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ThesisItem Open Access Effect of Sowing Window Crop Ecologies and Herbicides on ACCase Resistant Phalaris minor in Wheat under Irrigated Conditions(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-07-03) Sharma, Jyoti; Kumar, AnilThe present study entitled “Effect of Sowing Window Crop Ecologies and Herbicides on ACCase Resistant Phalaris minor in Wheat under Irrigated Conditions” was conducted at the Research Farm, Division of Agronomy, SKUAST- J, Chatha during Rabi season of 2021-22 and 2022-23. The experiment-I entitled “Effect of normal sowing window crop ecologies and herbicides on ACCase resistant Phalaris minor in wheat under irrigated conditions was laid out in split plot design with sowing window viz. (5th Nov, 15th Nov and 25th Nov) as main plot treatments and weed management as sub plot treatments which were replicated thrice. The different pre, early-post and post emergence herbicides were applied for control of ACCase resistant Phalaris minor in wheat. The application of fertilizers were done in accordance with the recommended package and practices of SKUAST-J, Chatha. The experiment results revealed that wheat crop sown on 5th November sowing window recorded significantly lowest Phalaris minor density and biomass at different growth stages of wheat which leads to enhancement in yield attributes, yield and net returns and B:C ratio. Among the various weed management practices, weed free recorded significantly higher yield attributes and yield. However, among the various herbicidal treatments, pre-emergence application of Pyroxasulfone @127.5 g ha-1 recorded significantly lowest Phalaris minor density, biomass and higher yield attributes and yield, gross returns, net returns which was statistically at par with the early post emergence application of Pyroxasulfone 127.5 g ha-1, post-emergence application of Pinoxaden 40 g ha-1and pre- emergence application of Flumioxazin 125 g ha-1 while post-emergence application of Pinoxaden 40 g ha-1 recorded higher B:C ratio. Similarly, another field experiment was conducted under late sowing window with 3 different sowing window (15th Dec, 25th Dec and 5th Jan) and having similar weed management treatments as experiment- I. Among the late sowing window, 15th December sowing window recorded significantly lowest Phalaris minor density, biomass which leads to significant higher yield attributes, yield and net returns and B:C ratio. By and large similar results were obtained with respect to weed management treatment as experiment-I. A pot bioassay experiment for “Evaluation of different herbicides on ACCase resistant strains of Phalaris minor” was conducted in completely randomized block design consisting of seven treatments which were replicated thrice for three P. minor biotypes keeping Sundarbani, Rajouri biotype as susceptible (control). The P. minor biotypes were evaluated against seven recommended herbicides (flumioxazin, pyraxasulfone, metribuzin, clodinafop, fenoxaprop and pinoxaden) with their graded doses (0, 1/4X, 1/2X, X (Recommended dose), 2X and 4X) respectively. Pot experiment results revealed that three P. minor biotype i,e Karnal Kothi, Suchetgarh, Jammu, Sangyal, R.S. Pura, Jammu and Bera, R.S. Pura, Jammu were found resistant to ACCase herbicides like Clodinofop propargyl, fenoxaprop and pinoxaden than flumioxazin and pyraxasulphone. The development of resistance among these three P. minor biotypes were also confirmed by the higher GR50 (g/ha) values and resistant index compared with susceptible biotype during both the year of cropping. Resistant P. minor also recorded numerically morphological characteristics as compared to susceptible biotype of P. minor during both the year. Henceforth, based on the two years of investigation it can be concluded that wheat crop sown on 5th November and 15th December along with the pre-emergence application of pyroxasulfone @127.5 g ha-1 beside better management of weeds achieved with respect to lower P. minor density and dry matter thus leading to relatively higher wheat productivity for resource poor farmers. Pre-emergence application of Pyroxasulfone @127.5 g ha-1 can be recommended for higher wheat productivity. Whereas, for resource rich farmers Pursuit viz. post-emergence application of pinoxaden @ 80 g/ha at 3-4 leaf stage weed management treatments could also be taken up along with wheat crop sown on 5th November and 15th December thus providing the diverse nature of herbicidal weed management options under scarce labour availability condition to different economic strata of farmers of subtropical irrigated conditions of Jammu. Pot bioassay revealed that P. minor biotype collected from Karnal Kothi, Suchetgarh, Jammu, Bera, R.S. Pura, Jammu, Sangyal, R.S. Pura, Jammu was found to be resistant to ACCase inhibitors clodinafop and fenoxaprop and pinoxaden. The selection pressure exerted by continuous use of herbicides in wheat might have led to the development of herbicide resistance in P. minor. This necessitated the use of ACCase resistant herbicides like pyraxasulfone and flumixazin for P. minor. These promising herbicidal management options in respect of three location specific diverse biotypes can be safely recommended to target farmers on the premise that the germplasm doesn’t spread further over larger pockets of wheat growing areas.ThesisItem Open Access EVALUATION AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF LEAF AND STRIPE RUST OF WHEAT(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-05-13) Ravishankar, Lekkala Venkata; Pandey, M. K.Leaf rust and Stripe rust of wheat are responsible for significant losses in yield potential.Although, chemical control of thesediseasesisknownbutitisnoteconomicandenvironmentally friendly.Inpresentinvestigation wasduetofrequent breakdown of major seedling resistance genes in recent years and difficulties in quick replacement of susceptible wheat varietiesleadstoinvestigatesofotherformofdiseaseresistancelikeadultplantresistance(APR)andslowrustingwhich are considered asmore durable. Out of 96 germplasm and three susceptible checks viz.,Agra local, HD2967, PBW343 for stripe rust,Agra local, Karachia-65and Lalbahadur for leaf rust, nine germplasm GWJ39, GWJ48, GWJ50, GWJ53, GWJ55, GWJ64, GWJ66, GWJ77 and GJW83 for stripe rust, ten germplasm viz., GWJ38, GWJ39, GWJ56, GWJ57, GWJ61,GWJ75,GWJ77,GWJ88,GWJ89andGWJ90forleafrustshowedimmuneresponsebothatseedlingstageand adultplantstage.Seventeengermplasmviz.,GWJ5,GWJ6,GWJ10,GWJ18,GWJ19,GWJ34,GWJ35,GWJ36,GWJ37, GWJ38, GWJ45, GWJ52, GWJ54, GWJ59 GWJ69, GWJ89 and GWJ91 showed resistant reaction in seedling stage against stripe rust pathotypes but these lines become susceptible at adult plant stage. Eleven germplasm viz., GWJ3, GWJ6,GWJ33,GWJ51,GWJ54,GWJ55,GWJ69,GWJ76,GWJ81,GWJ83,GWJ84,showedseedlingresistant reaction against leaf rust pathotypes but these lines become susceptible at adult plant stage. Forty-one germplasm were observedwithACIvaluebetween>0to10asresistantatadultplantstagetostriperust,fifty-sixgermplasmwiththeACI value ranges between >0 to 10 to leaf rust.ACI values between >10 to 20 was recorded in fifteen germplasm for stripe rust and 23 germplasmfor leaf rust consideredasslowrustier line.Molecularcharacterization ofeight Yrgenelike Yr2, Yr5, Yr9, Yr10,Yr15, Yr16, Yr18 and Yr29andthreeLr genelike Lr32, Lr50, Lr67. Yr5 withACI valuein between 0to 5 in thirteen germplasm with frequency of 13.5%. Yr10 race specific withACI range between 0-5 postulated in twelve germplasm with frequency of 12.5 showed resistance response. Yr15 withACI range between 0-5 was postulated in 22 germplasm with frequency of 22.2%. Yr16 non -Race specific ACI value 6 to 12 showed Moderately susceptible to moderatelyresistantresponse and postulatedintwenty germplasmwith20.08%frequency. Yr18 withACIvalue6to60 showed moderately resistance to moderate susceptible response in thirty-two germplasm with 33.33 % frequency and Yr29 non-race specific with ACI value 6 to 60 showed moderately susceptible to susceptible response with 20.8 % frequency. Yr9 was postulated in seventeen germplasm with andACI value ranges between 6 to 40 showed susceptible response with 27.4 % frequency. Yr2 ACI value ranges between 9 to 70 showed susceptible response with in in forty germplasmwith40.4%frequencyforstriperust.RacespecificandallstageleafrustresistantgeneLr32ACIvalueranges between 0 to 3 showed resistance response in six germplasm with 7.29 % frequency. non -Race specific and adult plant resistancegeneLr50withACIvalueranges1to30with23.9%frequency.Anon-Racespecificandadultplantresistance geneLr67withACIvaluewaspostulatedintwenty-germplasmwithvalue1to21showedresistanttomoderateresistant with20.8%frequencytoleafrust.InIndia,prevalentpathotypesforyellowrustinclude46S119,110S119,and238S119. Yr5, Yr10, Yr15, YrSP, and YrSkgenesare resistant toPstpathotypesin Indian conditions, while in the case of leaf rust of wheat, prevalent pathotypes are 77-5, 77-9, and 104-2. Lr9, Lr19, Lr24, Lr25, Lr29, Lr32, Lr39, Lr45, and Lr47 are the genes having resistance to Ptrpathotypes in Indian conditions.ThesisItem Open Access Studies on plastic biodegradability potential of bacteria and fungi isolated from dumping ground of Jammu region(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-06-24) Sharma, Ankita; Singh, BrajeshwarThe current study entitled “Studies on plastic biodegradability potential of bacteria and fungi isolated from dumping ground of Jammu region” was conducted at Division of Microbiology, FBSc, SKUAST-Jammu. The research focused on isolating polyethylene degrading microbial population from municipal waste dumping grounds of Jammu region. Sixty two bacteria and thirty one fungi were isolated from two municipal waste dumping sites on basal media using low density polyethylene films as sole carbon source subjected to an experiment designed for ascertaining their potential to degrade low density polyethylene. After sixty days of incubation, the low density polyethylene films were observed for weight loss, tensile strength loss and wear and tear under scanning electron microscopy. These finding confirmed biodegradability potential of three bacterial isolates (MB-5, MB-12, MB-57) and three fungal isolates (MF-14, MF-16, MF-20). In case of bacterial isolates, maximum percent weight loss (23.87±02.31%), maximum percent loss in tensile strength (74.35±05.18%) was recorded with MB-57 at pH 7.0. In case of fungal isolates, MF-16 showed maximum percent weight loss (37.66±06.24%), and maximum percent loss in tensile strength (92.30%±06.98) at pH 3.5. In scanning microscopy analysis, scions/ cracks/ holes/ fissures were found on the surface of the degraded polyethylene film that confirmed biodegradation. Gram’s staining technique revealed that potential bacterial isolates MB-5 and MB-12 were Gram positive and MB-57 was Gram negative. Furthermore, all the three potential bacterial isolates were identified using a biochemical test kit (Hi25TM Media®). Molecular identification of potential bacterial isolates was accomplished through 16s rRNA gene sequencing and potential fungal isolates through 18s rRNA gene sequencing. Extract obtained after sixty days of biodegradation experiment was subjected to gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy analysis to study toxic by products produced by biodegradation of polyethylene film. The toxicity effect of polyethylene degraded byproduct on wheat seeds and macrophages cell lines (RAW 264.7 macrophages cell) was also analysed. In case of bacterial isolates, the major polyethylene degradaing by-products produced were Dotriacontane, 2 and 3- methyl triacontane and Hexadecanoic acid dissolved in diethyl ether were recorded. The by product recorded with fungal isolates were 3-Methyltriacontane, Oxalic acid, and Nonyl octacosyl ether. Among both bacterial and fungal isolates, polyethylene degraded products of bacterial isolates (MB-5 and MB-57) showed maximum inhibitory effect on seed germination percentage, elongation inhibition rate and germination index rate as compared to fungal isolates. Polyethylene degrading product of both bacterial isolates MB-57 and fungal isolates MB-20 showed maximum cytotoxicity against macrophages cell lines (RAW 264.7 macrophages cell). The following work reveals that municipal waste disposal sites contains a vast majority of microbes that have the potential to break down plastics and these microbes can be used to potentially develop effective strategies for addressing plastic pollution and its environmental impacts. This research further provides valuable insight that by-products produced due to degradation of plastics have cytotoxic effect on both plant and animal system.ThesisItem Open Access Energy Assessment and Modelling for Rice-Wheat Cropping System using Artificial Neural Networks(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-06-03) Zaffar, Obaid; Khar, SanjayThe study was conducted in the subtropics of Jammu provincewith an aim to assess the energy consumption in the rice-wheat cropping system. The data was collected from 384 farmers across three districts (Jammu, Samba, and Kathua) using an interview-based questionnaire. The multistage sampling technique was employed to select representative villagesand convenience sampling was used to select farmers from the purposively chosen districts. The study also aimed to develop an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to predict the energy consumptionusing variable reduction techniques like correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). By corelation analysis, 104-input variables were reduced to 17 variables for the paddy and 12 variables for the wheat crop. The six selected key variables using PCA for each crop were used to develop various models, including Multiple LinearRegression (MLR), Cobb-Douglas and ANNto predict energy consumption. The effectiveness of each model was evaluated using mean square error, root mean square error, coefficient of determination (R2)and mean absolute error. The results indicated that the irrigation operation was a primary source of input energy in paddy crop with water being the one of major contributor in all three districts namely Jammu, Samba and Kathua with the total input energy of 31382.45, 28474.90 and 25244.89 MJ/ha respectively. In Jammu district, water (9999.23 MJ/ha) and nitrogen fertilizer (7829.00 MJ/ha) were the major sources of input energy and in Samba district highest contributors were electricity (7938.94 MJ/ha) and water (6739.13 MJ/ha). In Kathua district, the major contributors included diesel fuel (5950.27 MJ/ha), electricity (5420.95 MJ/ha)and water (5409.64 MJ/ha). In wheat crop, fertilizer application, particularly nitrogen-based, was the primary energy-consuming operation and total input energy was found as 19325.33, 17111.37, and 18350.89 MJ/hafor Jammu, Samba, and Kathua district respectively.The energy indices like grain yield, energy efficiency, specific energy, energy productivity, and net energy were also estimated for both crops in each district. The most suitable ANN model for predicting the total energy input for paddy crop production had a topology of 6-6-3-1, with R2 of 0.83, MSE of 11,509,599.06, RMSE of 3,392.58, and MAE of 2,563.34 MJ/ha. For wheat, the optimal ANN model had a topology of 6-6-4-1, with R2 of 0.79, MSE of 4,798,158.82, RMSE of 2,190.47, and MAE of 1,701.08 MJ/ha. The ANN model determined was foundbetter than MLR and Cobb Douglas model both in paddy and wheat crops. These findings contributed valuable insights into the energy consumption patterns and modelling in rice-wheat cropping system in the subtropics of Jammu province.ThesisItem Open Access Field effectiveness of native isolates of Spodoptera frugiperda nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpfrNPV) from Jammu and Kashmir(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-05-24) Rashid, Shafiya; Gupta, R. K.Invasive pests cause severe damage if accidently introduced in any agro-ecosystem in absence of their natural enemies. The fall armyworm (Spodopterafrugiperda) (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is one of the recent examples that had introduced into the Indian state of Karnataka in India in July 2018. This pest is causing serious damage to economically important crops across the country including the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The outbreaks of this pest over the past few years spurred interest towards sustainable bio-intensive approaches for quality crop production for agricultural export in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The exploratory surveys were conducted for the isolation of native strains of Spodopterafrugiperdanucleopolyhedrovirus (SpfrMNPV) and field evaluation was conducted to determine the most promising strain as a potential biological control agent of this pest. The virus was recovered from different locations of J&K with its natural incidence varying from 0.78% to 6.07%. This is the first report from Jammu region of Northern India about the occurrence of NPVs in Spodopterafrugiperdalarval population. Among all these isolates, Jammu isolate of SpfrNPV was found to be most effective because of its higher viral activity and speed of kill against all the instars tested when inoculated via leaf disc method and intrahaemocoelic injections. Significant differences were observed in larval development period, percent pupation, adult emergence, adult longevity, percent oviposition, fecundity, percent egg hatching and per cent larval survival. However no significant difference was observed in the sex ratio of the adults emerged from the treated larvae as compared to control. The in vivo mass production was optimised by inoculating per os 2nd instar S. frugiperda larvae with an inoculum dose of 1×106POBs/larva and followed by a 7 day incubation period. However, optimum yield was obtained when late fourth larval instar were inoculated viaintrahaemocoelic injection with the inoculum dose of 1×104 POBs/larva and subjected to 3 days incubation period. To prevent the disintegration of larval cuticle and microbial contamination, moribund larvae were harvested despite the loss of POBs. In laboratory and field experiments, emamectin benzoate and SpfrNPV +Bt were found to be most effective treatments in reducing the larval population of Spodopterafrugiperda followed by SpfrNPV + sericin+ tinopal, SpfrNPV + maize flour+ jaggery and SpfrNPV suspension alone. All the treatments were found superior over control. This suggests that the Jammu isolate of SpfrNPV is likely better suited for the development as a biological insecticide for the management of S. frugiperda larval populations in J&K as a promising viable alternative to chemical insecticidesThesisItem Open Access Effect of sowing depth and integrated nutrient management on growth performance of Meliaazedarach and Melia compositain nursery stage(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-05-27) Syed, Qurat Ul Ain Binte; Sood, K. K.The present investigation“Effect of sowing depth and integrated nutrient management on growth performance of Melia azedarach and Melia compositain nursery stage”was carried in the farm of Division of Silviculture and Agroforestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Chatha during the year 2022-2023. The experiment on sowing depth consisted of Factorial Complete Randomized Design having two factors i.e, two species of Melia and three sowing depths (D1(0.2mm), D2(0.4 mm) and D3(0.6 mm))with 5 replications.Melia composita had significantly higher values for growth parameters viz, germination percentage, collar diameter, shoot length, number of leaves, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, length of primary root, fresh root weight, dry root weight, total seedling fresh weight and total seedling dry weight in both the years as well as for the overall mean.However, mean germination time was significantly lowerin Melia compositathan that of Melia azedarach in both the years as well as for their overall mean. The better germination and growth parameters of Melia composita in the current study as compared to Melia azedarach could be due to larger sized seeds in Melia composita and thereby having more food reserves and seed vigour. Growth parameters were also significantly influenced by sowing depth treatments in Melia azedarach and Melia composita in the year 2022-2023. Germination percentage, collar diameter, number of leaves, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, length of primary root, fresh root weight, dry root weight, total seedling fresh weight and total seedling dry weight were statistically superior in sowing depth D1 (0.2mm) in comparison to the remaining sowing depths. However minimum mean germination time was lowest in sowing depth in D1 (0.2mm). Overall sowing depth of D1 (0.2mm) proved to be the best in term of growth performance of both the species. In the second experiment the design of the experiment was Factorial Complete Randomized Design with three replications. The first factor included two species of Melia: Melia azedarach and Melia composita. The second factor included18 integrated nutrient treatments. Growth parameters were significantly affected by the type of species. Melia composita had higher collar diameter, shoot length, number of leaves, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, length of primary root, number of secondary roots, dry root weight, total seedling dry weight and seedling quality index than Melia azedarach. However, mean germination time in Melia composita was significantly lower than Melia azedarach. The values of growth parameters i, e germination percentage, collar diameter, shoot length, number of leaves, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, length of primary root, number of secondary roots, dry root weight, total seedling fresh weight, total seedling dry weight, seedling quality index, coefficient of velocity germination and germination rate index in both the study years were significantly higher in T16 (1.0 g N @VC +1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg)except T15 (1.0 g N @ FYM + 1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg) where it was statistically at par. In both the years under investigation available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) in soil containing Melia azedarach was significantly higher than Melia composita in 2022 and 2023. The overall mean values of available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in soil containing Melia azedarach seedlingswas also significantly higher as compared to Melia composita. In the current study the maximum available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) was observed in soil for the year 2022 and 2023 in T16 (1.0g N @VC +1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg). The values in 2022, 2023 as well as over all mean values for available N, P, K in T15(1.0 g N @ FYM + 1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg),were statistically at par with T16 (1.0g N @VC +1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg).During the both years as well as for the overall mean nitrogen, phosphorusuptake in leaves, rootsand plant as a whole was significantly higher in Melia composita than Melia azedarach. In the year 2022and 2023 and for over all mean potassiumuptake inleaves, shoot, roots and plant as a whole was also significantly higher in Melia composita. NPK uptake in leaves, shoot, roots and plant as a whole were also significantly influenced by the integrated nutrient treatments inMelia azedarach and Melia composita in the year 2022 and 2023. The overall mean of pre-said parameters also showed similar trend. NPK uptake in leaves, shoots, roots and plant as whole were maximum in integrated nutrient treatment T16 (1.0g N @VC +1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg ). T15 (1.0 g N @ FYM + 1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg) is the treatment were NPK uptakes in leaves, shoots and roots was statistically at par with those of T16 in 2022 and 2023.The overall values for N, P and K uptake in leaves, shoots roots had the same pattern. Lowest cost of seedling production was observed in T16(1.0g N @VC +1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg) in 2022, 2023 in Melia composita as well as Melia azedarach. The overall value of cost of production was also lowest in this treatment in both the species. For better germination and growth T16(1.0 g N @VC +1.0 g N + 2.0 g P + 2.0 g K/kg) should be preferred. Further, studies need to be done to compare out planting success of seedlings raised using different sowing depth treatments and different integrated nutrient management treatments in both the species.ThesisItem Open Access Impact Of Lavender Cultivation Under Aroma Mission In Doda District Of Jammu Region(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-05-31) Mahajan, Rashika; Slathia, P.S.Aroma Mission (launched in 2016) is a flagship programme of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) which aims at rural empowerment through cultivation, processing, value addition and marketing of aromatic plants such as lavender, mint, vetiver, lemon grass, palmarosa, ocimum, patchouli, rosemary, wild marigold and valerian. Lavender cultivation brought “purple revolution” to the farmers. India imports 42 tonnes of lavender oil worth Rs. 18 million per annum. In J&K, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine introduced lavender cultivation in the temperate regions of Jammu division in 2016. Lavender is being grown in J&K over an estimated area of 900 acres with an annual production of 3000 lt of lavender oil. To generalize the impact of lavender cultivation under Aroma mission, a study entitled “Impact of Lavender Cultivation under Aroma Mission in Doda District of Jammu Region” was undertaken. Based on the feasibility, one-shot case study research design was employed for the study.A list of lavender growing farmers was procured from concerned stakeholders. From the procured list, 210 lavender growers were selected by using proportionate random sampling technique from Bhalla, Bhaderwahand Dodatehsils. These 210 lavender growers belonged to 30 villages, that is 13, 7 and 10 villages of Bhalla, Bhaderwah and Doda tehsils respectively.Results revealed that no significant differences were observed between respondents of Bhalla and Bhaderwah in case of age, education, family size and experience in lavender cultivation whereas significant difference was found in case of area under lavender cultivation. Results regarding knowledgeaboutlavender production recommendations showed that overall 74 per cent of lavender growers had medium level of knowledge. Age, land holding, social participation, trainings attended, education and area under lavender cultivation significantly affected the knowledge of lavender growers. There was significant difference in the attitude of respondents ofBhalla and Bhaderwah. Overall it was found that 52 per cent respondents had less favourable attitude and 48 per cent had more favourable attitude towards lavender cultivation.RRL-12 variety of lavender was found to be predominantly grown in Doda district. Land holding, area under lavender cultivation, family size, experience in lavender cultivation, trainings attended and social participation were important variables which affected the adoption of practices namely cuttings treatment, FYM application, irrigation, weed management, insect-pest management and disease management. The contribution of lavender dry flowers in the total gross on-farm income was found to be 64 per cent. About 22 and 19 per cent of the respondents of Bhalla and Bhaderwah reported enhancement in social participation after joining the Aroma mission.Non- availability of marketing channel, lack of transportation facilities,fluctuation in market price, lack of irrigation facilities, weeds infestation, non-availability of labour on time, lack of space for lavender flowers drying and non-availability of local distillation unit are some of the constraints reported by respondents in lavender cultivationThesisItem Open Access Comparative study ofnano elicitors and their role on growth and development of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) under in-vitro conditions(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-05-15) Yousuf, Muzamil; Chand, GurdevThe present study “Comparative study of nano elicitors and their role on growth and development of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) under in-vitro conditions” was carried out at Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Division of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu during 2020 to 2023 to develop efficient sterilization, callusing, and regeneration protocol under in-vitro response using various explants of broccoli. The effect of nanoparticles (40nm) alone or along with other PGRs was studied. There were six treatments viz. Zinc oxide, Copper oxide, silver nitrate, Chitosan, Salicylic acid, and Methyl jasmonate with three different concentrations 10 mg/l,20 mg/l, and 30 mg/l.The result showed that the maximum surface sterilization of leaf explants of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) was achieved by treatment comprising of 1 % (w/v) bavistin for 5 minutes duration followed by 0.50% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite for 3 minutes and mercuric chloride 0.1% for 0.30 minute which gave 88.75% uncontaminated cultures and was highest as compared to all other treatments. Maximum callus induction frequency(CIF) (90.47%), was observed on MS media supplemented with 1.5 mg/l 2,4-D and 0.75 mg/l, Chitosan showed the maximum callus induction frequency (CIF)(90.27%), followed by 87.45% CIF on culture media supplemented with 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D + 0.75 mg/l chitosan. On the other hand, no response was seen on media without growth regulators and nanoparticles. The combination of half-strength MS basal medium, along with a specific mix of 2.0 mg/l NAA and 0.5 mg/l IBA, was most effective in improving root growth.This exceptional medium produced an impressive 84.25% rooting rate, with roots growing to a remarkable length of 4.50 cm.Maximum shoot induction (85.25%) and (52.75%) were produced from callus segments maintained on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l TDZ + 0.25 mg/l IBA and 1.5 mg/l BAP, respectively. The highest average shoot length was recorded at 4.15 cm, followed by 3.49 cm with a combination of 1.0 mg/l TDZ + 0.25 mg/l IBA and 1.5 mg/l BAP. After hardening and acclimatization various morpho-physiological parameters were studied It was found that chitosan consistently recorded the highest relative water content (92.29%). Various biochemical parameters viz. total chlorophyll content, total carotenoids, proline content, total soluble sugars, glucosinolate content, antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase) nitrate reductase activity, and pollen viability were studied Nanoparticle application under in vitro conditions enhanced and maintained the higher levels of above parameters. Salicylic acid, zinc oxide, and methyl jasmonate have a more pronounced stimulatory effect on proline and total soluble sugar found in broccoli. Chitosan recorded significantly highest glucosinolate content (8.17μmol/g FW), total biomass and salicylic acid was found effective in maintaining higher antioxidant enzyme activity(superoxide dismutase (SOD) (9.76-μmol min−1mg−1 protein), catalase (12.20 μmol min−1mg−1 protein), peroxidase (μmol min−1mg−1 protein), leaf area 219.02 cm². and also emerged as the most effective in keeping pollen viability(80.01%) and reducing flower shedding (29.01%). Methyl jasmonate exhibited the most significant effect, resulting in increasing curd diameter. With increased concentration and duration of nanoparticles, all physio morphological parameters showed a linear reduction. The in- vitrogenerated plants took fewer days to acclimate in hydroponics than pots. Noabnormal effect of nanoparticles was observed on leaf shape and colour except in silver nitrate-treated in-vitro plants, their leaves were yellow in colour and plants were stunted, molecular markers (SSR) were used to observe the genetic variation among developed in vitro lines of broccoli under in- vitro conditions. A molecular marker study showed that silver nitrate-treated in vitro plants were the most distinct from the control plants, the rest of the in-vitro plants were almost similar with similarity values of 99 to 100 % respectively. Developed in-vitro methodology from the present investigation may be valuable for commercial micropropagation of broccoli.ThesisItem Open Access Valorization of mango waste in developing functional packaging for enhancing shelf life of strawberries(Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, 2024-05-09) Javid, Shafaq; Bhat, AnjuCoatings play an imperative role in increasing the shelf life of strawberries and have potential to minimize postharvest losses. In this study, impact of coating formulated from starch, isolated from mango kernel and bioactive compounds, extracted by using three different techniques (conventional solvent extraction, microwave assisted extraction and ultrasonic assisted extraction) and solvents (distilled water, ethanol and hydro-alcohol) was evaluated. Microwave assisted extraction using hydro-alcohol resulted in highesttotalphenoliccontent(36.77mgGAE/g),totalflavonoidcontent(23.81mgQE/g), antioxidantactivity(84.78%)andtotal carotenoidcontent (9.58mg/g). Starchextracted from mango kernel was used in making edible based coating using alkaline methodand analyzed for various physico-chemical properties like yield (40.73±0.97%), amylose content (36.68±0.05%) swelling power (16.81±0.03g/g), solubility power(1.54±0.12g/g) and gelatinization power (72±3.57ºC).Thus the effect of edible coating (2,4and6%) concentration and bioactive compounds(0.5,1.0,1.5 and2.0%) were effective for prolonging the shelf life of strawberries during the storage period. Lowest decrease (12.66 per cent, 0.47 per cent, 1.59 mg GAE per gand1.96×104c.f.u/g) in physiological weight loss, titratable acidity, total antioxidant activity and microbial count was recorded in 4 percent starchand highestdecrease (19.30 per cent, 0.40 per cent, 1.52 mg GAE per g and 3.40×104c.f.u/g) was recorded in 2 per cent starch. Thereforecombined effect of starch and bioactive compounds can be integrated into the supply chain management of strawberry fruit to extend storage life, retain maximum quality attributes, marketability and maintain quality during transport and storage.Coatings are proven to be feasible due to edible, non-reactive and biodegradable nature.