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Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar
After independence, development of the rural sector was considered the primary concern of the Government of India. In 1949, with the appointment of the Radhakrishnan University Education Commission, imparting of agricultural education through the setting up of rural universities became the focal point. Later, in 1954 an Indo-American team led by Dr. K.R. Damle, the Vice-President of ICAR, was constituted that arrived at the idea of establishing a Rural University on the land-grant pattern of USA. As a consequence a contract between the Government of India, the Technical Cooperation Mission and some land-grant universities of USA, was signed to promote agricultural education in the country. The US universities included the universities of Tennessee, the Ohio State University, the Kansas State University, The University of Illinois, the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Missouri. The task of assisting Uttar Pradesh in establishing an agricultural university was assigned to the University of Illinois which signed a contract in 1959 to establish an agricultural University in the State. Dean, H.W. Hannah, of the University of Illinois prepared a blueprint for a Rural University to be set up at the Tarai State Farm in the district Nainital, UP. In the initial stage the University of Illinois also offered the services of its scientists and teachers. Thus, in 1960, the first agricultural university of India, UP Agricultural University, came into being by an Act of legislation, UP Act XI-V of 1958. The Act was later amended under UP Universities Re-enactment and Amendment Act 1972 and the University was rechristened as Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology keeping in view the contributions of Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant, the then Chief Minister of UP. The University was dedicated to the Nation by the first Prime Minister of India Pt Jawaharlal Nehru on 17 November 1960.
The G.B. Pant University is a symbol of successful partnership between India and the United States. The establishment of this university brought about a revolution in agricultural education, research and extension. It paved the way for setting up of 31 other agricultural universities in the country.
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ThesisItem Open Access Synthesis, characterization and drought stress alleviating attributes of zinc oxide and urea doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles on Eleusine coracana (l.) gaertn.(G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, 2022-10) Mishra, Dhruv; Chaturvedi, PreetiGlobally, fertilizers play a significant role in increasing agricultural crop production. owever, non-targeted application and the high cost of the conventional fertilizer is a major bottleneck for soil health and environmental safety. Therefore, there is a need to develop a sustainable approach for synthesis and the utilization of the fertilizer that reduces its costs through an effective and targeted application. The present study aimed to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and urea doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CaP-U NPs) as crop nutrients that are distributed in a controlled manner for use as a fertilizer. Both nanoparticles have outstanding biocompatibility and played an essential role in plant growth. The fabricated NPs were characterized by UV-Visible Spectrophotometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Zeta Potential and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Under in-vitro condition, ZnO NPs at 100 μg/ml, inhibited 73.5% of DPPH concentration. ZnO NPs, showed strong anti-inflammatory activity and antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. Application of ZnO and CaP-U NPs on finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) (var. VL-379) under in-vitro conditions significantly increased seed germination, seedling vigour, shoot-root length, fresh and dry weight, chlorophyll content, SOD, POD and APX activity. Under glasshouse conditions, foliar spray of ZnO NPs (50 and 100 ppm), ZnSO4 (50 and 100 ppm), CaP-U NPs (0.1 and 0.5 %) and bulk urea (0.1, and 0.5 %) at 15 and 30 days after sowing significantly enhanced shoot-root length, plant fresh and dry weight, Chlorophyll a & b, proline, total phenolic content and antioxidant defense enzymes and significantly lowered MDA and H2O2 content under drought stress. The results of the study revealed that both the NPs play a significant role in augmenting finger millet growth as well as alleviation of the adverse effects of drought.ThesisItem Open Access “Clonal propagation and bioprospection studies of marchantia spp.”(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. PIN - 263145, 2022-09) Negi, Sweta; Chaturvedi, PreetiBryophytes are first successful land colonising plant community. They form second largest taxonomic category of plants after angiosperms. Although, these are rich in biochemical compounds, yet their chemistry has been negligibly explored much due to habitat specificity and low sample availability. The present study consists of two major experiments. First experiment investigated theprotocol for mass multiplication of one of the most important genera of bryophytes i.e., Marchantia. Lab cultivation of 2 species of Marchantia, M. polymorpha and M.papillata was successfully done through in vitro MS medium culture and ex vitro soil culture respectively. Gemmae (surface sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite) were used as an explant for in-vitro culture of M. polymorphaonhalf strength MS mediumw/o sucrose.Among all tested lights, nutrients and temperature conditions, optimum thallus proliferation was seen in white light at 20°C. For ex vitro soil culture of M. papillata, treatment with rice-washed water in soil,sand,cocopeat and vermicompost mixture showed best results for thallus proliferation. Lab established clonal population of M. papillata was bio prospected for various biological activities and results were compared with those of the wild population in the second experiment. Methanolic and aqueous extract was subjected to both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant assays. Anti-inflammatory activity and anti-diabetic activity was measured by egg-albumin protein denaturation assay and α- amylase inhibitory assay respectively. Methanolic extracts of lab propagated plants exhibited higher antioxidant and anti-diabetic activity whereas methanolic extract of wild population exhibited higher anti-inflammatory activity. The aqueous extract of lab propagated plants showed highest herbicidal activity. The GC-MS analysis of methanolic extracts of wild and labgrown M. papillata majorly showed the presence of methyl esters, phytol, linoleic acid and sesquiterpenoids etc., contributing to the pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antidiabetic etc.Comprehensively, this study allows to obtain the monocultured sample availability all around the year resulting in the conservation of species as well as usage of in-vitroand ex vitro grown axenic populationsas a substitute of wild populations of for research and clinical purposes.ThesisItem Open Access Digitization of G.B. Pant University herbarium(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. PIN - 263145, 2022-09) Sharma, Roopali; Rawat, D.S.Herbaria are the main source of information in plant taxonomy and required in research on biodiversity, ecology, and evolution. Till a few decades ago a visit to herbarium was essential to utilize this resource but with the advancement of digital technology herbaria are now accessible on the internet. A small herbarium exists in the Department of Biological Sciences, CBSH, Pantnagar but it is not accessible on the internet. The goal of the current study was to digitize this herbarium with limited resources available and to make it accessible through the internet. All the herbarium specimens were family wise arranged following APG IV classification and within family genera and species were arranged in alphabetical order. Information on specimen labels was digitized and a complete catalogue of specimens was prepared. Each species name was checked in Plants of the World Online database for its current systematic position and accepted name. Images of specimens were prepared using a DSLR camera. A website tentatively named as ‘Virtual Herbarium Pantnagar’ was created on Google site tool with 07 main pages and 89 subpages. Resized images of one specimen for each species were uploaded on the subpages dedicated to each seed plant family. Few more images of the same species are also accessible through embedded hyperlinks. Currently accepted name, accession number, collector’s name and links to more specimens were also provided with each image. There are a total 1,342 herbarium sheets stored in the physical herbarium which represent 34 orders, 84 families, 301 genera, 416 species of angiosperms, 01 order, 02 families, 03 genera, 03 species of gymnosperms and 35 voucher specimens. In virtual herbarium 454 images of herbarium specimens are displayed while 365 images are accessible by hyperlinks. Voucher specimen images (35) are displayed on two separate pages under ‘Voucher specimens’. Caryophyllales (204 specimens, 07 families, 34 genera, 64 species), Lamiales (159 specimens, 11 families, 37 genera, 49 species), Poales (92 specimens, 02 families, 36 genera, 48 species) are three largest orders and Asteraceae (123 specimens, 23 genera, 23 species), Fabaceae (118 specimens, 34 genera, 51 species), Caryophyllaceae (110 specimens, 18 genera, 43 species) are three largest represented families in the herbarium. The ‘Virtual Herbarium Pantnagar’ after publication on the internet will make the herbarium accessible globally and it may serve as a template for very small herbaria to display their wealth of herbarium specimens to all interested researchers in the world arena by developing similar databases.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of natural farming inputs and their microbes on the growth of french bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) and onion (allium cepa L.)(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. PIN - 263145, 2022-09) Pandey, Janarjan; Sharma, A.K.Use of Natural Farming Inputs is viewed as one of the means to avoid using synthetic and inorganic chemicals in agriculture while also achieving the organic goals and sustainability. Present study was planned to check the impact of natural farming inputs and their microbes in the growth of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.). A field experiment was conducted to see the effect of different natural farming inputs on growth and yield of onion and French bean. The treatments used were T1- Control, T2- Vermiwash, T3- Beejamruth + Jeevamruth, T4- Amritpani + Jeevamruth, T5- Beejamruth + Vermiwash, T6- Beejamruth + Panchgavya + Amritpani, T7- Beejamruth + Jeevamruth + Panchgavya, T8- Beejamruth + Jeevamruth + Vermiwash, T9- Vermiwash + Panchgavya + Amritpani, T10- Panchgavya. Out of which T3 showed higher plant fresh weight, weight of bulb per plant and importantly higher yield as compared to other treatments and control in onion. Whereas in French bean, T9 showed the higher root length, plant fresh weight, number of pod/plant, length of pod, weight of per pod, diameter of per pod, total yield, and foliar nutrients like total nitrogen, total potassium; total sugar and total protein as compared to other treatments. The microbial activity of natural farming inputs was analyzed, in which the higher number of bacterial, fungal, zinc and potassium solubilizing bacterial population was found in Panchgavya. Higher actinomycetes, nitrogen and phosphorus solubilizing population were present in Jeevamruth. In glasshouse, an experiment was conducted to study the role of microbes present in natural farming inputs in French bean. The treatments used were Panchgavya, Jeevamruth, Amritpani, Beejamruth, Vermiwash and the microbes isolated from each. Panchgavya showed the higher root length, fresh weight, dry weight, length and weight of pod, organic carbon, foliar nitrogen content, foliar phosphorus content, urease activity, acid phosphomonoesterase activity and alkaline Phosphomonoesterase activity as compared to control and other treatments. Compared to all isolated microbes, better results were shown by microbes isolated from Panchgavya. Present study showed that natural farming inputs can be used as effective natural method to enhance the crop growth and productivity under natural conditions and can be a good replacement for chemical fertilizers.ThesisItem Open Access Distribution of angiosperms in the Himalaya(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. PIN - 263145, 2022-09) Dhoundiyal, Anurag; Rawat, D.S.Angiosperms are a highly diverse and most successful plant group on Earth. The Himalaya is a mountain chain which is exceptionally rich in harbouring diverse angiosperm flora and recognized as one of the 36 biodiversity hotspots of the world. An exclusive Flora of the Himalaya does not exist and angiosperm diversity in the entire mountain range is speculative. Considering this lacuna an attempt is made to assess angiosperm diversity and its distribution in the Himalaya. Data in this work has been collected from various floristic accounts such as books, Floras, monographs, and research papers that represented the flora of one or the other regions of the Himalaya. Every species is enumerated in the checklists of families after following APG IV system of classification and cross-examining them in Plants of the World Online and Catalogue of Life 2022 databases for currently accepted names. The results show presence of 11,624 species, 2,369 genera and 228 families belonging to 52 orders in the Himalaya. These numbers are higher than the earlier estimates and prove that 3.44% of the angiosperm species known in the world can be seen in the Himalaya which constitutes only 0.262% of the land surface of earth. Similarly, 17.29% genera, 54.80% families and 81.25% orders of the angiosperms known in the world are represented in the Himalaya. Order Poales Small (1,328 species), Family Poaceae Barnhart 864 species) and genus Carex L. (186 species) emerged as the largest taxa. Out of all subdivisions, Nepal was having highest number of species (5,719) followed by Bhutan (5,717), Sikkim (5,476), Arunachal Pradesh (4,752), Uttarakhand (4,589), Jammu Kashmir (3,305), Himachal Pradesh (3,146) and Darjeeling (1,694), respectively. The distribution patterns of 30 dominant families and genera show that 13 families and 10 genera show a clear trend of increasing number of species from western to eastern Himalaya and 4 families and 7 genera show the opposite trend. Other 13 larger families and 13 genera do not show any conclusive trend. The results demonstrate that the Eastern Himalayan region is richer in taxa and contributes to a larger fraction of species richness in the Himalaya in comparison to Western Himalayan region.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of phytochemicals and antioxidant potential of six selected tree species(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2022-03) Chanyal, Vimal Kumar; Rao, P.B.Traditional systems of medicine, modern medications, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk medicines and pharmaceutical intermediates etc., used medicinal plants as a source of innovative drugs. In the present study, antioxidants activity of six tree species in both aquamthanol and aqua acetone extracts was assessed by using standard methods. Highest yield in aqua-methanol and aqua-acetone extracts was obtained both in Putranjiva roxburghii (21.09 % and 18.60 %, respectively). Majority of the phytochemicals were present in all the selected plant species. In aqua-methanol extract, oils and resins were absent in A. marmelos, C. fistula, and P. roxburghii; saponins were absent in M. philippensis, A. marmelos and A. indica. In aqua-acetone extract, quinones were absent in Aegle marmelos and Syzygium cumini; terpenoids were absent in Azadirachta indica; and saponins were absent in Mallotus philippensis. DPPH scavenging activity (%) was maximum P. roxburghii (68.16 ± 0.38 and 66.73 ± 0.52) in both aqua-methanol and aqua acetone extracts, respectively. Comparatively lower IC50 (μg/ml) values of DPPH were obtained in M. philippensis (26.82 and 81.49) in both aqua-methanol and aqua-acetone extracts, respectively. Comparatively higher FRAP activity (μg GAE/mg of extract) was exhibited by A. indica (31.06 ± 0.35) and M. philippensis (17.53 ± 0.30) in both aqua-methanol and aqua-acetone extracts than in rest of the tree species. The TPC (μg GAE/mg extract) was highest in M. philippensis (31.21 ± 0.18 and 28.37 ± 0.16) both in aqua-methanol and aqua-acetone extracts, respectively, while TFC (μg QE/mg extract) was in M. philippensis (29.66 ± 0.41 and 26.69 ± 0.30) in both aqua-methanol and aqua-acetone, respectively. Positively strong correlation was exhibited in terms of DPPH, FRAP, and TPC by most of the plant species in both the solvents except in M. philippensis, in which, it was very weak between TPC vs FRAP. Thus, among the solvents, aqua-methanol extracts exhibited comparatively higher antioxidant potential than aquaacetone and among the species, P. roxburghii and M. philippensis showed comparatively higher activity than in rest of tree species. Therefore, these tree species can be used as a natural plant antioxidant and can be exploited in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.ThesisItem Open Access Effect of Vrikshayurveda based herbal Kunapjala (liquid biofertilizer) on growth, flower yield and essential oil quality of Matricaria chamomilla L.(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2021-12) Kalpasi, Ankita; Chaturvedi, PreetiA field experiment was conducted during December 2020 to April 2021 at “Medicinal Plants Research and Development Centre” (MRDC), G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, U.S. Nagar (Uttarakhand)to study the “Effect of Vrikshayurveda based herbal Kunapjala (Liquid BioFertilizer) on Growth, Flower Yield and Essential Oil Quality of Matricaria chamomilla L.” The experiment was conducted in randomized block design containing 10 treatments with three replications. Three different types of Kunapjala at three different doses were compared to RDF for improvement of vegetative, floral and essential oil attributes of M. chamomila in field conditions. The soil of experimental field wassandy clay loam with pH (6.67), EC (0.101dS/m), organic carbon (0.68%), available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (183.57, 20.18 and 188.51 kg/ha respectively). In the present investigation, RDF showed significantly higher values of all vegetative parameters which was very close to the values obtained by higher doses of herbal Kunapjala. The different floral parameters were significantly affected by different treatments. Though number of flowers and flower yield was higher in T10 (RDF), the highest doses of nettle based Kunapjala (T3) promoted early bud initiation and flower diameter. Similarly, maximum oil content (0.27 %) was also obtained in T3. Number of bioactive compounds in essential oil were also highest (33) with nettle based Kunapjala. The higher doses of Kunapjala increased the process of mineralization making the essential nutrients (NPK) available to plants similar to that provided by the chemical fertilizers. The value of TPC and TFC also showed dose dependent increase with increasing doses of herbal Kunapjala and was found maximum in T3 which in turn increased the antioxidant potential of M. chamomilla. There was seen a dose dependent increase with increasing Kunapjala dosage and hence optimization of the Kunapjala doses is essential for field application in different crops. Hence, from the results of present investigation it can be concluded that the Vrikshayurveda based herbal Kunapjala prepared from easily available livestock excreta, agricultural weeds and other common household organic products can be used as a successful and sustainable alternative to the chemical fertilizers for increasing crop productivity and soil fertility. As the experiment was conducted for just one season, one more year of investigation is required for the validation of the results obtained.ThesisItem Open Access Media optimization for Fusarium pallidoroseum, a novel biofertilizer(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2021-11) Bahuguna, Aabha; Sharma, A.K.Food is the main source for humans and development of nation is directly proportional to the amount of food or nutrients available to the population. The growing population and limited cultivation land demand the application of fertilizer to meet the human needs. Because of its vast potentiality in increasing crop productivity and food safety, the application of microorganisms as biofertilizer is seen as potential alternative to chemical fertilizer. Though Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) are recognized as a distinctive biofertilizer yet they are difficult to mass multiply since they are biotrophs, and their growth under axenic conditions has proved to be impossible. Therefore, a newly described axenically cultivable endophytic and saprophytic fungus Fusarium pallidoroseum, a novel biofertilizer which has a substantial favourable impact on plant growth promotion has been discovered. There is a little information about the culture media used for the production of spores. Therefore, our current study was carried out to optimize submerged fermentation medium for Fusarium pallidoroseum and evaluating highest spore producing cultivation media composition by Plackett Burmann Design (PBD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The PBD selected 6 significant medium composition out of the 10 screened. Among which three significant factors Peptone (P value of < 0.0001 and F = 81.14), K2HPO4 (P value of < 0.0003 and F value = 28.42) and trace metals (P value of < 0.0001 and F value of 39.39) were chosen for RSM to produce higher spore production. Therefore, an optimized cultivation media 0.0592 (g/L) K2HPO4, 0.0531 (g/L) MgSO4, 0.113 (g/L) CaCl2, 25.6 (g/L) Sucrose, 0.03 (g/L) Ferric Ammonium citrate, 0.002 (g/L) EDTA, 0.063 (g/L) NaCl, 2 (ml/L) Trace metals, 0.434 (g/L) Na2HPO4, and 6 (g/L) Peptone was obtained through PBD and RSM.ThesisItem Open Access Optimization of media using statistical approach for growing algal isolates and designing a novel photobioreactor for wastewater treatment(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2021-02) Mehta, Samridhi; Sharma, A.K.Current global environmental issues raise unavoidable challenges for our use of natural resources. Supplying the human population with clean water is becoming a global problem. Numerous organic and inorganic impurities in municipal, industrial, and agricultural waters, ranging from micro-plastics to high nutrient loads and heavy metals, endanger our nutrition and health. The development of efficient wastewater treatment technologies and circular economic approaches is thus becoming increasingly important. Water scarcity and emerging demands for renewable energy have increased concerns about energy security and advanced wastewater treatment, and microalgae have emerged as promising candidates to solve these problems. The biomass production of microalgae using industrial wastewater offers the possibility of recycling industrial residues to create new sources of raw materials for energy and material use. The present study aims at media optimization using statistical tools for enhanced biomass production in the microalgae isolated from wastewater sample and further designing a photobioreactor for the wastewater treatment using the microalgae. Out of 27 isolates, four are selected for Plackett-Burman Design (PBD) to find the significant factors that affect their biomass production. Three significant factors that affect the biomass production positively are taken for optimization using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). An optimized media is prepared using the concentrations obtained through PBD and RSM. Out of 4 cultures, one is selected for wastewater treatment. Using molecular tools, the culture is identified as Coelastrella sp. A photobioreactor is designed for wastewater treatment and microalgae cultivation. The treatment is carried out using encapsulated and non-encapsulated Coelastrella sp. in the novel photobioreactor for 4 days. The efficacy of treatment process is evaluated for Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and pH. Through this study, it is found that non-encapsulated microalgae can efficiently reduce the BOD by 72.7% and COD by 73.9%, whereas in the encapsulated the reduction of 17.68% and 17.39% in BOD and COD was observed, respectively. Therefore, the current study provides the initial evidence for the effectiveness of indigenous microalgae in wastewater treatment using a novel photobioreactor.
