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ThesisItem Open Access Study of the economic effects of the Punjab canal colonies(University of Leeds, 1925) Bajwa, Kapur SinghTo readers interested in the material progress of the Province, no introduction seems necessary for so fascinating, a subject as the "Enonomic effects of the Punjab Canal Colonies. The origin, growth and development of the Canal colonies is an interesting and surprising miracle of the 20th century -a miracle which has given rise to an important trading city like Lyallpur, the capital of the Lower Chonab Colony. The development of the Lower Bari Doab Colony has an importance of its own as it is the youngest of all its sister colonies and as most of us have seen the change that has come over the new Bar. One can see what it was like less than ten years ago as one passes in the Karachi mail through the desert skirting the youngest Canal Colony, not a vestige of cultivation on either side: only sand hills and a barren plain, dreariness unreclaimed save by the vivid mirage of water and trees. How this blight and hideousness of land, was redeemed by the miracle of the 20th century and what are the consequences of this change form the scope of my thesis. I have chosen what appears to me to be the notable features and grouped round them the circumstances which led to them and the consequences which came from them. It has not been possible, however, to mention all the noteworthy points in the development of different colonies and my apologies are, therefore, due for any partiality or neglect which I may appear to have done. I have deliberately given much attention and large space to Chapter LV (on means of communications) as the prosperity of colonies very much depends upon the progress and improvements effected in their means of communication and I feel therefore no hesitation in quoting A. Smith, that "improvement in the means of transport is the greatest of all the agricultural improvements". Chapter V (on population is meant to indicate the relation between migration of population and canal irrigation. Chapters VL & VII (dealing with depressed classes and the janglis respectively) are important both from social and economic point of view. The importance of Chapter VIII (unrocognised assets of the Canal Irrigation) lies in its exposition or a few important effects which are generally overlooked by a superficial observer. Chapters XI (experiment of co-operative sale) is very important from the present day stand point and the Chapter XIII dealing with the problem or indebtedness has much bearing upon the Chapter XI. The latter is a remedy of the economic ills of indebtedness diagnosed in the former. As for my appendices, I may submit that they form an integral part of my thesis and therefore deserve a careful perusal. Appendix "A" is based on an inductive enquiry into the village No. 369 near Cora, district Lyallpur. The usefulness of Appendix "B" lies in its reference to sufferings and hardships undergone by early colonists and also in its real story of a Sufaid Posh grantee.ThesisItem Restricted Use of bioinsecticides in compost for button mushroom cultivation(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Simran; Sharma, ShivaniAgaricus bisporus is the most commonly cultivated edible variety in the world which possesses an ability to grow on agricultural wastes. Therefore, the present study has dealt with the use of pre botanical insecticides such as neem powder, vinegar, castor powder and two biological insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis and Beauveria bassiana to study its effect on mycelial growth of A. bisporus on PDA medium and wheat straw based compost. Maximum growth of 55mm and 29mm was recorded with neem powder on PDA and compost respectively. However, vinegar and Bacillus thuringiensis also showed significant mycelial run on PDA as well as compost. The natural insecticides were supplemented @0.5 to 4.5% (w/w) in ready compost and spawned @1.0% in compost. The supplementation of neem powder @1.5% showed significantly improved yield potential 43.40% and increased number of fruit bodies 37.55%. In case of castor powder (0.5 to 4.5% v/w), supplementation @ 4.5% (v/w) showed an increase of 23.22% in yield of button mushroom. An increase upto 20.23% and 46.42% in yield and fruit bodies was observed when vinegar was supplemented @2.5%. Bacillus thuringiensis supplementation @2.5% showed maximum yield potential 33.96%. Similarly, Beauveria bassiana was supplemented at a population of 3.4×107 cfu/ml @0.54.5% (v/w) in compost which significantly improved the yield upto 14.44% and 12.62% when Beauveria bassiana was supplemented @1.5% and 0.5% at the time of spawning. Thus, it was concluded from our study that plant-derived products can be recommended to substitute for synthetic chemicals in the commercial production of edible mushrooms.ThesisItem Open Access Dissipation kinetics of imazethapyr and its effect on soil enzymes(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Lovedeep Kaur; Pervinder KaurFate of herbicide in soil is greatly affected by several factors viz. soil properties, temperature, and application rate. The present study assesses the degradation dynamics of imazethapyr in soils of Punjab under laboratory conditions. The dissipation of imazethapyr followed biphasic first order kinetics and soil type, application rate and temperature greatly influenced the dissipation behavior of imazethapyr. The half-life of imazethapyr for the first relatively faster phase was 5.87 to 7.47 days and it ranged from 76.50 to138.68 days in second relatively slower phase in studied soils. The adsorptive potential was probably responsible for the difference in dissipation rate between the studied soils. Degradation rate of imazethapyr increased with temperature and its half life ranged from 76.50 to138.68, 79.44 to 142.92 and 83.31 to 145.09 days at 25, 35 and 45°C. The presence of imazethapyr metabolites was also detected in studied soils using LC-MS/MS. Imazethapyr get degraded into three metabolites which ultimately get mineralized to carbon dioxide as end product. Variation in physicochemical properties of soils and applied herbicide changed the period of appearance and persistence of the metabolites. Imazethapyr application has short lived as well as transitory effect on dehydrogenase activity (DHA), alkaline phosphates activity (APA) and soil microbial biomass at all application levels but urease activity remains unaffected.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of antioxidant activity in selenium biofortified oyster mushrooms; Pleurotus spp.(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Sravani, Anduri; Sharma, ShivaniPleurotus florida, P. eryngii, P. cornucopiae and P. djamor were studied for comparing the effect of selenium biofortification on antioxidant activity. Maximum radial growth, biomass production and total soluble protein content of mycelium were observed @ 5 mg L-1 in P. florida (9.00 mm/day, 88.0 g L-1 and 2.28 mg g-1 respectively), @ 10 mg L-1 in P. cornucopiae (8.02 mm/day, 58.3g L-1 and 1.94 mg g-1 respectively), P. djamor (7.11 mm/day, 88.5g L-1and 1.97 mg g-1 respectively) and @ 20 mg L-1 sodium selenate supplementation in P. eryngii (8.56 mm/day, 77.0 g L-1 and 2.55 mg g-1 respectively). The highest Se content was observed at 20 mg L-1 of Se concentration in P. djamor (920.32 µg g-1dw), followed by P. florida (880.61 µg g-1dw), P. eryngii (850.27 µg g-1dw) and P. cornucopiae (792.72 µg g-1dw). SEM studies showed that 10 mg L-1 Se concentration was best for the growth of P. florida, P. eryngii, P. djamor and P. cornucopiae and the mycelial texture became coarser and fragile in response to increased concentration of Se. EDS analysis showed that the % weight and atomic % of Se were highest in 10 mg L-1 Se supplementation treatment in all the four Pleurotus spp. There was no significant difference in the biological efficiency (%) of P. florida (66.50 vs 64.57), P. cornucopiae (36.74 vs 33.11), P. eryngii (30.41 vs 27.16) and P. djamor (30.14 vs 29.16) cultivated on Se-enriched and non-enriched wheat straw respectively. The total soluble protein content, total phenolic content, flavonoid content and free radical scavenging activity (%) were found to be highest in Se enriched fruit bodies when compared to control samples in all the four Pleurotus spp. Elemental analysis of Se biofortified Pleurotus mushrooms using SEM-EDS showed signals characteristic for selenium on the surface of P. florida and P. djamor conforming that the selenium was incorporated into the cell wall of these mushroom fruiting bodies and were absent in P. eryngii and P. cornucopiae. The Se content was found to be 22.34 µg g-1dw in Se enriched wheat straw and 0.059 µg g-1dw in respective non-enriched wheat straw. Se content of Se-enriched fruit bodies were found to be higher as compared to non-enriched fruit bodies of P. florida (124.00 vs 2.48 µg g-1dw), P. eryngii (57.25 vs 0.49 µg g-1dw), P. cornucopiae (46.25 vs 0.161 µg g-1dw) and P. djamor (156.6 vs 4.33 µg g-1dw). FT-IR spectra of proteins from all the four Pleurotus spp. indicated an increase in flexibility, unfolding and hydrophilicity upon Se supplementation. Therefore, Pleurotus spp. can be used as an excellent nutraceutical with numerous health benefits.ThesisItem Open Access Processing suitability of chili varieties for value added products(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Manpreet Kaur; Sachdev, Poonam A.The present investigation entitled ―Processing suitability of chili varieties for value-added products‖ was carried out with the objectives to assess the physicochemical, phytochemical and antioxidant activity of Punjab Sindhuri and CH-27 chili varieties, development of chilli paste with enhanced shelf stability, drying characteristics of chili varieties and preparation of value added products with greater shelf stability and to extract oleoresins by using conventional and non-conventional methods. The CH-27 contained highest total soluble solids (5º Brix), total solids (20.7%), ash content (1.47%), total sugars (4.4mg/100 gm), crude fibre (9.81%), total phenolics (276 mg/100ml), ascorbic acid (132.17 mg/100 gm) and capsaicin (1.17%), while Punjab sindhuri contained highest total chlorophyll (10.43), carotenoids (12.05mg/100 gm), β-carotene (5.85mg/100 gm) and lycopene (3.2µg/100 gm). Among different drying techniques, freeze drying at -40ºC showed significantly highest retention of physicochemical, phytochemical and antioxidant properties in both chili varieties. During 8 months storage (room as well as refrigeration), honey chili sauce containing CH-27 (red) showed utmost retention of total phenolics (679.46mg/100ml), β-carotene (308 mg/100 gm), lycopene (4.59µg/100 gm), per cent inhibition of DPPH (52.02%), FRAP (3.43 mM/100 gm), while honey chili sauce containing Punjab sindhuri (red) significantly retained maximum total solids (84.49%) ascorbic acid (5.54mg/100 gm), color a value (4.84), ash content (2.86%) and total sugars (63.56 gm/100 gm). Red and green form of both chili varieties were processed into the paste and stored at the room as well as refrigeration temperature. The chili paste yield was found significantly higher for Punjab sindhuri (green and red) than CH-27. Treatment containing 0.2gm KMS + 0.2gm sodium benzoate + 1ml acetic acid + 5gm NaCl per 100 gm of chili paste was found to be effective for the better retention of physicochemical, phytochemical and antioxidant activity during 10 months duration of storage. Highest oleoresin yield i.e.7.1% from Punjab sindhuri red variety was observed with ultrasonication method.ThesisItem Restricted Morpho-physiological responses of Chrysanthemum coronarium and Calendula officinalis to hyperaccumulation of cadmium(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Singla, Himani; Jhanji, ShaliniThe present investigation entitled ―Morpho-Physiological responses of Chrysanthemum coronarium and Calendula officinalis to hyperaccumulation of cadmium‖ was conducted in the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping and Department of Botany, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during the year 2019-20. The seedlings of Chrysanthemum coronarium and Calendula officinalis were planted in pots filled with soil treated with different concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 ppm) of cadmium (Cd ) ,applied as Cd(NO3)2. Growth parameters viz. plant height, number of leaves, leaf area per plant, leaf dry weight, number of flowers, flower diameter, of both the ornamentals were affected with increase in Cd concentration but at 20 ppm there was no adverse effect on growth of Calendula. Cadmium retarded plant growth as dry weight of Chrysanthemum roots declined by 20%, stem by 31% and leaves by 14% under 100 ppm Cd application and the corresponding values for Calendula were 18, 28 and 14% respectively. With increase in Cd concentration, there was reduction in moisture content, relative water content and membrane integrity of leaves and petals of both plant species. Significant reduction in various biochemical parameters viz., total soluble sugars, total soluble proteins, chlorophyll and carotenoid content was also recorded with increase in Cd concentrations. There was increase in Cd content in roots, stem, leaves and flowers of both ornamentals, being higher in Calendula than Chrysanthemum. DTPA-extractable Cd in soil was decreased from equilibrium to budding to commercial harvest and decline being highest under 60 ppm, 45.75% in Calendula and 34% in Chrysanthemum showing greater Cd uptake by roots of Calendula and high mobility index (MI) from soil to root than Chrysanthemum whereas uptake was recorded to be more by stem of Chrysanthemum than Calendula due to its higher biomass. Both Calendula and Chrysanthemum showed Bio-concentration factor (BCF) and Translocation factor (TF) to be more than 1 whereas Enrichment factor (EF) and Remediation factor(RF) were more than 1 in both species but higher in Calendula than Chrysanthemum. Thus, besides commercial significance of Calendula and Chrysanthemum both ornamentals can be used for phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soils.ThesisItem Restricted Production of modified xylans and xylooligosaccharides for valorization of rice straw(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Puneet Kaur; Ramandeep KaurThe present study attempts to valorise rice straw, one of the most abundant, renewable, economic and environment-friendly agricultural wastes, by the production of modified xylans and xylooligosaccharides (XOS). The chemical composition of rice straw was determined using detergent system method and the percent contents of extractives, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and ash (silica) were found to be 20, 41, 24, 9 and 6, respectively. Alkaline extraction procedure employed for extracting hemicellulose was optimized using central composite design of response surface methodology such that maximum yield of hemicellulosic xylan (19.97%) was obtained by carrying out reaction with 11.04% (w/v) NaOH for 3.126 hrs at 80.146 . Hemicellulosic xylan was structurally characterized by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopic studies and subjected to chemical modifications i.e. acetylation, benzylation and carboxymethylation followed by their spectral analysis. Total antioxidant capacity of xylan and modified xylans was evaluated by phosphomolybdenum method using ascorbic acid as standard. Although the ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE) value of xylan was higher than modified products but higher thermal stability of modified xylans may account for their suitability in formation of packaging films. Autohydrolysis of xylan was carried out with dilute sulphuric acid (0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0M) at 121oC, 15 psi for 10 min to obtain XOS-rich autohydrolysates which were qualitatively analysed using thin layer chromatography. These autohydrolysates were found to exhibit significant concentration dependent antioxidant activity and higher prebiotic potential for growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus casei than established prebiotic fructooligosaccharides.ThesisItem Open Access Development of vegetable (red bell pepper powder and paste) enriched traditional Indian bread (kulcha)(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Akashdeep Kaur; Sachdev, Poonam A.The present study was carried out with the objectives to standardise methods, processing conditions (time-temperature combinations) for the preparation of powder and paste of red bell pepper, to optimize the incorporation levels of red bell pepper powder and paste for the development of Indian breads and to evaluate the organoleptic quality and shelf life of functional Indian breads. The raw material selected for the study was red bell pepper (fresh, paste and powder). In this study, the effect of incorporation of various forms of red bell pepper (fresh, powder and paste) on the sensory characteristics, consumer acceptability, texture, colour and nutritional quality of kulcha bread was evaluated. The dried powder at the level of 1.5% and fresh and paste of red bell pepper at the level of 20% were selected for product formation. The product was analysed for various quality characterstics viz. total phenols, antioxidants, Protein, fat, ash, moisture and texture, crude fiber, carotenoids, total plate counts. The product was found to have high functional value due to the high content of phytochemicals like total phenols and antioxidants. During storage period, the physicochemical properties changed non significantly (p<0.05), whereas phytochemical parameters decreased significantly (p<0.05). According to these results, the use of bell pepper can enhance nutritional quality as well as the sensory characteristics of bread.ThesisItem Restricted Morphological and physico-chemical characterization of Indian jujube (zizyphus mauritiana lamk.) germplasm in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Karthik, K P; Gill, Karan Bir SinghThe present investigation entitled “Morphological and Physico-chemical characterization of Indian jujube (Zizyphus mauritiana lamk.) germplasm in Punjab” was conducted at Regional Fruit Research Station, Bahadurgarh, Patiala, Punjab, during 2019-2020. The study had two objectives viz. Morphological and physico-chemical characterization of ber germplam in Punjab and to assess the genetic diversity within 27 genotypes of ber in Punjab. From an already established ber orchard the study was conducted. Throughout its different growth phases different observations were recorded year round, which include tree characters, foliar characters, floral characters, fruit and stone characters. Genotypic variance (42.15) and phenotypic variance (0.02) was found higher for fruit weight and lowest for stone width (0.02) and (0.03). Genotypic coefficient of variation (50.39) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (53.97) was found higher for fruit weight and lowest for leaf length (11.00) and (11.92). Heritability was found maximum for fruit weight (88.16 %), while minimum heritability was found for stone length (63.64 %). Per cent genetic advance was found maximum for fruit weight (97.46 %), while minimum for stone length (20.26 %). Highest positive genotypic correlation was found between fruit width and fruit weight (0.955), highest negative correlation was found between leaf length and fruit weight (-0.391).Highest positive phenotypic correlation was found between fruit width and fruit weight (0.831), highest negative correlation was found between fruit length and leaf length (-0.366). Path coefficient analysis revealed that the indirect effect of stone length through fruit length on fruit weight was recorded highest (0.4643), while indirect effect of stone weight on fruit weight through stone width (-0.2470) was recorded lowest. Based on diversity analysis all the cultivars can be grouped into three clusters but for biochemical data the genotypes under study are divided into two clusters, considering the similarities between the genotypes with respect to biochemical attributes .
