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Studies on avian diversity, biology and behaviour along Beas river conservation reserve
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Sachin Kumar; Kler, Tejdeep Kaur
River Beas was declared as conservation reserve in year 2017 under section 36A of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 but no study is available on the avian diversity along river. Therefore, present study was conducted from April 2019 to March 2021along Beas conservation reserve to understand the avian diversity in various sub habitats present along the river by selecting three locations i.e. Location I (Talwara: In foot hills of Shiwaliks), Location II (Beas: near urban settlement) and Location III (Harike: near rural settlement). Each location was further divided as crop fields, riparian, shallow water, edge, island and river. Study revealed that river Beas provides shelter to 245 bird species where 228 species were recorded at Location I with 40 exclusive species, 126 at Location II and 202 at Location III with 13 exclusive species. Crop fields had avian diversity of 104 at Location I, 78 at Location II and 94 at Location III. Riparian zone of river harbours 143 at location I, 83 at location II and 117 at location III. Shallow water river zone had 110 at location I, 126 at location II and 58 at location III. During this study a total of 113 species were recorded to exploiting edge sub habitat and 85 species Island sub habitat for various activities while 126 in shallow water sub habitat of riverine system which shows that the edge and island habitats are equally important from avian conservation point of view. Both Island and edge habitat are made of relatively very small area as compare to overall river habitat zone therefore these sub habitats are easy to manage but need attention during conservation planning. Crop fields and riparian habitats support more single species roosters and single group roosters. Riverine habitats (Edge, Shallow water and Islands) supports more mix group roosters. A total of 527 nests were recorded during study period having 193 nests at Talwara, 115 at Beas and 219 at Harike. Nesting of birds was niche area specific where colony nesters were tree species specific including Baya weaver nesting was specific to Date Palm and Cattle Egret nesting was specific to Kikar. Riparian zone of Talwara was wide and had minimum anthropogenic activities therefore harbour maximum of 143 species in riparian zone while Harike had wide shallow water zone therefore maximum of 126 water dependent species as compare to other two locations. Location II had almost lowest values for all diversity indexes under study (Abundance, Richness, Shannon index, Simpson index) in comparison to Location I and III shows the effect of proximity of human habitation on avian diversity. Though the all six sub-habitats understudy were adjoining to each other still a clear distinction of niche area preference was recorded during study. The birds may enter the adjoin niche but overall abundance remains similar for preferred niche for each bird species. The study concludes that significant number of species recorded have specific niche area requirements that are completed by the river’s sub-habitats including feeding, foraging, roosting and nesting therefore conservation plans should be designed in such a way that whole area come under protection as a single unit while maintaining its sub habitat identity.
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Technologies for utilization of hull less barley for high fibre foods
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Mahamudu Mohamed Sasamalo; Amarjeet Kaur
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is the fourth significant cereal cultivated for human use next to wheat, rice and maize. The demands of barley production keep on increasing day to day due to its diverse utilities, nutritive value and ever-increasing demand. Keeping these in view Punjab Agricultural University has developed two hull less barley, variety PL 891 and BHS 352. These two hull less barley varieties PL 891 and BHS 352 were procured from Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics and were given treatments viz. germination, pressure cooking, acid and alkali and milled into flour. Milled sample were analyzed for chemical composition, functional and rheological characteristics. Barley flour was stored and estimated for shelf life. The effect of treatments for changes in functional, nutritional and antinutritional was studied. All the treatments showed increase in protein content, crude fiber and dietary fiber ranging from 12.5912.77%, 4.06-4.52% and 17.48-23.8%, respectively. β-glucan content improved after treatments; ranging from 4.02-5.05%. Processing caused 33.7-74.3%, 24.4-81.4 %, 75.7-84.6% and 43.173.1% reduction in antinutritional factors such as tannins, saponins, phytic acid and trypsin inhibitor, respectively. Notably, the mineral bioavailability as well the in-vitro protein digestibility and the antioxidant potential improved with the processing. Food products such as chapatti, flat bread and cookies were prepared by 30% incorporation level. Barley drink was prepared by using 100% roasted barley grains. Among the food products prepared, for chapatti all the treatments were accepted by the panelist with the highest overall acceptability of 8.50 from those prepared from germinated flour, for flat bread and cookies those prepared from alkali treated grains had highest overall acceptability of 8.55 and 8.50, respectively. Between hull less barley varieties, variety PL 891 was found better in preparation of high fiber chapatti, flat bread and cookies and variety BHS 352 was found better for preparation of fiber barley drink.
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Development of lactic acid starter culture based fermented fruit and vegetable juices
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Modi, Ritika; Sahota, Parampal
The 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.
Open Access
Effect of agronomic manipulations on crop productivity and weed dynamics in poplar (Populus deltoides Bartr.) based agroforestry system
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Parija, Bhadra; Navneet Kaur
Present study entitled “Effect of agronomic manipulations on crop productivity and weed dynamics in poplar (Populus deltoides Bartr.) based agroforestry system” was carried out at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and KVK, Roopnagar (Experiment I) during 2017- 18 and 2018-19. Experiment I consisted of crop establishment methods of wheat viz. two methods of sowing (line sowing and broadcasting) and two seed rates (100 kg/ha and 125 kg/ha) along with five weed control treatments viz. carfentrazone 20 g/ha, pinoxaden 50 g/ha, clodinafop+metribuzin 270 g/ha, weed free check and weedy check in factorial RBD with 3 replications. The age of the poplar tree was 4 years in Ludhiana with 12.4 m height and 15.8 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) while at Roopnagar the age of the plantation was 3 years with an average 9.3 m height and 12.1 cm dbh during 2018-19. Experiment II consisted of planting geometry viz. two poplar spacings (8m×2.5m and 7m×3m, paired at 2.5m) and two potato planting geometry (65cm×18.5cm and 75cm×15cm) in main plots and weed control treatments (atrazine 0.250 kg/ha, metribuzin 0.350 kg/ha, paraquat 0.300 kg/ha, clodinafop+metribuzin 0.270 kg/ha, weed free check and weedy check) in sub-plots with three replications in split-plot design. The age of the poplar here was 6 years old with 19.6 m height and 26.5 cm DBH during 2018-19. The results of experiment I revealed that line sown wheat (38.0-42.8 q/ha) with higher seed rate of 125 kg/ha (37.3-41.5 q/ha) under weed free check (40.2-45.4 q/ha) had higher yield advantages with a greater number of effective tillers, spike length, grains/ear and 1000-grain weight in comparison to broadcasted with lower seed rate wheat crop under the rest weed control treatments and it was statistically at par with clodinafop+metribuzin 270 g/ha (36.5-41.3 q/ha) applied treatments. The application of clodinafop+metribuzin 270 g/ha effectively reduced the weed count and biomass. In experiment II, poplar spacing of 8m×2.5m (263.5-272.0 q/ha) and potato planting geometry of 75cm×15cm (256.6-262.1 q/ha) recorded significantly higher potato tuber yield. Among the weed control treatments weed free check (294.9-302.9 q/ha) was at par with clodinafop+metribuzin 0.270 kg/ha (289.4-293.2 q/ha) in terms of potato tuber no., weight/hill and yield. These treatments have exhibited a higher weed smothering effect thereby subsequently reduced the weed seed bank and seed recruitment in both the experiments. All the herbicides used in both the experiments temporarily reduced the microbial population and their activity upto 90 days of application and then it recovered till harvesting of the intercrops.
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Residue mulch, tillage and irrigation effects on crop and water productivity of pigeonpea-wheat cropping system
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2022) Satinder Singh; K.B. Singh
A two-year field experiment on effect of variable irrigation regimes, crop residue mulch and tillage treatments on pigen pea was conducted in loamy sand and sandy loam soil at research farm of Department of Soil Science. The treatments were combination of three irrigation regimes of 0, 0.2 and 0.4 (based on IW/ Pan-E ratios) in main plots, tillage practises (conventional (CT) and deep tillage (DT)) and two rice straw mulch rates (0 and 6 t ha-1) in sub plots. Irrigation regime I2, Soil temperature recorded under I2 was lower than I1 and I0 irrigation regime. Rice straw mulch and CT reduced soil temperature at 0.5 m depth during both years. Frequent irrigation (I2) with mulching recorded higher periodic soil moisture content and storage than limited irrigation regimes without mulch. Leaf water potential, relative leaf water content, soil plant analysis development (SPAD), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), leaf area index (LAI) , periodic biomass and plant height were significantly higher in I2 compared to I1 and I0, in DT compared to CT and in mulching compared to no mulch. With I2, DT and mulching significantly higher pigeon pea grain and stover yield were recorded as compared to I1 and I0, CT and no mulch. In grain and stover yield significant intercations were observed between irrigation x mulch, tillage x mulch and irrigation x tillage x mulch. The residual effect of different treatments imposed in pigeon pea on yield and yield attributing of wheat were non significant. The simulated seasonal water balance in pigeon pea was in proximate agreement with observed values for irrigation regimes, tillage and mulching treatments. Good coefficient of determination between simulated and predicted values of LAI, biomass and evapotranspiration indicated that the DSSAT (CROPGRO) model simulations were satisfactory.
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Evaluation of morpho-physiological and metal accumulation potential of Salix alba L. and Toona ciliata M. Roemer grown on heavy metal contaminated soils
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2022) Ravneet Kaur; Sharma, Rajni
The present investigations were carried out to study the effect of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and their combinations (Pb+Cd) on morpho-physiological and metal accumulation potential of Salix alba and Toona ciliata during 2020 and 2021. Heavy metals induce negative effect on morphological and biomass attributes of both species, but Toona showed better survival percentage (>95%) than Salix (<55%) even at higher concentrations of Pb300 and Cd25. The accumulation of proline, total soluble sugars, total soluble proteins along with increased antioxidant enzyme activities are responsible to enhance tolerance in both species. On the basis of phytoremediation efficiency evaluation factors such as bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF), Salix alba can be categorized as excluder plant for Pb and Cd with higher metal accumulation in roots than shoots (BCF>1, TF<1), while Toona ciliata can be categorized as hyperaccumulator with more Pb and Cd accumulation in the shoots than roots (BCF>1 and TF>1). Further, heavy metal translocation and accumulation decreased in combinations as compared to single element application suggesting the antagonistic relationship among both metals. Pb and Cd negatively affect the plant nutrient content either by affecting their translocation or by decreasing nutrient availability in soils. Anatomical studies showed significant alterations in stomatal pore size, stomatal density and trichome density due to heavy metal toxicity in both Salix and Toona. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS) results confirmed the Pb and Cd accumulation sites in the leaves and root tissues of plants. Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis revealed that Pb and Cd accumulation in plants induced changes in carboxy, amino, hydroxyl and phosphate groups that ultimately caused alteration in physiological functioning in plants. Conclusively, both Salix alba and Toona ciliata have potential to be used as remediation species for Pb and Cd contaminated soils.
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Synthesis of boron and phosphorous doped graphene fabricated with magnesium ferrite – bentonite nanocomposite for the remediation of pollutants
(Punjab Agricultural University, 2022) Manpreet Kaur; Manpreet Kaur
Graphene oxide (GO) doped with heteroatoms are gaining interest in depollution of water because of their large surface area. The boron-doped GO (B-GO), phosphorous-doped GO (P-GO) and boron and phosphorous co-doped GO (BPGO) in different w:w ratios were synthesized and fully characterized using analytical techniques viz. FT-IR, XRD, SEM-EDS, TEM, BET, Mössbauer and XPS. In order to impart magnetic features to doped GO materials, magnesium ferrite-bentonite (MGF-B) was used to fabricate nanocomposite of MGF-B and BPGO having hierarchical nanoflowers like morphology (HNFs). TEM of co-doped GO showed more wrinkled surface than doped GO, whereas in case of HNFs, chiffon-like BPGO nanosheets were wrapped on the MGF-B surface, resulting in a porous flower-like morphology. The synthesized materials were explored as adsorbents for the removal of Pb(II) and As(III) ions and as photocatalysts for the degradation of martius yellow, p-nitrophenol and malathion from synthetic waste water. The trend for the percentage removal of heavy metals by adsorption and degradation of organic pollutants by photocatalysis in the descending order was found to be: HNFs > BPGO-1:1 > BPGO-1:5 > BPGO-1:0.2 > MGF-B > P-GO > B-GO > GO. The adsorptive and photocatalytic potential of HNFs was greater as compared to pristine, doped and codoped GO due to high surface area, remarkable charge transfer ability and layered structure of codoped GO sheets. The HNFs possessed appreciable saturation magnetization than doped and co-doped GO layers, which led to its easy separation and reusability. Box-Behnken design was utilized for exploring the simultaneous effects of the independent variables on removal of metal ions and degradation of organic pollutants (as dependent variable) using HNFs. The adsorption and photocatalytic mechanism was proposed on the basis of adsorption isotherm, thermodynamic, kinetic and quenching studies. Enhanced activity of HNFs with adsorption of heavy metal could be defined by the electronic structural properties of elements. The best adsorbent and photocatalyst were also tested for spiked solution containing different metal ions and real life industrial water matrices.
Open Access
Soil Moisture Sensor System Development and evaluation for irrigation scheduling in subsurface drip irrigated Sugarcane
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Raheja, Amina; Garg, Sunil
A study was conducted in Punjab Agricultural University on Soil Moisture Sensor System Development and evaluation for irrigation scheduling in subsurface drip irrigated Sugarcane. The sugarcane crop was sown for two consecutive years as plant (2019-20) and ratoon crop(2020-21). The irrigation to sugarcane crop was given by sub surface drip irrigation installed at three different depths-20 cm, 25 cm, and 30 cm depth. Water application was based on evapotranspiration of crop (ETc) for first year and sensor-based irrigation for ratoon crop. The low-cost capacitive sensor system with four moisture sensing probes was developed, calibrated, and tested both in laboratory and field to measure the sensor-to-sensor variability due to the placement of sensors in soil at different depths. The exponential calibration curve and two-point model was compared for developed low-cost sensor system and found to be accurate and precise. (Mean Absolute Error, Root Mean Square Error, and Relative Absolute Error of 1.56%, 0.36, and 0.65 respectively). The field calibrated soil sensing system was compared with a commercial SM150T sensor for measuring VMC in a sugarcane field. The sensor position in root zone plays a significant role in irrigation scheduling. Therefore, HYDUS 2D model was used for calibration, validation, and simulation of moisture movement in the root zone. It was found that the sensor could be installed within 10 cm periphery of the emitter irrespective of the drip depth. The developed sensor system was installed in the sugarcane for irrigation scheduling. The water requirement of sensorbased irrigation was at par with the irrigation based on ETc. The sugarcane yield was 8% and 10% more in drip depth of 25 and 30 cm respectively as compared to 20 cm drip depth. Water deficit up to 10% produced sugarcane yield like ET based irrigation for plant crop. However, water deficit beyond 10% significantly reduced the sugarcane yield both in plant and ratoon crop. Hence, the low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensor system consistently worked very well for the entire period of field testing with no practical issues, so can be used in atomization of the irrigation system.
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Senescence, nutrient remobilization and yield in wheat germplasm introgressed with Gpc-B1 gene
(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Jafar Tanin, Mohammad; Sharma, Achla
The present breeding efforts are required to evaluate a set of germplasm with the Gpc-B1 gene in their genetic background. However, Gpc-B1 is the only recognized and cloned gene which explains 66% of the phenotypic variation for GPC. Therefore, it is essential to enrich our knowledge regarding its role in protein accumulation in wheat grain. On the other hand, the Gpc-B1 has a negative relationship with grain yield. This has made it difficult to create an elite wheat line that has both high GPC and a high yield. The accelerated senescence due to the presence of this gene shortens the grain filling period. We phenotyped the NILs for different phonological and yield-related traits, including number of days to flowering (DTF), plant height (PH), number of spikelets per spike (SPS), 1000-grain weight (TGW), yield, number of days to maturity (DTM), and grain protein content (GPC). An alpha-lattice design was used to do an analysis of variance, which showed that there were significant differences between the genotypes for all of the traits. The Gpc-B1 gene accelerated the flowering time and maturity time by about one day and two days, respectively, as compared to genotypes having no Gpc-B1 gene in their genetic background. Simultaneously, the same gene made the plant shorter by an average of 4.41 cm. The functional Gpc-B1 gene in the genetic background of the NILs increased the protein accumulation in wheat grain through an accelerated senescence and more efficient nitrogen transportation process, which was initiated earlier. But at the same time, the improvement in GPC could result in a grain yield penalty due to a reduction in grain size. A better understanding of how nutrients or chemicals change the function of wheat plants could help breeding programmes in the future. The NILs were evaluated under KNO3 and salicylic acid treatment and control (no KNO3 and salicylic acid application) conditions with the standard fertilizer application rate recommended by PAU for one year (2020–21). A combined analysis of variance using an alpha lattice design was conducted, which indicated significant variation among the studied traits, including DTF, PH, SPS, GPS, DTM, HI, GPC, Yield, and TGW. The potassium nitrate application significantly affected the PH, GPS, DTM, TGW, yield, HI, chlorophyll content in flag leaf at anthesis state and 30 DAA, and other traits. Salicylic acid application significantly affected the number of grains per spike (GPS), 1000-grain weight (TGW), yield, and number of days to maturity (DTM) as compared to the control experiment. This delay had no effect on GPC in NILs, but it did increase yield and traits related to yield, like TGW and GPS. A pooled analysis of variance using an alpha lattice design was conducted, which showed significant variation for all the traits under study. High GPC variation in lines with the same genetic background (PBW550) led to a lot of questions. To find the reasons for this variation, we isolated the high quality RNA of two high GPC NILs and two low GPC NILs. Differential gene expression analysis was carried out on each NIL as a control. A total of 1418 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were discovered for the selected NIL across all three stages, out of which 1117 genes were upregulated while 301 genes were downregulated. This suggests their probable role in seed development.

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