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2000 - 200911602010 - 20192558
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Water productivity, energetics and economics of maize based cropping sequences compared to rice-wheat system under different moisture regimes
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Navneet Kaur; Brar, Ajmer Singh
    A field experiment was carried out over two consecutive years of 2016-17 and 2017-18 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. To compare various maize based crop sequences with rice-wheat system, a replicated experiment was conducted with varying degrees of crop sequences and irrigation regimes. Eight crop sequences were compared in the main plots: rice-wheat, maize-wheat, maize-potato- mentha + onion, maize + cowpea (f)-potato-mentha + onion, maize + cowpea (f)-potato-spring maize, maize + cowpea (f)-gobhi sarson-summer moong, maize-toria + gobhi sarson-summer moong and maize + cowpea (f)-toria + gobhi sarson-summer moong. Four irrigation regimes of IW/CPE ratio 0.75, IW/CPE ratio 1.0, IW/CPE ratio 1.25 and recommended schedule were compared in sub plots. The rice equivalent yield was significantly higher in maize + cowpea (f)-potato-mentha + onion followed by maize-potato-mentha + onion and maize + cowpea-potato-spring maize compared to other crop sequences. This was due to higher production potential of potato which ultimately increased the rice equivalent yield of sequences in which potato was included as one of the component crop. The rice equivalent yield of various crop sequences increased with increase in frequency of irrigation water. The crop water productivity was significantly higher with maize + cowpea-potato-mentha + onion with I0.75 during both the years as compared to all other crop sequences and irrigation regimes combinations except maize-potato-mentha + onion with I0.75. Rice-wheat sequence with recommended schedule produced significantly lower crop water productivity as compared to maize-potato-mentha+ onion, maize + cowpea (f)-potato-mentha + onion and maize-potato-spring maize with all the irrigation regimes during both the years. The apparent water productivity was significantly higher in maize + cowpea-potato- mentha + onion sequence as compared to all other crop sequences during both the years. The lowest apparent water productivity was recorded with rice-wheat sequence under all the irrigation regimes. On the basis of energy efficiency, R-W with IRec had lower energy efficiency compared to maize-wheat, maize-potato-mentha+onion and maize+ cowpea (f)-potato-mentha+onion under all the irrigation regimes during both the years. Among different maize based crop sequences, the most energy efficient was maize+cowpea (f)-gobhi sarson-summer moong with IRec followed by maize+cowpea (f)-gobhi sarson-summer moong with I1.25 during both the years. On the basis of energy productivity, maize+cowpea (f)-gobhi sarson-summer moong with I1.25 was found to be the most energy productive being statistically at par with rice-wheat with IRec and maize+cowpea (f)-gobhi sarson-summer moong with IRec during 2016-17 while it was significantly better compared to rice-wheat with IRec during 2017- 18. Economic analysis reveals that R-W with IRec recorded the lowest net returns compared to maize- potato-mentha+onion with I1.25 and IRec, maize+cowpea(f)-potato-mentha+onion with I1.25 and IRec and maize+cowpea(f)-potato-spring maize with I1.25 and IRec during both the years.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Biocontrol of fusarial wilt of bottle gourd
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Ruchika, Ruchika; Narinder Singh
    The wilt of bottle gourd caused by Fusarium oxysporum is a serious disease in bottle gourd growing areas of Punjab. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected from bottle gourd fields of Ludhiana, Kapurthala and Bathinda districts of Punjab in order to analyze the antagonistic microflora. Five isolates of Trichoderma and three isolates of Pseudomonas were isolated and screened in vitro for their antagonistic activity against Fusarium oxysporum. Among the various isolates, two isolates of Trichoderma (T1 and T2) and one isolate of Pseudomonas (P1) showed good inhibition against Fusarium oxysporum under lab conditions. Trichoderma isolate T2 showed maximum inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum (76.33 % and 65.83%) in dual culture and volatile assay, respectively. On Molecular characterization the selected isolates T1 and T2 were identified as Trichoderma asperellum and isolate P1 was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The selected isolates were then applied as seed, soil and seed + soil treatments using 10g and 15g formulation of each antagonist to check their efficacy against Fusarium oxysporum in two different seasons (March and June) under field conditions. Maximum germination (91.67% and 87.50%) and maximum disease inhibition (92.31% and 86.67%) was found in case of chemical treatment followed by Trichoderma asperellum isolate T2 with a germination of 87.50 per cent and a disease reduction of 84.62 and 80.00 per cent in March and June, respectively. Maximum yield (235.99q/acre and 229.00q/acre) along with maximum total length (5.43 m and 4.83 m) was obtained in case of Trichoderma asperellum isolate T2 in March and June, respectively due to disease control and the plant growth promoting behaviour of the antagonist. The results of rhizospheric competence showed that enough propagules of the antagonists were present throughout the growing season to effectively manage the wilt pathogen. Talc based bioformulation of the selected antagonists showed maximum shelf life on storing at 0°C and packing in polythene bags.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Higher order contributions to electron-acoustic solitary waves featuring cairns-tsallis distribution of electrons
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Sharma, Anjali; Parveen Bala
    In this thesis, a homogeneous system of unmagnetized and collisionless plasma constituting of cold electron fluid, immobile ions and hot electrons has been studied. The hot electrons are assumed to obey hybrid Cairns-Tsallis distribution. This distribution is applicable within the range and .Using standard Reductive Perturbation Method (RPM), dispersion relation and Korteweg de-Vries (KdV) equation has been derived. Reductive preturbation method is further extended to include the contribution of higher order terms. Renormalization method is employed in studying the propagation of electron acoustic solitary waves as well as higher order solitary waves. Our present investigation focuses on revealing the dependency of the behavior of these waves on nonthermal parameter( ), hot-to-cold electron density ratio( ), hot-to-cold electron temperature ratio( ), Mach number( ) and nonextensive parameter( ). Only negative potential structures are reported in our plasma model. The numerical results reflects that on taking the higher order correction terms into account, the amplitude of the dressed soliton solution increases however its width narrows. The present plasma model may be helpful in simulating the electron acoustic solitary behavior in the auroral regions and magnetospheric plasmas of earth.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Higher order contributions to electron-acoustic solitary waves featuring cairns-tsallis distribution of electrons
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Sharma, Anjali; Bala, Parveen
    In this thesis, a homogeneous system of unmagnetized and collisionless plasma constituting of cold electron fluid, immobile ions and hot electrons has been studied. The hot electrons are assumed to obey hybrid Cairns-Tsallis distribution. This distribution is applicable within the range and .Using standard Reductive Perturbation Method (RPM), dispersion relation and Korteweg de-Vries (KdV) equation has been derived. Reductive preturbation method is further extended to include the contribution of higher order terms. Renormalization method is employed in studying the propagation of electron acoustic solitary waves as well as higher order solitary waves. Our present investigation focuses on revealing the dependency of the behavior of these waves on nonthermal parameter( ), hot-to-cold electron density ratio( ), hot-to-cold electron temperature ratio( ), Mach number( ) and nonextensive parameter( ). Only negative potential structures are reported in our plasma model. The numerical results reflects that on taking the higher order correction terms into account, the amplitude of the dressed soliton solution increases however its width narrows. The present plasma model may be helpful in simulating the electron acoustic solitary behavior in the auroral regions and magnetospheric plasmas of earth.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Impact of climate change on groundwater behaviour in Sirhind Canal Tract of Punjab
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Navdeep Kaur; Samanpreet Kaur
    A warmer future due to global climate change is the proven phenomenon which may lead to changes in the hydrological cycle, surface water as well as underground water resource. Since Punjab is a part of the arid and semi-arid regions of the India, underground water plays an indelible role in supplying its water needs that should specifically address the issue of groundwater resources and the effects of climate change. Therefore, a study was done to quantify the impacts of climate change on groundwater behaviour in Sirhind Canal Tract of Punjab under CSRIO-Mk 3 RCP 4.5 and RCP 6.0 future climate scenarios using MODFLOW. The study spanned 20 years of baseline (1998-2018) as well as two future periods‘ mid-century (MC) (2020-2050) and end century EC (2065-2095). The spatial distribution of recharge and draft was mapped to GIS and was provided as input to groundwater model. The results showed that that the temperature and rainfall would increase by 1.9 °C and 91 mm in MC and 3.6 °C and 72 mm in EC under RCP 4.5. While under RCP 6.0, the corresponding increase would be of 1.6 °C and 70 mm in MC and 3.5 °C and 73 mm in EC. The climate scenarios estimated an increase in evapotranspiration and runoff loss of 38% and 15%, respectively by EC. Two pumping scenarios were developed up to the year 2095, i.e. maintaining the current pumping rate for the study period and an increase in pumping rate according to the historical trend. In condition I, the above normal rainfall during MC under both the scenarios predicts a marginal rise of 0.8 m in 2050, with a gradual fall of 5.6 m in EC. While in condition II, the water table would fall by 34.3 m in MC and 51.2 m in EC. The results presented here should be interpreted as trends and not as accurate quantitative predictions of the hydrological changes as there are numerous sources of uncertainties associated with climate change prediction.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Bioprocessing of Indian gooseberry for the production of lactic acid beverage and pickles
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Kirandeep Kaur; Sahota, Param Pal
    The plant-based fermented beverages have received considerable interest for their rich nutrition, high content of soluble and insoluble fibers and for their fermentability by lactic acid bacteria (LAB). A set of ten allochthonous lactic acid bacterial strains phenotypically and genotypically characterized for their probiotic potential were used as starter culture for the optimization and production of Indian gooseberry-based functional beverage and lacto-pickle. The optimized bioprocess comprised of gooseberry juice blend [gooseberry juice 2: ginger extract 1: guava juice 2], dilution ratio (1:3), condiment concentration (0.7%), pasteurized at 82ºC for 10 seconds and 5.0% (v/v) (106 CFU/mL) active starter culture for fermentation at 37ºC for 24 hr. The microbiological and physicochemical parameters of stored beverage (90 days) were; 1ºBrix, Titrable acidity 0.30-0.89 %, pH 6.0 -2.6, Total Sugars 44.3-35.3 mg/100mL, Reducing sugars 5.4-10.7 mg/100mL and antioxidant activity (85-67%), Total polyphenolic content (42.5-32.6 mg GAE/100mL),Total flavanoids (14.5-28.7 mg/100mL) with LAB capable of maintaining cell counts of 7.39 log CFU/mL. The bioprocess optimized for the Indian gooseberry lacto pickle as 5.0% (v/v) (106 CFU/mL) active starter culture and 5% brine solution for fermentation at 37ºC for 24 hr. The microbiological and physicochemical parameters of stored lacto-pickle (90 days) were; LAB count-6.22-7.27 log CFU/mL, 1ºBrix, Titrable acidity 0.24-0.64 %, pH 7.0-2.8, Total Sugars 20.1-11.6 mg/100g, Reducing sugars 2.60-14.6 mg/100g, viz. nutraceuticals Total antioxidant activity 86.1- 90.2%, Total polyphenolic content 16.6-37.8 mg GAE/100g and Total flavanoids 4.007-55.7 mg/100g. The overall acceptability of beverage and pickle was 7±0.2 on nine point hedonic scale. The bio-interventions: Gooseberry beverage and pickle endowed with organic acids, metabolites, antioxidants, polyphenols and flavonoids showed antimicrobial activity against food borne pathogens Staphylococcus aureus MTCC3906, Listeria monocytogenes MTCC657, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC109, Escherichia coli MTCC443, Aeromonas hydrophila MTCC173 as well as arrested the initial phase of Molt-4 cancer cell lines, down regulating the expression of proto-oncogenes and up regulating the tumor suppressor gene exhibiting the antitumorigenic effect.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Determinants of entrepreneurship development in beekeeping : case studies of Punjab
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Vajpai, Vikas; Rupinder Kaur
    The present study was undertaken with the objectives to study the socio-economic and psychological traits, institutional framework, impact of family capital and social capital on beekeeping, document marketing strategies and innovations used by beekeepers, identify challenges in exploiting innovative opportunities and identify major problems being faced by the beekeepers. Study was conducted in 22 districts of Punjab state. A total of 44 progressive beekeepers were selected using proportional probability sampling and case study design for the study. Data were collected by personal interview method. It was found that 47.73 per cent of the respondents belonged to middle age (44-55) and most of them were educated up to senior secondary with operational land holding more than 10 acres. Respondents had high level of mass media exposure. Hort. Dept. and PAU scientists were major formal sources of information. Nearly 60.00 of the respondents had high level of achievement motivation and half were moderate internal risk takers. Respondents had rational decision-making style. Nearly one third of the respondents had balanced locus of control and 60.00 per cent of farmers were having high level of innovativeness. Commercial banks were the first preferred economic institutional support by the Respondents. Majority of the respondents preferred “PAU or KVKs” For capacity building through training. In case of standardization and certification of honey, respondents were registered under the AGMARK. Nearly one third of the Respondents preferred NAFED/ MARKFED for regulating market quality, supply and price of honey and honey products. For social support respondents preferred family. Family capital and social capital both had positive impact on up scaled beekeeping enterprise. For maintenance of good quality of honey, nearly 66.00 per cent of respondents avoided the use of restricted chemicals as well as keeping honey in air tight containers. About two third of the respondents were practicing direct marketing of honey and honey products. Nearly 61.36 per cent of the respondents had sold honey directly to wholesaler/ through distributors. Very few (13.64%) respondents exported honey through APEDA. The challenges faced by the respondents which had a key role of exploiting innovative opportunities were seeking financial support for the enterprise followed by looking market for quality bee products, convincing/ satisfying consumers for quality and search of bee flora in other states as well as meeting standard of quality of trade the major challenges. The major problems were lack of bee flora in the Punjab state followed by too much use of agrochemicals, lack of insurances policy, accidental or any other major loss and burning of crop residue.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Mapping of Ascochyta blight resistance gene(s)/QTLs from exotic Cicer arietinum L. germplasm in cultivated kabuli chickpea
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Lovepreet Kaur; Ajinder Kaur
    Chickpea is an important pulse crop in the world after dry beans. Ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta rabiei is a major fungal disease of chickpea and can cause upto 100% yield losses under favourable conditions. It is both air-borne and seed-borne disease that spreads rapidly to all the aerial parts including leaves, petioles, flowers, pods, branches and stems leading to rapid collapse and death of plants. The present investigation was undertaken for mapping of Ascochyta blight resistance gene using an interspecific population. The chickpea cultivar, L 552, besides having several agronomically important characters is susceptible to Ascochyta blight and the exotic accession, FLIP 05-43, is resistant to Ascochyta blight. An F2 interspecific population was developed from cross between L 552 (female parent) and FLIP 05-43 (donar parent). Inheritance studies in F2 and F2:3 populations revealed that inheritance of Ascochyta blight resistance was controlled by monogenic recessive gene, that was designated as arr6. A total of 300 SSR markers were used for polymorphism survey of the parents. A considerably low polymorphism of 15.30 % was found between the parents, and 46 polymorphic markers were used for genotyping of F2 population. For generating linkage map, these 46 SSRs were subjected to linkage analysis using MAPDISTO (1.7.6.5) software at LOD of 3, only 31 markers were mapped generating a linkage map of 377.14 cM with eight linkage groups. Using this linkage map, arr6 gene was mapped onto linkage group 4 at a distance of 8.6 cM distal to CGMM072 marker and from NCPGR247 marker, it was located at a distance 16.1 cM. There is a need to identify more SSR markers in the region lying between the markers CGMM072 and NCPGR247 in order to minimize the distance from the arr6 gene and its transfer to the elite cultivar (L 552) for providing durable resistance against Ascochyta blight. Thus, this study provides further prospective for fine mapping and map based cloning of the arr6 gene.
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    ThesisItemRestricted
    Effect of nutrition and planting distance on production of quality cut stems of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum Ramat.) Kitam
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Malkit Singh; Madhu Bala
    The study was conducted on “Effect of nutrition and planting distance on production of quality cut stems of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum Ramat.) Kitam.” at the Research Farm and Postgraduate Laboratory of the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during the year 2018-19. Plants of chrysanthemum cv. “Yellow Star” planted at different spacings (10×10 cm, 15×10 cm and 20×10 cm) were subjected to different applications of nitrogen levels (control, 10, 20, 30 and 40 g/m2). The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications. The observations recorded revealed that all the vegetative and floral parameters were influenced by different levels of nitrogen and plant distances. Nitrogen applied @ 10 g/m2 recorded the minimum days to bud appearance (89.11 days) and days to 50 % flowering (102.00 days). The maximum flower diameter (12.52 cm), number of flowers/stem (11.73), weight of fresh cut stem (86.80 g) and vase life (21.66 days) were also observed in the same treatment, whereas, nitrogen applied @ 40 g/m2 resulted in the maximum plant height (83.77 cm), number of leaves/plant (43.62) and length of cut stem (77.14 cm). With respect to spacing treatments, the results obtained from plants planted at 20×10 cm revealed the maximum leaf area/plant (1326.34 cm2), number of leaves/plant (37.53), flower diameter (11.24 cm), number of flowers/stem (9.48), weight of fresh cut stem (75.83 g) and vase life (19.33 days). However, the maximum plant height (80.65 cm), minimum days to bud appearance (90.93 days), minimum days to 50% flowering (106.40 days) and maximum cut stem length (74.64 cm) was recorded in plants planted at 10×10 cm. From the present study, it can be concluded that chrysanthemum plants fertilized with nitrogen @ 10 g/m2 and planted at 20×10 cm spacing is an ideal combination of fertilization and plant distance for production of good quality cut stems of chrysanthemum cv. „Yellow Star”.