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ThesisItem Open Access Exploring native arbuscular mycorrhizal diversity of agricultural lands of Kumaun Himalaya and its potential for plant growth promotion(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2018-11) Pallavi; Sharma, A.K.Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) is a symbiotic relation between roots of higher plants and members of Glomeromycota class of fungi. This symbiotic relationship results in increased water and nutrient uptake along with enhanced tolerance towards biotic and abiotic stress of plants. Although commercial AM inoculum are available but, now it is widely accepted that native AM fungi (AMF) are more efficient in imparting benefits to the plant. In the current study, the native mycorrhizal status of ten agricultural lands located at different altitudes of Kumaun Himalaya was studied. The native AMF population was enriched in glasshouse by traditional trap culturing. The potential augmentation of native AMF population by application of Parthenium based biochar was also performed. Further, the enriched AMF was used as inoculum to investigate the potential of native AMF communities to promote plant growth under irrigated and water stressed condition. in wheat (Triticum aestivum) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana). The studied sampling sites showed rich AMF communities with highest spore density of 28 spores/ g soil was observed at highest altitude i.e. Ghorpatta (2185 m asl). The AMF diversity varied along the altitude, however, morphological evidence suggested Funneliformis mosseae and Claroideoglomus claroideum as the common species found across the altitudinal range indicating some influence of same agricultural practices and cropping system. Parthenium biochar amendment at application rate of 5 g/ kg soil enhanced the mycorrhizal activity along with promoting maize (Zea mays) plant growth and foliar nutrient content. After enrichment by trap culturing, the native AMF communities were tested for their plant growth promotion potential in wheat and finger millet. All the developed inoculum improved the plant growth in both crops but the response varied. Nachini and Dwarson were found to be the most effective inoculum and were able to ameliorate drought tolerance in finger millet by enhancing SOD activity and proline content, while reducing the level of MDA and H2O2. Illumina MiSeq results indicated that trap culturing enhanced the population of opportunistic AMF species, out of which unidentified species of Acaulospora genus was the most dominant (56.8 %) and it is possible that this species is responsible for the growth promotion of plants. It is also found that under drought condition external phosphorus application of 15.5 ppm reduced the mycorrhizal intensity in finger millet plants. However, the expression of common symbiotic genes SYMRK and CCaMK didn’t show a statistically significant reduction, thus, they might not be responsible for phosphorus mediated inhibition of mycorrhizal symbiosis.ThesisItem Open Access Cultivated flora of Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2018-10) Rana, Sumita; Rawat, D.S.The flora of a particular region may contain both type of plants, i.e., wild as well as cultivated. Assessment of flora at the local level is essentially important for better management. Since the floristic diversity of cultivated flora is yet not assessed in Pantnagar area the present study was carried out during June 2014 - June 2018. The present work enumerates total 529 species belonging to 367 genera and 105 families cultivated in Pantnagar area. Dicotyledon taxa constitute the largest group (79.52 %) and represented by 419 species of 290 genera within 80 families. Monocots (18.71%) are represented by 99 species of 70 genera within 20 families. Gymnosperms (2.08 %.) are represented by 11 species of 7 genera within 5 families. The Dominant families of cultivated flora of Pantnagar are Leguminosae (Fabaceae) (48 spp.; 34 genera), Asteraceae (42 spp.; 35 genera), Malvaceae (21 spp.; 13 genera), Lamiaceae (20 spp.; 10 genera), Euphorbiaceae (19 spp.; 7 genera), Acanthaceae (16 spp.; 9 genera), Moraceae (16 spp.; 3 genera), Apocynaceae (14 spp.; 10 genera), Rubiaceae (13 spp.; 8 genera) and Solanaceae (11 spp.; 9 genera), together, these 10 dominant families have 133 genera (37.60 %) of the total genera recorded and 220 species, (41.58 %) of total species recorded within the area. In this study Ficus (Moraceae) is found to be the dominant genus in the cultivated flora of Pantnagar with 12 species, followed by Euphorbia ( Euphorbiaceae, 9 spp.), Jasminum (Oleaceae), Acacia (Leguminosae) and Hibiscus (Malvaceae) 6 spp. each; Bauhinia (Leguminosae, 5 spp.), Brassica (Brassicaceae), Cassia (Leguminosae), Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae), and Kalanchoe (Crassulaceae, 4 spp.). Habit analysis shows that herbs are dominant with 184 species (34.52%), followed by shrubs (137 spp.; 25.89%), trees (134 spp.; 25.33%), climbers (40 spp.; 7.56%), grasses (20 spp.; 3.78%) and succulents (14 spp.; 2.64%). It has also been observed that maximum number of cultivated species bloom during the months of March (51.9%), April (64.5%), May (57.4%), and June (42.7%) in this area making spring and summer flora to be the richest. The overall picture of the utility of cultivated flora of Pantnagar shows that a maximum number of species are cultivated as ornamentals 365 spp.(68.99%), followed by medicinal plants (69 spp., 13.04%), edible plants (100 spp., 18.90%), timber plants (56 spp., 10.58%), and plants for miscellaneous purposes (8 spp., 1.51%). Three threatened flowering plants of India- Santalum album (Santalaceae), Saraca asoca (Fabaceae) and Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae) are also cultivated here. Nativity of species indicated that 156 spp. (29.48%) are American, 250 spp. are Asian (47.25%, also includes 94 indigenous species), 72 spp. are African (13.61%), 42 spp. are European (7.94%), 20 spp. are Australian (3.78%), 12 spp. are Mediterranean (2.26%). Total 435 (82.07%) species are non-indigenous/exotic cultivated taxa and show a preponderance of American elements. Indigenous elements (native to this region) are represented by only 94 (17.96%) species. Pantnagar being a centre of research in horticulture, floriculture, cereals and pulse crops, fodder crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, agro-forestry, olericulture, has been introduced with various useful species, their wild relatives, improved varieties and thus becomes rich in cultivated flora.ThesisItem Open Access Morpho-anatomical and biochemical studies on some selected edible Lichens of Kumaun Himalaya(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2018-08) Pant, Vartika; Rao, P.B.Since the beginning of Egyptian and Chinese civilizations, lichens are incessantly explored in folklores as medicines in different parts of the world. In the present study, ten lichen species were selected and collected from natural habitat (Narayan Ashram, Kumaun Himalaya, Uttarakhand) to assess their morpho-anatomical features, antioxidants and antimicrobial potential, mineral contents and biochemical and chemical parameters. All the selected lichen species possessed biochemicals such as fats, flavonoids, phenols and tannins. Interestingly, alkaloids are completely absent in all the solvents (acetone, ethanol and methanol) extracts in all the 10 species. The extraction yield (%) in different species and solvents is comparatively higher in soxhlet extraction than in cold extraction. The yield (%) is maximum in R. conduplicans, D. vellerum and H. nepalense, respectively in acetone, ethanol and methanol. The maximum values in acetone, ethanol and methanol in different species in different parameters are in : D. longissima, H. nepalense and P. polydactylon TAA (μg AE/mg); D. longissima, D. longissima and T. subuliformis DPPH (%); P. reticulatum, F. caperata and P. polydactylon reducing power (nm); and H. cirrhatum, F. caperata and F. caperata FCA (%), respectively. The total phenol (mg GA/g) and flavonoid (mg QE/g) contents were maximum in R. conduplicans (97.31±2.385), F. caperata (108.94±2.279) and F. caperata (121.97±1.120); and D. vellerum (28.39±4.884), F. Caperata (32.20±1.196) and T. subuliformis(18.93±1.428) in acetone, ethanol and methanol, respectively. The SOD (U/mg), POD (U/mg) and CAT (U/mg) activities were higher in P. polydactylon (9.86±0.04), P. Reticulatum (18.20±0.388) and R. conduplicans (21.09±0.176), respectively than in other species. Maximum tannin (μg TA/g) and o-dihydroxy phenol (mg CE/g) content was in H. nepalense (16.197±0.206 and 13.459±0.690, respectively). Among the species, the protein content (mg/ mg dry wt.) is maximum in P. reticulatum (1.562 ±0.010) and minimum in F. caperata (0.474±0.003). Comparatively higher mineral content is obtained in H. nepalense (iron - 3.06±0.016, zinc - 3.63±0.062 and copper - 1.67±0.031); F. caperata (calcium - 9.84±0.040); and T. subuliformis (manganese - 0.82±0.004). The MIC (mg/ml) was maximum in P. reticulatum (1.87, 3.75 and 1.87 for B. ceraus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, respectively); H. nepalense (3.75, S. aureus); P.polydactylon (7.5, E. coli); while, D. longissima, T. subuliformis and U. subflorida (15, R. solanacearum). The FTIR analysis in different species showed the peaks between 1070 - 3800 cm-1 indicating the presences of compounds like free hydroxyl-alcohol, phenols, primary, secondary amines, amides, etc. Further, GCMS analysis revealed that the number of compounds in different species ranged from 28 (F. caperata) to 79 (H. nepalense) and the important compounds are: usnic, evernic, vulpinic, benzoi, octadecanoic acids; phytol, squalene, vitamins, and etc., possessing anticancerous, anti-inflamatory, antimicrobial properties. Among the species, H. nepalense and F. caperata are more potent than other species. Thus, the selected lichen species in the present study has a potential natural source of antioxidants, antimicrobial and biochemical compounds and can be used in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.ThesisItem Open Access Effect of organic mulching and spacing on growth and yield of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) cv. Cim Sammohak(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2018-06) Joshi, Shubham; Bisht, P.S.Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) belonging to family Asteraceae is one of the essential oil producing medicinal plant. Dry flowers of chamomile are mainly used for essential oil extraction. However, the production of dry flowers remains low due to lack of appropriate agronomic practices. The aim of present experiment was to study the “Effect of Organic Mulching and Spacing on Growth and Yield of Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) cv. CIM Sammohak”. This experiment was carried out at Medicinal Plant Research and Development Centre, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, during November 2017 to April 2018. The experimental design was Split Plot Design with three replications. There were four types of mulches; no mulch, rice straw, black gram straw and barnyard millet straw with three spacing; 30×30 cm, 30×20 cm and 30×10 cm. Mulches were assigned to main plots and spacing was allotted to sub plots. The organic mulching rate of application was 5 ton ha−1 and this was applied in the field after transplanting. Different vegetative, floral, oil, soil and weed parameters were analyzed. Flowers were picked and counted after two successive florescence. The analyzed results showed that, organic mulch and spacing had significant effect on different parameters. Interaction results showed that, highest dry flower yield was recorded under Rice straw with 30×10 cm spacing (1,304.44 kg/ha) and maximum essential oil was recorded under Barnyard millet straw with 30×10 cm plant spacing (6.74 kg/ha). Mulch also increased the soil moisture, decreased soil surface temperature and suppressed weeds for better growth of the crop.ThesisItem Open Access Trichome structure and distribution in the family Fabaceae Lindl.(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2018-07) Tamta, Ritika; Rawat, D.S.Fabaceae, also called Leguminosae or pea family, is the third largest family among the angiosperms with 741 genera and 20200 species on Earth. Contemporary scientific literature accept three subfamilies and 36 tribes in the family though recent classification by Legume Phylogeny Working Group has proposed six subfamilies in Fabaceae and placed earlier subfamily Mimosoideae embedded in Caesalpinioideae. Trichomes are invariably present on the legume species. Large number of Fabaceae members exists in Pantnagar area and a study of trichomes of 53 species and one subspecies belonging to 39 genera, 18 tribes and 3 subfamilies was conducted during 2017-18. Thirteen different surfaces of plant parts- stem, petiole, petiolule, both surfaces of leaf or leaflet blade and its margin, stipule, rachis, sepal, petal, gynoecium, androecium, pod, were examined for presence and types of trichomes. One species Caesalpinia pulcherrima was found completely glabrous while 31 types of trichomes were recorded in 53 examined taxa. Trichomes were recorded on leaf or leaflet blade in 48 taxa, on stem in 45 taxa, on petiole in 44 taxa, on gynoecium in 41 taxa, on sepals in 39 taxa, on rachis in 37 taxa, on stipule in 35 taxa, on petiolule in 27 and on petals on 15 taxa. Only non-glandular trichomes were recorded in 22 species while rest 32 taxa bear both, non-glandular and glandular trichomes. Non-glandular unicellular subulate trichomes are widespread in Fabaceae and recorded in 29 taxa while glandular multicellular clavate trichomes are most common secretary trichomes recorded in 16 taxa. Maximum five types of trichomes were recorded on Phaseolus vulgaris and Desmodium gangeticum. In family Fabaceae trichome structure and distribution were found useful for differentiating subfamilies, tribes, genera and species of studied taxa thus proves their systematic utility.ThesisItem Open Access Assessment of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of ten selected conventional medicinal plant species(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2018-07) Thapliyal, Neha; Rao, P.B.Regardless of the advent of modern high throughput drug discovery and screening procedures, traditional medicine remains as the most affordable source of treatment with minimal side effects. In this regard, antioxidants inhabiting the plant tissues have become a major area of research as they are known to sufficiently stable free radicals and neutralize them. In the present study, ten conventional medicinal plant species were selected to assess their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. In all selected plant species, the yield, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory activities were comparatively higher in methanol than in acetone extracts. In both methanol and acetone, DPPH activity (%) was maximum in Ziziphus mauritiana (91.93and 81.49) and FRAP (μg TE/mg) in Ocimum gratissimum (132.74 and 89.18, respectively); whereas TAA (μg VCE/mg) was highest in Z. mauritiana (293.18) in methanol and Achyranthes aspera (77.56) in acetone. The IC50 values (μg/ml) of Bauhinia variegate (70.51) and Z. mauritiana (60.14) were close to BHT (57.38). The TPC (μg GAE/mg) was highest in Z. mauritiana (98.54) and B. variegata (48.76) in methanol and acetone, respectively; while TFC (μg QE/mg) was maximum in Alternanthera ficoidea (25.23±012 in methanol and 19.35±0.27 in acetone). Anti-inflammatory potential against albumin denaturation (%) was comparatively higher in O. gratissimum in both methanol (35.12) and acetone (29.26) than other species. Furthermore, positive correlation was obtained between TPC-DPPH, TPC-FRAP and DPPH-FRAP, while other combinations showed no correlation. Thus, the present findings lay a scientific foundation that the above plant species with comparatively higher antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential can be utilized by pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries for developing natural curative and dietary substitutes against synthetic ones with boundless availability.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluating the impact of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) on rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2018-07) Kothari, Deepali; Sharma, A.K.Current study was carried out to demonstrate the effect of seed bacterization with two bacterial inoculum Variovorax paradoxus (RAA3) and Pseudomonas palleroniana (DPB16) on growth and nutrient content of rice and wheat under drought and irrigated condition as well as in presence or absence of green manure (Sesbania). These two bacterial strains contain 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase that plays a crucial role in alleviation of drought stress. A significant positive effect on growth and nutrient content was observed in case of rice and wheat cultivars after inoculation with RAA3 and DPB16 as compared to control of respective cultivars. Strain RAA3 and DPB16 treated plants in presence of Sesbania, significantly increased the grain yield/m2 in rice (11.2%, 9.8%) respectively over control, while in drought condition the grain yield/m2 was enhanced by 13.35% in RAA3 and 6.8% in DPB16 treatment. In case of wheat, strain RAA3 and DPB16 increased the grain yield/m2 in presence of Sesbania, by 20.61% and 10.30% over control while in drought condition the grain yield/m2 was enhanced by 24.7% in RAA3 treatment and by 10.5% in DPB16 treatment. It was also observed that treatment RAA3 under drought condition had more grain yield than control of irrigation condition by 4.88% in rice and 3.92% in wheat. Presence of organic manure along with PGPR inoculum increased the grain yield of rice and wheat by (8.7% and 8.3%) in RAA3 and (13.2% and 9.2%) in DPB16 treatment respectively. However in another experiment, it was found that PGPB treated plants increased yield significantly by 41.04% in RAA3 and 42.28% in DPB16 over control. RAA3 also showed better responses towards germination count (24.94%) as compared to control under glass house condition. On isolation of endophytic bacteria from rice, 84 morphologically different bacteria were isolated from various plant parts of three varieties of rice i.e. Swarna, Sahbhagi and IR64; out of which 54 isolates showed to have phosphate solubilising activity, 40 bacterial isolates were capable of fixing nitrogen, and 51 isolates were found to be positive for siderophore production. This finding may imply RAA3 and DPB16 in presence of Sesbania could turn out to be effective inoculants for improving the growth of plant.ThesisItem Open Access Diversity of the Family Malvaceae Juss. (Sensu APG-III) in Pantnagar(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2013-07) Karnatak, Manish; Rawat, D.S.Angiosperm are the most diverse group on earth with 2, 73,174 species on earth. Malvaceae (sensu lato) with 250 genera, 4200 species, is the twelfth largest family of Angiosperms. Malvaceae (s.l.) of recent systems of classifications includes four traditional families Malvaceae (s.s.), Bombacaceae, Sterculiaceae, Tiliaceae which have been merged together. This Malvaceae is divided into 9 subfamilies i.e. Grewioideae, Byttnerioideae, Sterculioideae, Tilioideae, Dombeyoideae, Brownlowioideae, Helicteroideae, Malvoideae and Bombacoideae. A detailed floristic work carried out in Pantnagar during 2012- 2013 indicated that from these nine subfamilies, seven subfamilies (except Tilioideae, Brownlowioideae) are present in Pantnagar and represented by 25 genera, 40 species. The largest subfamily is Malvoideae, which is represented by 12 genera 22 species. Out of these 12 genera Hibiscus is represented by 5 species, Abelmoschus, and Sida each represented by 4 species while rest genera are represented by single species. The smallest subfamilies are Helicteroideae and Bombacoideae each represented by a single genus having single species. Among the total 40 species of Malvaceae (s.l.) 29 species are wild which indicates that major part of the flora (29 species) is made up of wild species while rests 11 are cultivated. Out of these 29 species, 7 species are invasive alien plant species. Nativity analysis indicates that most of the Malvaceae (s.l.) members occurring in the study area are Asian continent elements (47.5%, 19 species), followed by American elements (15%, 6 species), African elements (12.5%, 5 species), European element (2.5%, 1 species). Rest (22.5%, 9 species) are “wides” in relation to their origin.ThesisItem Open Access In vitro establishment of Polygonatum verticillatum (L.) All. and augmentation of its phytochemical profile using elicitors(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2017-11) Tiwari, Tanuja; Chaturvedi, Preetilants as a valuable and safe natural source of medicine have drawn much scientific and commercial attention in past few decades. Polygonatum verticillatum (L.) All., an Asparagaceae member, is an important and highly valued ‘Astavarga’ medicinal herb of North West Himalaya. Regeneration of the plant through seeds is a slow process in nature owing to epicotyl dormancy. Therefore, in the present study, an effort was made to break seed dormancy, increase seed germination potential and micropropagate P. verticillatum using epicotyl and sprouted buds. Among all storage conditions and PGRs, cold moist stratification of seeds (4±10C for 4 weeks) together with GA3 (100 mg/L) pretreatment followed by germination on GA3 (50 to 100 mg/L) supplemented MS medium was found most effective to improve seed germination. Maximum per cent germination (78±3.74) was achieved through elicitation using 50µM sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Maximum per cent bud induction (90±6.1) with maximum number of buds (7.0±0.45) and shoot length (7.10±3.18cm) was achieved from epicotyl explants inoculated in MS+TDZ(1.0mg/L)+NAA(0.5mg/L)+GA3(2.0mg/L). Microshoots inoculated in MS+KN (1.0mg/L)+IAA(0.5mg/L) and MS+IBA(1.0 mg/L) respectively showed maximum per cent microrhizome induction (95±5.0) and root induction (85±6.12). Sprouted bud explants inoculated in MS+TDZ (2.0mg/L)+NAA(1.0mg/L)+GA3(2.0mg/L) showed maximum per cent shoot induction(85±10.0). However, maximum per cent rooting (70±5.0) was achieved in MS+IBA (1.0 mg/L) and MS+NAA (1.0 mg/L)+KN(0.5mg/L). Plants raised through epicotyls and sprouted buds showed 80% and 56% survival rate respectively in garden soil. An effort was also made to investigate the effect of various chemical elicitors on phytochemical profiling of the plant. Maximum total chlorophyll content (1.67±0.05 mg g-1 fresh wt.), total phenolic content (14.71±0.47mg GAE g-1), total flavonoid content (14.66±0.17 mg QE g-1) and %DPPH radical scavenging activity (60.23±0.77) were achieved in SA (300 µM), JA (300 µL/L), SA (300 µM) and SNP (50µM) elicited plants respectively. Protein content (2.40±0.06 mg g-1 fresh wt.), peroxidase activity (1.33±0.03 unit min-1mg-1protein) and catalase activity (1.32±0.05 unit min-1mg-1protein) were augmented maximum in underground parts of JA (300 µL/L) and SNP (50 µM and 100 µM) elicited plants respectively, whereas SOD activity (4.79±0.13 unit min-1mg-1protein) was reported maximum in aerial parts of SA (300 µM) elicited plants. GC-MS analysis of differently elicited plants divulged remarkable (%) increase in medicinally important compounds. Diosgenin (anticancerous, antidiabetic), 9,12Octadecadienoic acid (z,z) (anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic), Gamma-sitosterol (antidiabetic) and Squalene (anticancerous, anti-tumor) increased to maximum viz., 68.11%, 89.67%, 78.87% and 81.82% respectively in SA treated plants. Guanosine (antiprotozoal), Palmitic acid (antioxidant), Vitamin E (antiinflammatory), 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid (anti-inflammatory) increased by 53.25%, 51.68%, 83.04%, 66.50% respectively in SNP elicited plants. 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyranone (anticancerous), Deoxy-d-mannoic lactone (antibacterial) increased by 23.56% and 66.67% respectively in JA elicited plants. The present investigation gave a complete reproducible protocol for in vitro establishment of P. verticillatum. Furthermore, elicitation study on the plant helped in augmentation and authentication of neutraceutical status of the plant.