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ThesisItem Embargo Processing and functionality of turmeric (Curcuma longa) for value addition(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Basha, Shaik Jakeer; Dr Kamaljit KaurThe investigation was carried out to study physiochemical, engineering and bioactive properties of turmeric varieties Punjab Haldi-1 and Punjab Haldi-2 at two harvesting stages i.e. early-harvest and harvest stage. Best variety in all characteristics (Harvest- Punjab Haldi-2) was further utilized for processing into turmeric powder (variable blanching and pressure cooking) and curcumin extraction by solvent extraction (various solvents), and supercritical fluid extraction. Turmeric powder processed by blanching time 15 min was considered as best method due to higher yield of curcumin content. Super critical fluid extraction executed higher extraction yield (94%). Solvent extraction resulted in loss of aromatic and flavour compounds from turmeric as revealed by FTIR. Three different types of products were developed from various forms of turmeric that is turmeric candy was prepared from fresh rhizomes by variation in processing methods, bread was prepared by incorporating turmeric juice (0-5%), powder(0-5%), puree (0-5%), turmeric extract (0.1 to 0.4 %), and turmeric juice (0-30%) was utilized for enrichment of soymilk. Developed products were subjected to proximate analysis, bioactive component analysis, textural, color properties, microbial analysis, storage studies and organoleptic evaluation. The shelf-life analysis revealed that the incorporation of turmeric increased the bioactive composition, acceptability index and shelf life of products than control. Thus, turmeric addition may enrich the nutritional value of products and also utilization of fresh turmeric rhizomes for commercialization.ThesisItem Embargo Impact of variable quality organic matter and nitrogen levels on rice wheat productivity, nutrient availability and soil carbon accretion(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Raagjeet Kaur; Dr. M.S. MaviIn recent years, the intensification of the irrigated rice wheat (R W) system has led to the generation of substantial quantities of crop residues, particularly rice straw. On farm rice straw burning is the most widespread method to manage the surplus crop residue among the Indian farmers due to time constraints for wheat sowing, insufficient farm mechanization and low acceptability of paddy straw as fodder. This practice contributes to environmental pollution, health concerns, and loss of nutrients. To tackle these issues, there is an urgent need for the adoption of appropriate Rice Residue Management Practices (RRMPs). In addition, excessive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in rice wheat system has resulted in environmental issues like soil and water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil health degradation. To address these problems, adoption of integrated nutrient management could be an option. Therefore, a long term field experiment (8 years) was conducted to understand how different RRMPs and N fertilizer rates interact to influence R W productivity and soil functions. The treatments consisted of five RRMPs comprising of rice straw removal (RR), rice straw incorporation at the rate 6 t ha 1 (RI), Rice straw burning (RB), Rice straw biochar applied at 2 t ha 1 (RBC1) and 4 t ha 1 (RBC2) in the main plot and five N levels i.e. N0 (0 kg N ha 1), N1 (60 kg N ha 1), N2 (90 kg N ha 1), N3 (120 kg N ha 1) and N4 (150 kg N ha 1) in the sub plots. Results showed that RI, RBC1 and RBC2 plots significantly increased mean wheat and rice grain yield by 4 11%, compared with the RR plots at different rates of N fertilization. The RI, RBC1 and RBC2 plots receiving N2 level of fertilization showed statistically comparable or even higher mean wheat & rice grain yield, in comparison with RR plots receiving N3 level of N fertilizer. Among all RRMPs, RBC2 recorded the maximum wheat & rice productivity, emphasising its potential as an effective agricultural amendment for maximizing crop performance. The RI, RBC1 and RBC2 plots significantly enhanced the nutrient availability in the soil profile, particularly the N forms, ensuring a consistent nutrient supply to the plants. Biochar and straw incorporation positively impacted the physical properties of the soil by reducing bulk density, increasing water holding capacity, and promoting the formation of aggregates and subsequently carbon (C) stabilization within aggregates as well as enhanced the microbial activity in the soil. Greater soil organic C, total C stocks and lesser C dioxide emissions in the biochar amended plots compared with other RRMPs indicates that it can be successfully used for C accretion under R W system. Key findings emphasized the superiority of biochar application and residue incorporation over the conventional practices, even at lower N rates. The outcomes suggested that biochar and residue incorporation offered a viable pathway for achieving both crop productivity and soil health in a resource efficient and environmentally sustainable manner.ThesisItem Embargo Emergence, Growth, Productivity and Quality Enhancement Through Seed Priming and Foliar Application of Chemicals in Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill](Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Bola, Simranpreet Singh; Dr Harpreet Kaur VirkThe investigation entitled, “Emergence, growth, productivity and quality enhancement through seed priming and foliar application of chemicals in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]” was conducted at two different locations simultaneously viz., Pulses Research Farm, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and Regional Research Station, Ballowal Saunkhri, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, during kharif 2021 & 2022 and in vitro studies were conducted in Seed Physiology Laboratory, Director (Seeds), Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The soil of Ludhiana and Ballowal Saunkhri was loamy sand and sandy loam in texture, respectively, with normal pH and electrical conductivity, medium organic carbon and available potassium, low available nitrogen and high phosphorus. Under the present study, three experiments were conducted, of which the experiment I was conducted in factorial completely randomized design replicated four times and experiment II & III were conducted in factorial randomized complete block design and randomized complete block design, respectively, both replicated three times using the soybean variety SL 958. The experiment I had four temperature levels (25, 30, 35 and 40°C) and six seed priming treatments [control, hydropriming, osmo-priming with PEG 6000 solution of osmotic potentials -0.5, -1.0, -1.5 and -2.0 MPa]. The experiment II was consisted of two dates of sowing (5 June and 25 June) and six seed priming treatments [absolute control (without seed priming), polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000 solution @ -1.5 MPa, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Bradyrhizobium japonicum + Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Bradyrhizobium japonicum + PEG @ -1.5 MPa, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans + PEG @ -1.5 MPa and Bradyrhizobium japonicum + Pseudomonas oryzihabitans + PEG @ -1.5 MPa]. The experiment III had ten foliar spray treatments [absolute control, water spray, potassium nitrate 1.5%, NPK 1.5%, boron 0.3%, ammonium molybdate 0.5%, thiourea 750 ppm, urea 2.0%, muriate of potash 0.5% and salicylic acid 100 ppm]. Results revealed that in experiment I, seed priming with PEG @ -1.5 MPa for 6 hours improved speed of germination, final germination %, total seedling length, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour indices, dehydrogenase activity and the number of stained seeds, while reduced mean germination time, the number of partially & unstained seeds and electrical conductivity of primed seeds. Seed priming with PEG @ -1.5 MPa performed significantly better at a temperature of 30°C over 25°C, 35°C and 40°C. In experiment II, during both years, priming of seeds with Bradyrhizobium japonicum + Pseudomonas oryzihabitans significantly improved emergence, growth, nodulation and yield of soybean at both Ludhiana and Ballowal Saunkhri. The 5 June sown crop recorded significantly higher growth attributes, symbiotic traits and seed yield of soybean than 25 June sowing at both the locations during both years. In experiment III, foliar application of boron 0.3% at Ludhiana and muriate of potash 0.5% at Ballowal Saunkhri applied at flowering and pod initiation stages improved growth (plant height & dry matter accumulation), yield attributes (number of pods plant-1, number of filled pods plant-1 and 100-seed weight), quality parameters (total soluble sugar, starch and protein content) and seed yield of soybean.ThesisItem Open Access Biochemical defense response and genetic basis of resistance against Ascochyta blight (Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Labr.) in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Abassy, Omer; Dr Upasana RaniChickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), the second-largest global pulse crop, is under threat from highly variable nature of Ascochyta rabiei, causing widespread disease damage under favourable environmental conditions. This disease, Ascochyta blight is a major concern worldwide, with insufficient resistant sources and frequent breakdowns due to rapid pathogen evolution. This study evaluated 238 kabuli chickpea genotypes for resistance to Ascochyta blight (AB) over the growing seasons from 2019-2022 at Punjab Agricultural University under artificial epiphytotic conditions, identifying 18 resistant lines (GLK 10-40, GLK 20054, GLK 20055, FLIP 10-298C-IFC-S2, FLIP 10298C-IFC-S1, CS-3-E-24, FLIP 09 256C-55, FLIP 07-314C-57, FLIP 10-243C, FLIP 09-194C, FLIP 08-104C, FLIP 04-219C, ICCV 55233, ICCV 55215, ICCV 55135, ICCV 55108 and ICCV 155141) belonging to different genetic backgrounds with disease scores of 1.0 to 3.0, whereas seventy-three (73) lines demonstrated a moderate level of disease resistance with a disease rating of 3.1-5.0. The activities of defense-related enzymes (PAL, TAL, PPO, POD) associated with phenol metabolism along with lignin and total phenol content were compared among six kabuli chickpea lines, viz., five resistant (GLK 10-40, GLK 20055, FLIP-09-194C, FLIP-04-219C, ICCV 55215) and one susceptible (GLK 17301) treated lines that exhibited differential responses to Ascochyta blight at tested time intervals of 48, 96, 144 and 240 hr post-inoculation respectively. The perusal of data showed increased activity of all enzymes (PAL, TAL, PPO, POD) till 96 hr after inoculation, whereas the non-enzymatic contents such as lignin and total phenols showed the maximum enzyme activity till 144 hr after inoculation. However, enzyme and non-enzymatic activity remained almost constant with no significant difference in all control/untreated resistant and susceptible line(s) at different time intervals. For understanding the genetic basis of resistance, the F2 population comprising of 162 plants derived from the cross, GLK 24096 (resistant) and L 556 (susceptible) was assessed under artificially epiphytotic conditions against local isolate of Ascochyta rabiei. Of 162 plants evaluated, 39 plants were grouped in resistant (R ) category (disease score ≤ 5.0 ) and 123 were classified as susceptible (S) with score of five and above. Consequently, the F2 plants exhibited a segregation ratio of 1R:3S, suggesting that a monogenic recessive gene governed resistance to Ascochyta blight. Of thirty four SSR markers associated with Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs)/genes were used for confirmation of resistance in identified eighteen resistant and six susceptible lines, only 19 SSR markers depicted polymorphism. Notably, SSR markers, STMS11, TA194, TS12, TA146, and TA2 exhibiting significant polymorphism, indicated tight linkage to Ascochyta blight resistance. Phylogenetic analysis showcased distinct clustering based on resistance, offering insights into the genetic basis of resistance. These findings informed about targeted resistance breeding and sustainable disease management with defence-related enzymes/identified markers holding promise for developing superior, resistant and resilient chickpea varieties contributing to crop sustainability and productivity.ThesisItem Embargo Role of Technology Attributes, Elements of Diffusion and Adopter Categories on Farmers‘ Decision of Adopting Agricultural Innovations(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Deepika; Dr Manmeet KaurThe present study was undertaken with the objectives to study the stages of adoption process, influence of elements of diffusion, attributes of innovations, adopter categories and farmers‘ preferences on their decision of adopting mechanical, biological, chemical, agronomic and informational innovations in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. This study comprised of farmers who were growing wheat and rice crops and were aware of at least one innovation in each category of innovations. A total of 600 farmers were selected from the twelve villages of the six selected districts from three states. Data were collected by personal interview method. Findings of the study revealed that amongst all categories of innovations, majority of the farmers across all three regions reached at interest, evaluation and trial stages of adoption process in biological innovations with highest in Punjab followed by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The study revealed that adoption rate was found higher for biological innovations among all categories with highest adoption were done by farmers of Punjab followed by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.The data regarding farmers‘ preferences towards various aspects revealed that performance in mechanical innovations, disease & pest resistance in biological innovations, ease of availability in chemical innovations, soil health management in agronomic innovations and accessibility to information in informational innovations were mostly preferred by the farmers in across all three regions.Impersonal cosmopolite channels were frequently used channels during the awareness stage & interest stage across all three states in adopting innovations while personal localite and personal cosmopolite channels were both highly approached in the interest and evaluation stages by the farmers in all three states. The data regarding social system revealed that farmers‘ across all three regions had strong linkages with peer groups for adopting different categories of innovations.Observability attribute was found to have significant influence on farmers‘ decision of adopting mechanical as well as agronomic innovations across all three regions Mechanical innovations had the lengthiest adoption time across all regions with the total average time being highest in Uttar Pradesh while fastest adoption was seen in chemical innovations by farmers in all three regions. Early majority and late majority was the major adopter categories in Punjab and Haryana for different categories of innovations while in Uttar Pradesh majority of the adopters belonged to laggard category. Personal cosmopolite channels significantly influenced farmers‘ decision of adopting mechanical and biological innovations.The study suggested that the policy makers should give due consideration to the categories of innovation while planning the allocation of funds for extension activities and the extension functionaries should give due consideration to the categories of innovations and further the stages of adoption process while planning the extension approaches.ThesisItem Embargo Impact of water quality on plant physiological parameters, fruit quality and soil properties in kinnow mandarin(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Harpreet Kaur; Dr. Mandeep Singh GillThe increasing demand for irrigation water to secure food for ever growing global population with declining fresh water resources carves the path for introduction of alternative ways of using saline water. Management of saline water through desalination or blending with low salinity canal water may be a viable strategy for Kinnow irrigation in semi-arid regions having saline ground water and scarce canal water. Long-term irrigation with saline water causes accumulation of salts in the rhizosphere, inducing increased osmotic potential of the soil solution thus impairing plant water and nutrient uptake. A long term on-going drip irrigated field experiment being conducted under the NHM sponsored project “Centre of excellence for utilization of brackish water for fruits and vegetable production in S-W Punjab” at PAU RRS Bathinda was selected to study the effect of different qualities of irrigation water namely canal (WQ1), desalinated (WQ2), tube well (WQ3) and mixed CW: TW (WQ4) water on growth , yield and soil properties under Kinnow mandarin orchard. The results showed that highest fruit yield and other fruit quality parameters was obtained with WQ1, followed by WQ2 and WQ4, while lowest with WQ3. Plant growth and photosynthetic activities were highest under canal water irrigation which was followed by the photosynthetic activities observed in desalinated water. Highest electrolyte leakage was observed in tube well irrigation and consequently the highest enzymatic activities (SOD, POD and CAT) were recorded in tube well irrigation. The concentration of sodium and chloride ions in leaves were increased significantly with increasing salinity of irrigation water. The pH and electrical conductivity of soil increased significantly in WQ3 and WQ4 in comparison to WQ1 and WQ2 before and after the fertigation. Saline water (WQ3 and WQ4) increased the salinity build up away from the drip lateral to a greater extent than non-saline water (WQ1 and WQ2). Soil SAR values were also found to be higher in WQ3 and WQ4. However EC, pH and SAR values of soil with WQ2 were found to be quite similar to that of WQ1. Available P, K and organic carbon content of soil decreased with the increasing salinity of irrigation water. To conclude, desalinated water or mixing canal and tube well water in equal proportion can be used for irrigation to Kinnow mandarin under drip system in case of scarcity of good quality irrigation water.ThesisItem Embargo Characterization of mycotoxic Fusarium species associated with ear rot of maize(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Harinder Singh; Dr. Harleen KaurEar rot samples of maize (Zea mays L.) were collected during Kharif and spring seasons from different districts of Punjab. In all, 48 Fusarium isolates were obtained and purified for further studies. These isolates were grouped into six major groups based on morphological characteristics viz., colony color, pigmentation, type of mycelium, pattern of growth, growth rate and sporulation. Two species of Fusarium viz., F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum were identified using ITS, TEF-1α, RPB2, VERT- 1/VERT-2 gene specific primers. The sequences of four representative isolates-Fus 15, Fus 28, Fus 44 and Fus 45 when submitted to BLAST showed 99-100 per cent similarity with F. verticillioides and Fus 48 isolate had shown 97.91 per cent similarity with F. proliferatum. Further, out of 47 isolates of F. verticillioides VERTIF-1/VERTIF-2 primers 40 isolates with fumonisin producing ability. FUM13F /13R primers identified 36 isolates of F. verticillioides with fumonisin producing ability. FUM1 primers revealed that out of 48 Fusarium isolates, 41 isolates possessed FUM1 gene. Genetic diversity analysis of Fusarium isolates using 20 SSR primers revealed high degree of polymorphism and clustered 48 isolates into two major groups and seven subgroups. The primer 3H07 amplified maximum number of loci (6) ranging from 100-1400 bp in size and had highest PIC value of 0.76. On comparing the clusters of morphological, molecular and pathological characterization defined correlation could not be obtained among morphological characteristics, SSR pattern and pathological behavior of Fusarium isolates. For standardization of inoculation technique, we used four techniques viz., needle inoculation into the cob, toothpick inoculation in the ear, needle inoculation into the silk and spray silk inoculation, out of which needle inoculation into the cob technique gave highest mean disease index of 26.44 and 36.77 per cent during spring and Kharif seasons, respectively. Higher disease severity of FER was obtained when cobs were inoculated at 7 days after silking in both spring (19.34 %) and Kharif (32.16%) seasons. On comparing the seasons, Kharif season showed comparatively more disease severity (25.25 %) than spring season (17.1 %). Using this standardized technique, forty-five advanced maize germplasm lines were screened artificially against FER during Kharif 2021, disease severity varied from 27.77 to 96.29 per cent being lowest (27.77 %) in LM13×Teosinte-1-2-1-1-1 (BC1F1) and highest (96.29 %) in LM14×Teosinte-1-1-1-1 (BC1F1) line. Out of 45 lines, none of lines showed resistance reaction to FER, however 13 lines were found moderately resistant. Pathological behavior of all Fusarium isolates was studied on four hybrids (PMH 1, PMH 2, PMH 10 and PMH 13) and two inbreds (LM 13 and EML 173) of maize during spring 2022. Based upon their virulence, heatmap was generated and all isolates were clustered into seven groups. Group I isolates comprising Fus 15 (Ludhiana), Fus 23 (Jalandhar) and Fus 48 (Sirmour) were highly aggressive giving maximum disease severity of 68.74 per cent. Among the hybrids, PMH 1 showed minimum mean disease severity (34.16%) giving moderately resistant reaction to all Fusarium isolates. Among the inbreds, LM 13 showed minimum mean disease severity of 41.16 per cent giving moderately resistant reaction. The fumonisin production potential of F. verticillioides isolate- Fus 15 and F. proliferatum isolate-Fus 48 was observed on PMH 1 and PMH 2 hybrids under artificial inoculation conditions. Concentration of Fumonisin B1 (FB1) produced by Fus 15 and Fus 48 isolates was comparatively higher in PMH 2 than PMH 1 hybrid. Maximum fumonisin production of both FB1 and FB2 in maize grains was estimated at 21 days after incubation.ThesisItem Embargo Comparative study of carbon, nitrogen and lignin metabolism in relation to lodging resistance in oat (Avena sativa L.)(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Gupta, Himani; Dr. Meenakshi GoyalOat (Avena sativa L.) commonly known as javi, jodar or jai is a dual purpose crop used for human food consumption, as animal feed and as a source of high value compounds with industrial applications. Lodging in oat is the most chronic constraint that negatively affects its productivity and is one of the main barriers on the way to higher yield. In this study, the importance of various morphological and anatomical attributes, carbon, nitrogen and lignin metabolism and quality traits has been studied in ten recently released oat varieties (OL-1769- 1, RO-11-1, OL-13, OL-1896, JHO-822, OL-15, OL-14, OL-12, Kent and OL-11) to evaluate the impact of stem lodging on oat varieties. Morphological and anatomical attributes depicted that OL-1769-1, RO-11-1, OL-13 proved to be more efficient in overcoming lodging stress as compared to other varieties. RO-11-1 was lower in lodging susceptibility index, lodging score, percent reduction in thousand grain weight, lignin content, dry matter yield of lodged plants and higher breaking strength, culm lodging resistance index than OL-15. Vascular bundle area and xylem tissue contributed towards lodging resistance. Lodging directly impaired source-sink relationship by reducing the photosynthetic ability, transport of carbohydrates, dry matter accumulation and hence caused alterations in carbon-nitrogen metabolism. For carbon metabolism, RO-11-1 had better carbohydrate partitioning than other varieties due to effective synchronization between its carbon metabolizing enzymes (sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase synthesis, sucrose synthase cleavage, acid invertase, neutral invertase) among flag leaf, grains and basal second internode. The nitrogen metabolizing enzymes were less effected with lodging in RO-11-1 compared to other varieties that showed wide variations. The activities of lignin metabolizing enzymes phenylalanine ammonia lyase and tyrosine ammonia lyase were upregulated in RO-11-1 but 4-coumarate CoA ligase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase and peroxidase activities were higher in OL-15, indicating that these enzymes might be determining lodging resistance in oat varieties. Further, increased levels of secondary metabolites contribute towards plant defense against lodging stress. Higher cell wall constituents, crude protein, ash, silica and crude fat in RO-11-1 than other varieties could be the additional factor for providing lodging resistance.ThesisItem Restricted Diversity and molecular characterization of earthworms in western zone of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, 2024) Dhuria, Samiksha; Dr Randeep Kaur AulakhEarthworms form an integral part of soil ecosystem contributing to the development of soil, nutrient cycling and pollution remediation. The present research is an attempt to determine earthworm diversity and their molecular characterization in different cropping systems (ricewheat, cotton-wheat, vegetable fields and orchards) in six districts (Fazilka, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Muktsar, Moga and Faridkot) of western zone of Punjab. Total five earthworm species identified (by combination of morphological and molecular analysis) during present study are-Metaphire posthuma, Lampito mauritii, Amynthas morrisi (belonging to family Megascolecidae), Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei (belonging to family Lumbricidae). M. posthuma was most dominating species found in crop fields of all districts. The population density of earthworms was maximum during monsoon and minimum during winter season. E. fetida and E. andrei showed morphollogically similar characteristics but were found to be different by molecular identification. Earthworm population density was found to be positively correlated with soil moisture and soil temperature in different cropping systems. The analysis of physico-chemical properties of soil and vermicast revealed that pH and Electrical Conductivity (dS m-1) values of vermicast were lower as compared to surrounding soil and showed significant difference (p<0.05).Organic carbon (%), available phosphorous (kg/ha), available potassium (kg/ha) and available nitrogen (kg/ha) values of vermicast were higher as compared to surrounding soil and showed significant difference (p<0.05).
