium biofertilizer cultures was observed. Standard broth was found to be desirable at 1 month interval followed by sudden drop in the population. It can be deciphered that 30% and 40% of wheat bran can be used as a potential liquid media formulation to develop a low-cost liquid consortium biofertilizer on the condition of its optimization to enhance the growth and shelf life.
