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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.

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20211
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Subject: Microbiology × Author: H S, SPANDANA × Start date: 2017 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    STUDY OF PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING ACTIVITIES OF ENDOPHYTIC BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF SUGARCANE
    (Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2021) H S, SPANDANA; Jaiswal, Aman
    Endophytic bacteria colonizing internal parts of the plants benefit the crop plants by enhancing their growth and development. These beneficial organisms are documented in almost all plants. Sugarcane also colonizes diverse endophytic bacteria and these bacteria benefit the sugarcane crop through plant growth promoting activities. Therefore, a study was conducted to isolate endophytic bacteria from different parts of two sugarcane varieties, BO-91 and Co-P 16437, and to examine them for plant growth promoting activities. Sugarcane samples, roots, stems and leaves were collected and further subdivided into upper, middle and lower portions. One gram of the sample from each sub portion was surface sterilized and subjected to an isolation process on nutrient agar and Luria Bertani agar plates. A total of 71 endophytic bacteria of different morphotypes were isolated from roots, stems and leaves of both varieties, out of which 45 isolates were obtained from BO-91 and 26 isolates from Co-P 16437. Isolates were subjected to morphological characterization on the basis of colony morphology and microscopic features. Most of the isolated colonies were of small size, circular shape with regular margins, smooth texture and yellow or orange color colonies on nutrient agar and Luria- Bertani agar plates. 41 isolates were identified as Gram-negative and 30 isolates as Gram-positive bacteria, out of which 17 were endospore producers based on Gram staining, endospore staining and microscopic observations and most of the isolated cells were of rod shape. Isolates were further tested for biochemical activities, in which most isolates were able to utilize citrate and showed positive response to the oxidase test, whereas few isolates showed positive response to the methyl red test and Voges-Proskauer test. Endophytic bacteria were subjected to plant growth promoting activities in vitro on the basis of nutrient solubilization (P, K and Zn) and production of useful compounds (siderophore and IAA). 16 isolates of BO-91 and 7 isolates of Co-P 16437 were able to solubilize phosphorus, in which the BS8 isolate of the stem part of BO-91 showed the highest value of P-SI (4.22) with a quantitative value of 42.66 ± 1.1 μg mg-1. 13 isolates of BO-91 and 8 isolates of Co-P 16437 were able to solubilize potassium, in which the CS6 isolate of stem part of Co-P 16437 showed the highest value of K-SI (3.16) with a quantitative value of 129.54 ± 0.8 μg ml-1. 12 isolates of BO-91 and 6 isolates of Co-P 16437 were able to solubilize zinc, in which the BR17 isolate of the stem part of BO-91 showed the highest value of Zn-SI (3.43) with a quantitative value of 119.68 ± 0.9 μg ml-1. 4 isolates of BO-91 and 2 isolates of Co-P 16437 were able to produce siderophores, in which the CR9 isolate of the root part of Co-P showed the highest value of SE (179%). 19 isolates of BO-91 and 10 isolates of Co-P 16437 were able to produce IAA, in which the CL2 isolate of the leaf part of Co-P 16437 showed the highest IAA production value of 29.70 ± 1.5 μg mg-1 protein. The BS16 isolate of stem part of BO-91 showed a positive response to phosphorus solubilization (P-SI of 3.13), potassium solubilization (K-SI of 2.19), zinc solubilization (Zn-SI of 2.30) and IAA production (20.83 μg mg-1 protein) activity. The CR9 isolate of the root part of Co-P 16437 showed positive indications of phosphorus solubilization (P-SI of 3.08), potassium solubilization (K-SI of 2.66), zinc solubilization (Zn-SI of 2.74), siderophore production (SE of 179%) and IAA production (28.15 μg mg-1 protein) activity. Thus, a diverse group of endophytic bacteria are present in different parts of the sugarcane crop and are involved in plant growth promoting activities. Therefore, the promising endophytic bacteria can be used as a biofertilizer which enhances sugarcane growth and development.