Thumbnail Image

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa

In the imperial Gazetteer of India 1878, Pusa was recorded as a government estate of about 1350 acres in Darbhanba. It was acquired by East India Company for running a stud farm to supply better breed of horses mainly for the army. Frequent incidence of glanders disease (swelling of glands), mostly affecting the valuable imported bloodstock made the civil veterinary department to shift the entire stock out of Pusa. A British tobacco concern Beg Sutherland & co. got the estate on lease but it also left in 1897 abandoning the government estate of Pusa. Lord Mayo, The Viceroy and Governor General, had been repeatedly trying to get through his proposal for setting up a directorate general of Agriculture that would take care of the soil and its productivity, formulate newer techniques of cultivation, improve the quality of seeds and livestock and also arrange for imparting agricultural education. The government of India had invited a British expert. Dr. J. A. Voelcker who had submitted as report on the development of Indian agriculture. As a follow-up action, three experts in different fields were appointed for the first time during 1885 to 1895 namely, agricultural chemist (Dr. J. W. Leafer), cryptogamic botanist (Dr. R. A. Butler) and entomologist (Dr. H. Maxwell Lefroy) with headquarters at Dehradun (U.P.) in the forest Research Institute complex. Surprisingly, until now Pusa, which was destined to become the centre of agricultural revolution in the country, was lying as before an abandoned government estate. In 1898. Lord Curzon took over as the viceroy. A widely traveled person and an administrator, he salvaged out the earlier proposal and got London’s approval for the appointment of the inspector General of Agriculture to which the first incumbent Mr. J. Mollison (Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay) joined in 1901 with headquarters at Nagpur The then government of Bengal had mooted in 1902 a proposal to the centre for setting up a model cattle farm for improving the dilapidated condition of the livestock at Pusa estate where plenty of land, water and feed would be available, and with Mr. Mollison’s support this was accepted in principle. Around Pusa, there were many British planters and also an indigo research centre Dalsing Sarai (near Pusa). Mr. Mollison’s visits to this mini British kingdom and his strong recommendations. In favour of Pusa as the most ideal place for the Bengal government project obviously caught the attention for the viceroy.

Browse

20234
Reset filters
Subject: Fruit Science × End date: 2023 × Start date: 2023 × Type: Thesis ×
Reset filters

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Pre-breeding studies on reproductive parameters of papaya
    (2023) Nagar, Sonu; PANDA, ASISH KUMAR
    The research study titled on “Pre-breeding studies on reproductive parameters of papaya” was carried out during 2022-23 at ICAR-AICRP on Fruits Farm, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar. The study involved four specific papaya cultivars viz., cv. ‘F1 Red Lady’, cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’, cv. ‘Ranchi Local’ and cv. ‘TNAU Papaya CO-8’, each two as the gynodioecious and dioecious representative, respectively. The experiment was structured in a randomized block design with five replications and the plants were spaced at 2m × 2m. The observations such as, Plant height (cm), Plant girth (cm), Collar diameter (cm), Petiole length (cm), First flowering height (cm) were recorded as pre reproductive parameters and parameters such as, Days taken for bud emergence, Interval between bud emergence to flower bud opening, Sex form, Inflorescence type (single or cluster), Number of anthers per floret, Number of stigmatic lobes, Pollen output per anther, Pollen output per flower, Pollen viability (%), Pollen germination (%), Pollen size (µm), Anthesis (Time), Anther dehiscence (Time), Time span of stigmatic receptivity (hr.), and post fertilization entities were includes, Days taken from bud emergence to ovule maturation, post- fertilization ovule degeneration (%), Days taken for fruit set, Days taken for viable seed set, Percent viable seed set in both the gynodioecious and dioecious cultivars were recorded in the reproductive phase. The present study investigated the sexual diversity and reproductive characteristics of dioecious and gynodioecious papaya cultivars. At 120 days, no significant distinctions were observed in plant height, plant girth, collar diameter, and petiole length between dioecious and gynodioecious cultivars. However, at 160 days, distinct differences emerged, with the dioecious cv. ‘Ranchi Local’ reaching a height of 76.40 cm compared to the gynodioecious cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’ at 65.00 cm. Similarly, plant girth at 160 days ranged from 12.18 cm (cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’) to 15.16 cm (cv. ‘Ranchi Local’), collar diameter spanned from 2.86 cm (cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’) to 4.28 cm (cv. ‘Ranchi Local’), and petiole length varied between 23.40 cm (cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’) and 28.60 cm (cv. ‘Ranchi Local’). First flowering height displayed no significant differences. Notably, bud emergence and flower bud opening time revealed distinctive patterns among cultivars, with dioecious cv. ‘Ranchi Local’ taking 175.20 days for bud emergence and 29.45 days for flower bud opening, gynodioecious cv. ‘F1 Red Lady’ emerging at 160.33 days and flowering at 24.58 days, and gynodioecious cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’ with bud emergence at 166.67 days and flower bud opening at 26.19 days. Anthesis timing demonstrated considerable variability, with the earliest occurrence observed in cv. ‘TNAU Papaya CO-8’ at 17.54, while the latest was recorded in cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’ Carpelloid Pentandria at 21.43. Similarly, anther dehiscence, a crucial stage in pollen release, showcased the earliest timing in cv. ‘TNAU Papaya CO-8’ at 6.34, whereas the Carpelloid Pentandria of cv. ‘Arka Prabhat’ exhibited the latest dehiscence at 9.23. Additionally, the study unveiled the nuanced stages of stigma receptivity, progressing through four distinct phases: absence during bud closure, weakly positive pre-anthesis, strong positivity during anthesis, and very strong positivity post-anthesis. Furthermore, the study delved into pollen characteristics, revealing that dioecious varieties produced pollen within the range of 11,395.60 to 11,801.60 per anther (mean 11,598.60), while gynodioecious varieties ranged from 7,157 to 10,955.80 per anther (mean 9,988.95). Dioecious pollen viability percentages spanned from 71.44% to 75.44%, while gynodioecious pollen viability percentages ranged from 24.17% to 46.80%. Similarly, dioecious pollen germination rates ranged from 62.846% to 67.635%, and gynodioecious pollen germination rates spanned from 22.310% to 40.406%. Additionally, dioecious pollen exhibited sizes ranging from 25.792 to 26.386 µm, whereas gynodioecious pollen sizes fell within the range of 23.802 to 25.842 µm. Similarly, the period from bud emergence to ovule maturation showed slight variations, ranging from 28.57 to 29.13 days for dioecious and 28.32 to 32.09 days for gynodioecious plants. Post-fertilization ovary degeneration rates were observed within the range of 17.94% to 18.11% for dioecious and 16.38% to 26.04% for gynodioecious varieties. The duration for fruit set demonstrated a span of 14.40 to 15.80 days for dioecious and 12.20 to 17.80 days for gynodioecious types. Viable seed set times differed, ranging from 77.80 to 80.60 days for dioecious and 75.60 to 87.40 days for gynodioecious cultivars. Percentages of viable seed set showcased ranges of 58.35% to 61.54% for dioecious and 46.48% to 68.89% for gynodioecious variants. These findings offer comprehensive insights into the temporal dynamics and reproductive patterns of papaya's distinct sex forms
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    In-vitro regeneration studies in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cv. Winter Dawn
    (RPCAU, Pusa, 2023) CHAKRABORTY, ARPAN; Kanth, Neeharika
    The strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is one of the most notable tart, sweet and juicy fruits in the world. It is the second-largest berry fruit produced globally, after grapes. As it spreads viral infection, the traditional method of strawberry multiplication by employing runners has some limitations. In order to create an effective technique for multiple shoots, root induction and proliferation and regeneration of strawberry plants using explants of runner tip and nodal segments, the current experiment was carried out. The present investigation entitled “In-vitro regeneration studies in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) cv. Winter Dawn” was carried out during 2022-2023 in Plant tissue culture laboratory, SRI, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur (Bihar). The variety Winter Dawn was used for the present study. The two types of explants used were runner tip and nodal segments. The three experiments: sterilization, shooting protocol and rooting protocol were carried out. For sterilization, mercuric chloride and ethanol were used and their effects were investigated. The shoot regeneration study was carried out with different concentrations of BAP was employed at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg/l, Kinetin at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 1 mg/l and GA3 at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 1 mg/l. The rooting protocol was standardized using NAA and IBA at varying concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mg/l). The runner tips were found to be better in every experiment carried out. BAP levels of 1.5 and 0.6 mg/l Kinetin exhibited better than any other combination in case of shoot regeneration and the medium enriched with NAA at 0.5 mg/l gave good results compared to other combinations.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Post-harvest Quality Evaluation of Banana Cultivars
    (RPCAU, Pusa, 2023) ANKIT; Prasad , K.
    The present experiment entitled “Post-harvest Quality Evaluation of Banana Cultivars” was undertaken on 30 banana cultivars. Since most of the cultivars of banana in Bihar has not been assessed for nutritional profiling and postharvest quality attributes, hence, this study was conducted with two objectives. Under objective-I research was conducted for assessment of banana flour of 30 cultivars for physical (moisture content), biochemical, and sensory evaluation. Under the objective-II the selected 30 banana cultivars were assessed for nutritional quality of 30 banana cultivars at peak ripening stage for physical, physiological parameters, biochemical, sensory and enzymatic activities. Under objective-I the moisture content was found highest in “Grand Naine” (9.72 %), starch content was found highest in “Popoulu” (81.12 %), fiber content was found maximum in “Malbhog” (2.61 g/100g), ascorbic acid content was found highest in “Rubasta” (9.87 mg/100g), total lipids were found highest in “Popoulu” (1.22 mg/100g), carbohydrate content was found highest in “Popoulu” (25.89 g/100g), energy was found highest in “Saba” (346 kcal), protein content was found highest in “B.B Batisa” (3.98 g/100), highest folic acid was recorded in “Poovan” (24.72 µg/100g), highest phosphorous content was found in “P-B Batisa” (42.56 mg/100g), potassium content was recorded highest in “Yangambi km” (512 mg/100g), and overall acceptability of sensory evaluation value was found highest in “Malbhog” (8.85). Under the objective-II of cultivars moisture content was found to be highest in “Nepali-Chinia” (84.63 %), fruit firmness was found highest in “B.B Batisa” (14.72 N). Under physiological attributes PLW and respiration rate was observed highest in “Rubasta” (18.48 %) and (126.33 ml CO2 kg-1 h-1) respectively. Under the biochemical attributes energy was found to be highest in “B. B. Batisa” (118 kcal), fiber content was found highest in “Malbhog” (16.89 g/100), highest TSS content was found in “Rasthali” (25.46 Brix), ascorbic acid was found highest in “Poovan” (13.56 mg/100g), highest lipid content was found in “Popoulu” (1.29 g/100g), highest carbohydrate was found in “P-B Batisa” (31.64 g/100g), the maximum protein content and highest folic acid was found in “Kunnan” (1.85g/100g) respectively, sugar content was found highest in “Rasthali” (26.98 %) and titratable acidity was highest in “Popoulu” (1.23 %). In determination of m ineral content potassium content was found highest in “Grand Naine” (448.59 mg/100g) and phosphorous content was highest in “P-B Batisa” (48.83 mg/100g). Under the functional attributes the total phenol content was found to be highest in “Yangambi km” (307.60 mg GAE/100g), total flavonoids content was found highest in “Alpan” (10.26 mg/100g), total carotenoids content was found highest in “Serimanthi” (6.89 mg/100g) and total antioxidant content was found maximum in “Serimanthi” (6.91 µmolTE/g). In sensory evaluation overall acceptability value was found highest in “Malbhog” (8.86). Under enzymatic activity the polygalactouronase activity was found highest in “Rubasta” (60.98 µg galacturonic acid/g/h), Pectin methylesterase enzymatic activity (PME) content, the Lipoxygenase enzymatic activity (6.99 µmol/min/g FW) and the poly phenol oxidase (927.84 µg GAE/g) was found maximum in” Bhose”. The Pearson Correlation analysis provided the insights into the relationships between the nutritional composition, physical, physiological, biochemical, minerals, sensory and enzymatic activity of banana at peak ripening stage. PCA analysis showed that the moisture content was suggested to be positively correlated with fiber, TSS, ascorbic acid, sugar, phosphorous, phenol, carotenoid and antioxidant. The principal component analysis revealed that PC1 had significant properties in “Robasta”, “Nepali-Chinia”, Martman (Nemopor), “Poovan” and PC2 was primarily determined by “Grand Naine”, “Robasta”, “Yangambi-km” and “Serimanthi”. The clustering analysis showed that there were two major clusters among the selected cultivars and cluster two was also divided into two sub-clusters.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Assessment of pomological potential and standardization of propagation methods in Elephant apple (Dillenia indica L.)
    (RPCAU, Pusa, 2023) NAIK, DESAVATH AKASH; Mukhim, C.
    The present experiment entitled “Assessment of pomological potential and standardization of propagation methods in Elephant apple (Dillenia indica L.)” was carried out in shade net of Hi-tech nursery unit of Department of Horticulture, PG College of Agriculture, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University, Pusa, Samastipur (Bihar) during the year of 2022-2023. The biochemical parameters were taken in biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Botany, Physiology and Biochemistry, RPCAU, Pusa. The study aimed to investigate the pomological potential of elephant apple (Dillenia indica) and establish standardized propagation methods for this fruit. The research encompassed two primary objectives: evaluating the time taken for fruit development and assessing various parameters related to fruit quality, seed characteristics and propagation techniques. Five distinct collections of elephant apple fruits, labeled EC 1 to EC 5, were subjected to analysis. The duration from flowering to fruit set was measured, with EC 4 displaying the longest period (75.55 days) followed by EC 5 (66.89 days). Conversely, EC 2 demonstrated the shortest duration (56.30 days) and EC 1 fell in between (65.62 days). The fruit count varied among collections, with EC 2 containing the most fruits (498.26) and EC 5 having the fewest (11). Moreover, EC 4 exhibited the highest fruit weight (577.37 g), while EC 5 had the lightest fruits (402.40 g). Fruit dimensions were also scrutinized, revealing EC 4 to possess the greatest fruit length (12.53 cm) and EC 5 to have the smallest (8.63 cm). EC 4's fruit breadth measured 9.91 cm, whereas EC 5's was 9.14 cm. EC 4 was statistically on par with EC 1, EC 2 and EC 3 in terms of these parameters. Specific gravity was highest in EC 1 (408.05) followed by EC 4 (384.60) while EC 5 had the lowest (326.36). Shelf-life analyses indicated EC 2 as having the longest (33.75 days) and EC 5 the shortest (25.75 days), with EC 2 comparable to EC 1, EC 3 and EC 4. Ascorbic acid content ranged from 11.79 mg/100 g to 13.35 mg/100 g. EC 5 exhibited the highest level, whereas EC 3 displayed the lowest. Maximum titratable acidity was recorded in EC 1 (2.53%) and minimum in both EC 3 and EC 5 (1.99%). Total phenol content was highest in EC 4 (368.95 mg GAE/100g) and lowest in EC 5 (222.62 mg GAE/100g). EC 2 showcased the highest antioxidant activity (72.31%), while EC 5 demonstrated the lowest (65.18%). TSS content varied from 6.59 to 13.09 °Brix, with EC 3 having the highest and EC 5 the lowest values. The number of seeds per fruit ranged from 84.25 in EC 5 to 200.75 in EC 3, with seed color varying among collections. Furthermore, the investigation delved into propagation methods for elephant apple through cuttings and seed germination. The study focused on various treatments involving IBA (indole-3-butyric acid) and GA3 (gibberellic acid) at different concentrations. The time taken for sprouting and root development was measured, along with other growth parameters. For instance, stem cuttings treated with T4 IBA @ 2000 ppm exhibited the shortest duration to first sprouting (6.90 days), while T1 IBA @ 500 ppm and T2 IBA @ 1000 ppm demonstrated the longest (9.02 days). Stem cuttings treated with T4 IBA @ 2000 ppm, T5 IBA @ 2500 ppm and T7 IBA @ 3500 ppm displayed the maximum number of leaves (2.72), while T7 IBA @ 3500 ppm had the minimum (1.66). T4 IBA @ 2000 ppm resulted in the longest shoot length (3.19cm) and T2 IBA @ 1000 ppm had the shortest (2.02cm). The investigation also encompassed seed germination using GA3 treatments. T3 GA3 @ 600 ppm exhibited the shortest time for germination initiation (31.36 days) and T4 GA3 @ 800 ppm showed the highest germination percentage (69.88%). Plant growth parameters, such as primary root length, secondary root count, plant height and leaf number, were also assessed under different treatments.