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ThesisItem Open Access Morpho-physiological and biochemical characterization of a recombinant inbred line population of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under direct-seeded aerobic conditions(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2014) Cheema, Amandeep Kaur; Bedi, SeemaDirect seeding of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a resource conservation technology but at the cost of reduction in yield. In the present study, recombinant inbred lines (RILs) obtained from a cross between PR 120 x UPLRi 7 were sown as direct-seeded aerobic and conventional transplanted crops respectively for two seasons. Various morpho-physiological, biochemical and yield related traits were studied under the two conditions. In general, plant height, dry matter, crop growth rate, relative growth rate, leaf area and chlorophyll content were lower under direct-seeded aerobic conditions than under conventional transplanted conditions. Plant height and crop growth rate showed a positive correlation with grain yield and had a direct effect on grain yield. Dry matter accumulation did not show any significant correlation but had an indirect effect on grain yield. Relative growth rate, leaf area and chlorophyll content did not show any correlation or effect on grain yield. All the yield contributing traits viz., above ground biomass, total number of tillers per 0.5m row, number of fertile tillers per panicle per 0.5m row, spikelets per panicle, grain filling percentage, grain yield per 0.5m row, harvest index, 1000 grain weight were lower and sterile grain per panicle were higher in direct-seeded aerobic condition. Above ground biomass and harvest index showed correlation with yield and had a direct effect on grain yield under both direct-seeded aerobic and conventional transplanted conditions. In general, higher sugar, starch and proline content were detected in leaves of direct-seeded aerobic crop. Out of twenty RILs under study, Ae-RIL-B-158, showed highest proline and sugar contents. Interestingly, this RIL showed least reduction in yield when sown under direct seeded-aerobic condition as against conventional transplanted condition suggesting this RIL may be more tolerant to drought stress as it accumulated highest proline and sugars under direct-seeded aerobic condition. The development of aerenchyma was comparatively more in crop raised under conventional transplanted conditions than under direct-seeded aerobic conditions. UPLRi7 (parent) showed maximum aerenchyma under direct-seeded aerobic conditions while PR120 (parent) showed maximum aerenchyma formation under conventional transplanted conditions. Under both the sowing conditions, two high-yielding RILs (Ae-RIL-B-42 and Ae-RIL-B-44) had higher aerenchyma than the two low-yielding RILs (Ae-RIL-B-7 and Ae-RIL-B-117). These characters could be used as criteria for selecting RILs for incorporating into breeding programmes for yield enhancement.ThesisItem Open Access Dynamics of soil phosphorus in relation to carbon under different cropping systems(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2016) Dhram Prakash; Benbi, D.K.Dynamics of phosphorus in soils were studied in relation to nutrient management and land-use practices. The nutrient management practices evaluated included source (rock phosphate and single superphosphate) and rates of P application in rice-wheat system; and integrated nutrient management (INM) and organic farming practices in basmati-wheat system in field experiments conducted at the research farm of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The land-uses studied included ricewheat, maize-wheat, cotton-wheat and poplar based agroforestry systems at farmers’ fields in different districts of Punjab. After seven cycles of rice-wheat cropping, farmyard manure (FYM) and rock phosphate (RP) application increased available P and soil organic carbon (SOC) by 72% and 98%, respectively over control. Inorganic P constituted the largest proportion (88-92%) of total P in soil and relative abundance of different inorganic P fractions in soils followed the order Ca-Al associated > Fe associated > humic bound > water soluble P. In basmati-wheat system, application of recommended rates of NPK and adoption of INM improved available P in soil over unamended control by 75 and 100%, respectively. The comparison of three organic sources revealed that available P was the highest in soil receiving 400 kg N ha-1 through FYM followed by rice straw compost and the lowest in vermicompost-amended plots. Application of FYM significantly increased inorganic, organic and total P, SOC and labile C pools compared to INM treatments. The INM increased inorganic, organic and total P by 77, 82 and 78%, respectively over NPK. Humic-bound organic P constituted major proportion (39.5-49.5%) and water soluble organic P comprised the smallest proportion (0.83-2.5%) of organic P in soils under basmati-wheat system. Beneficial effects of different treatments on soil properties were higher in surface soil (0-7.5 cm), which decreased with soil depth. Generally, soil P fractions were positively correlated with soil C pools. Cumulative P released in 96 hours of equilibration increased with manure and fertilizer application either alone or in combination. Phosphorus release kinetics were best described by Elovich and power function equations (R2≥0.98). Results of land-use studies showed that agroforestry systems had relatively higher proportion of organic P (27%) compared to sole cropping (6-7.7%). Soil organic C was the highest (0.58%) under agroforestry and was significantly correlated with soil P fractions under sole cropping systems. Soil properties viz. clay, organic C, CaCO3 and available P content significantly influenced soil P sorption and release kinetics. Phosphorus release decreased with increase in clay and CaCO3 content. On the contrary, P release increased with increase in available P and organic C. The results suggested that P availability will be higher in coarse-textured, non-calcareous soils having higher levels of organic C and available P. Therefore, for efficient P management it is important to take into account soil texture, the existing soil P level, organic C content and calcareousness of soil. Practices that increase SOC content and ameliorate CaCO3 could lead to improved P use efficiency.ThesisItem Open Access Market orientation and its influence on performance: A study of Textile industry in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2015) Talwar, Lakshdeep; Babita KumarThe present study was conducted to study the extent of market orientation and its influence on performance of textile industry in Punjab. Textile industry in Punjab is mainly in three sectors- cotton, woolen and handloom sectors. A sample of 25 units each from cotton, woolen textile and handloom sectors has been taken. Further from each sector, large and MSMEs were selected on the basis of proportionate sampling. Total 19 large and 56 MSMEs were selected. Primary data related to Market orientation (M.O) and business performance was collected from marketing executives/owners through a well designed structured questionnaire based on a 5 point scale given by Kohli and Jaworski in 1993. The scale was adapted according to the textile industry. The overall extent of M.O of textile industry was found to be very low (mean Score=2.84). Among various sectors, cotton textile sector had slightly better M.O (mean score=3.4) than handloom and woolen sector (mean score=2.6 and 2.7 resp.).The M.O and business performance of textile industry were found to be positively associated but there was no significant relation between market orientation and business performance of textile industry of Punjab.ThesisItem Open Access study of content and quality of disclosures regarding business responsibility and corporate governance(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2015) Manmeet Kaur; Kapur, SandeepThe present study was undertaken for analysing corporate governance(CG) and business responsibility report(BR) of index based(common in Nifty & sensex) companies and non-Index based (listed under indexes other than Nifty & Sensex) companies and to examine the perception of brokers and investors towards both these reports. Secondary Data in form of annual reports was collected for analysing reports. The study regarding perception of investors was conducted in Ludhiana where 20 Brokers and 100 investors were part of sample population. Their perception was tested on usefulness, adequacy in content. Results indicate there is significant difference between disclosures regarding shareholder committee, non-mandatory requirement ,which are part of CG, and principles and significant risk and goals of management, which are part of BR report of index-based and non-index based companies . Response of investors and brokers indicated that non-mandatory disclosure of Corporate governance report is of least use to them and share holder information and party transactions in their view are most useful disclosures of corporate governance report. Business responsibility report according to them contains all useful disclosures but negative consequences of operations on social, environmental and economic fronts disclosure of is most inadequate in terms of content and quality.ThesisItem Restricted Influence of sales promotion activities on consumer buying behaviour: A study of apparel retail outlets of Ludhiana city(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2015) Manoj Kumar; SukhmaniSales promotion can affect consumer’s buying perception and thus there is a likelihood of approaching or avoiding the product or store. Creating superior customer experience seems to be one of the central objectives in today’s retail environments. Customer experience encompasses the total experience including the search, purchase, consumption and after-sales phases of the experiences. All these are closely related to sales promotion planning and have significant impact on the customer experience of a retail firm. Sales promotion could affect shoppers’ behaviors in several ways. The present study was conducted to study was restricted to Ludhiana city. Ten stores from Ludhiana city which qualify the definition of Retail outlet were selected for the study on convenience basis. Further, 10 customers were selected from each store on basis of simple random sampling. Thus, a total sample size of 100 customers was surveyed. Primary data was collected with the help of structured and non-disguised questionnaires and observation chart. To satisfy the first objective data was collected from the store managers with the help of questionnaire and observation chart. Another questionnaire was prepared to satisfy the second objective and data was collected from customers. Data was collected related to sales promotion i.e. displays, discounts, gift vouchers, samples, etc from store managers and customer buying preferences and behavior from customers.ThesisItem Restricted Study of Store Atmospherics in Department Stores and Its Effect on Behavior of Customers(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2015) Sekhon, Navdeep Singh; Banga, GagandeepThe present research was conducted to study the store atmospherics in department stores and its effect on buying behavior of customers. The study was conducted by selecting 10 stores which qualify the definition of Department stores, from Ludhiana city and by selecting 15 customers from each store on basis of systematic random sampling. Thus, a total sample size of 150 customers was selected. Primary data was collected with the help of structured and non-disguised questionnaires and observation chart. Two separate questionnaires were prepared. For the first objective, data was collected from the store managers and by observation chart. For the second objective, data was collected from the customers. The study showed that store atmospherics components are one of the most important tools to attract customers and increase sale. The store atmospheric components are exterior, general interior, store layout and interior display. The most effective store atmospheric components are store interior display and exterior of the department store. The customers feel that store atmospherics increase their comfort level and makes them store loyal.ThesisItem Restricted Study of Productivity and Profitability of Selected Bank in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2015) Jain, Pragya; Sachdeva, Y. P.Banks are considered as the backbone of any economy. Productivity and Profitability of banks enhances the economic health of the country. After liberalization, privatization and globalization of Indian economy, there was paradigm shift in entire country. The waves had also affected banking sector in positive way. The present study is an attempt to evaluate the productivity and profitability of ICICI Bank. ICICI is holding top positions in private sector banks in India. To calculate productivity and profitability, ratio analysis technique was used. The study tried to find out the different ways to measure productivity and profitability of ICICI Bank during the period 2010 to 2014. The methodology involved profitability ratios and employee and branch productivity ratios. The factors affecting productivity, profitability were identified and analyzed by primary data collection from the 20 branches in Punjab. It has been revealed that both the factors are inter related. The productivity of the bank was far better than many banks in the industry. It had been increased over the years and was becoming effective and much better due to the implementation of modern techniques. The profitability analysis justified a growth in all ratios stating the efficient management of funds. The study suggests that to increase profitability banks should embrace to adopt new technology to compete with other banks and also to successfully survive in the market.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation and Use of passenger car portals in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2015) Sidana, Rahul; Dharni, KhushdeepUse of passenger car-portals is on the rise. Present study was undertaken to evaluate selected passengers car-portals through user opinion and content analysis. Use pattern and challenges in face of future use were also explored. One hundred and fifty respondents were selected from three cities of Punjab. Data from the respondents was collected using a pre-structured non-disguised questionnaire. Content analysis of 30 selected car- portals was also undertaken. Results reveal that respondents were using car-portals for seeking information about various car-models and were using various tools and services like EMI calculator, car-accessories, on-road price, user reviews, expert reviews, road-side assistance and car comparison of various car models. About sixty two percent of the respondents were using the car-portals on daily basis. Seventy five percent of the respondents were also using others sources of information for generating information about various car models. Content analysis results by the researcher showed that many of the websites were efficient in providing information. With increasing penetration of internet, the use of car-portals by the people is likely to increase in future.ThesisItem Open Access Corporate Social Responsibility under Companies Act, 2013: A Study of Perceptions of Stakeholders(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2015) Guglani, Rohan; Kapur, SandeepThe present study was conducted to analyze the perceptions of stakeholders regarding the Corporate Social Responsibility clause under Companies Act, 2013. For achieving the first objective, primary data was collected through a structured interview schedule. A sample of 110 respondents was selected on convenience basis. Analysis was done using statistical tools like mean score, standard deviation, Chi square, ANOVA and T-test. The study highlighted that most of the respondents find the introduction of the Corporate Social Responsibility clause as justified. Majority of the respondents are of the view that the limits for the applicability of Corporate Social Responsibility provisions to the companies within the act should be lowered. Respondents were largely of the view that the set of activities eligible under CSR, as specified in the Act should be increased. For achieving the second objective, secondary data was analyzed regarding organization creation for undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Though section 8 company involves complicated legal procedures as well as high cost factor as compared to trust and society but still it is more preferred from the point of view of grant of subsidy by the government as well as from the point of view of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration.